Home to roost

This flock of bird houses returned home to roost after remaining unsold at the Christmas market in Brussels. They're all made of solid oak and held together, craftsman-style, by T's trademark dowels. Two screws on the side of each door allow it to hinge upwards so that the inside can be cleaned. The bird house with the wider opening is for robins and wrens. The others with the round opening are for tits and sparrows.

large

The Christmas market was an interesting exercise, but very disappointing sales-wise. Perhaps we were naive to think that people who live in one of the most affluent parts of town would leap at the chance to take home something more handsome, better-made and longer-lasting than anything they can find at a garden centre.

The people who could appreciate the amount of skill and time that went into T's Adirondack chair didn't have the money. The ones that did, and there were many of them, weren't interested. One of the latter, an expat dressed in what I call "Brussels country" - spotless designer wellies, stiff new Barbour jacket, Porsche Cayenne car keys, none of which will ever know mud - asked T a great many questions, clearly fishing for tips on wood-working techniques, good wood suppliers, etc. (T was on to him.) He finally came clean and said, "It's a beautiful chair, but I'd like to try my hand at making one out of pine myself. I have all the professional tools." His mother, who was visiting from the US, rolled her eyes upwards and muttered, "I'll believe that when he finally puts up the IKEA bookshelves that have been sitting in his garage for 2 years."

The learning curve continues.

~ a backblip