Katy Dickinson

Fainting Couch Update

Back on June 11, 2008, I wrote a blog entry about the 19th century backless couch my mother gave me, which is now being restored. I thought my mother bought the couch as an antique but it turns out that the piece has been owned by our family for at least my mother's lifetime (it was in our cabin at Elkmont, in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee for many years).

This weekend, we got to see the completion of the second phase of work, by John Gibbs of The Workshop (500 E Mcglincy Lane, #G, Campbell, CA 95008-4919, Phone: 408-371-7166). When we went to see the fainting couch, John Gibbs said the wood is probably a combination of mahogany, birch, and maybe elm. He also showed us a reproduction furniture catalogue from 1875-1905 which featured a "Turkish Couch" similar to ours (so now we know more about the date of our piece). It probably cost under $40 when it was new.

Here are the phases of this project:

• Phase I (June - July) - the couch was stripped of its upholstry and padding
• Phase II (August - September) - The Workshop reglued and braced the frame, then repaired and refinished the visible wood
• Phase III (Starting Soon) - Reupholstry

Photos of the work so far:

Before Starting Work (June)

End of Phase I (July)

The Workshop Sign

End of Phase II (September)

John Gibbs and The Workshop

Turkish Couch Image

Images Copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Posted at 10:20PM Sep 21, 2008 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

Heart Walk 2008

Today was the Silicon Valley Heart Walk 2008 at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA. We gave away red squeezy hearts and pedometers at the Sun booth. Other booths were distributing water bottles, magnets, juice, energy bars, fans, blinking heart lights and other theme giveaways.

I have been working with Sheri Kaneshiro coordinating the Heart Walk fundraiser for Sun Microsystems on behalf of our sponsor Greg Papadopoulos, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development. We have been recruiting walkers and donors from both inside and outside of Sun. Even though the walk is over, you can still make a donation through the Company Page of Sun Microsystems. If you work for Sun, you can join the group donation match request.

Some photos of Sun from today's walk:

John, Harsh, Paul at Sun's Booth

Heart Walk 2008

Greg, Katy, Paul at Sun's Booth

Greg and Sun Heart

Sheri

On the Heart Walk

On the Heart Walk

Sun's Sign on the Walk

Charles and Danny at Sun's Booth

Balloon Clown

Images Copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Posted at 08:47PM Sep 21, 2008 by katysblog in Mentoring & Other Business  |