A letter and some photographs sent in by viewer Meghan Almoe of Gaylord, Mich., resulted in a phone conversation on the show today. Megan wrote that her project really started when she and her husband added a patio to their house and she needed furniture for it. She also wanted it to have kind of a cafe look, so she first made a table. That was the start. Twenty-five tables later, she has gone far beyond the patio, far beyond making a table or two for friends, and is now doing very well at selling them at art fairs!
Meghan doesn't actually make the tables. What she does is collect those large wooden spools that I'm sure many of you have seen at various industrial sites. They are usually used for cable and heavy-duty wire, but when the cable is removed, they are often put outside for who knows what. At any rate, Meghan collects them and gives them a second life by cleaning up the wood, decorating the tops, and turning them into usable tables. What they are used for depends on the size of the spool. Some are coffee table height, some are dining table height, and others are the height to work with bar stools placed around (figure A).
Meghan has decorated many of the tables with ceramic tiles that she purchases at tile and carpet stores. She mentioned that she usually goes to the back room where she can buy individual tiles rather than having to purchase an entire case of one color. Most of the tables that she sent pictures of featured beautiful mosaic designs that she had made...everything from flowers and dragonflies (figure B) to a lighthouse (figure C). Some she has accented with stained glass as well as the tiles. One tabletop she turned into a giant checkerboard using three-inch-square black and white tiles (figure D). All were very interesting, attractive and looked beautifully done.
It was so very interesting to learn what one viewer did with an idea, talent, time and imagination. We wish her well.
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