This weekend over twenty furniture makers have been displaying their work at an exhibition in Dalkeith Palace.   Their styles of work were varied, some being fairly traditional and others contemporary. Two items particularly impressed me as they are made from recycled materials which have involved a great amount of skill, talent and time.
The Cocktail cabinet was made of three layers of wood with a backing of oak on which was put another layer of oak that had been darkened with vinegar.  Then the front had a layer made up of 14 thin strips of oak which were left over from other work and glued together before the pattern was cut out revealing the darker inlay.
Another item is a small footstool shown in three parts in the collage. The base is made of thick cardboard held together with off cut strips of birch and some tweed making a sort of octagonal drum shape. The top is made with a soft tweed remnant filled with the inside of a baby box mattress.  It could also be used as a little low table with the top cushion removed.  The whole thing was sewn together with linen thread which would have been very difficult to do through the wood.