covering the electricity meter.
It had a cushion on it made in Shenzhen, China.
However, even on a Melbourne porch, away from direct sunlight,
things don’t last long in Australia, especially when the fabric was
Made in China!
So it was time to pimp my cushion
This is the Tale of Two Cities;
of my Jim Thompson Thai cushions
made in China!
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| Oops sorry, should have turned the cushions round so the zipper is hidden! |
I found the fabric at
the Jim Thompson factory outlet.
Jim Thompson was an American businessman
who made Thai silk famous to the west.
His mysterious disappearance in 1967
remains unsolved…
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| Jim Thompson Factory Outlet is a Soi 93, Bangkok |
The JT outlet store is floor upon floor,
and roll upon roll, of stunningly gorgeous Thai silks.
Choosing which colour was the hard part.
I start by picking out a couple of really cheap cushions,
matching the fabric as best I can, to what I think will go with my
Bushland Colorbond paint at home!
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| Silks at Jim Thompson’s home Soi Kasem San 2, Bangkok |
| I had the original large cushion cover with me as it was my intention to get the replacement cushion cover made whilst in Bangkok. We are, after all, surrounded by on every street corner by “Do you want a suit?” tailors! However they took one look at the piping round the edges on my tatty, frayed cover and all to a man replied “cannot” Suits can, cushion covers ‘bog off!’
|
| Altered with Picmonkey for Mandarin Orange Monday! |
No I don’t want a suit, I want to tart up my front porch!
This was starting to look like a bad idea…
I take a ‘what, no way how much?!‘ tuk tuk ride,
to Jim Thompson’s former home
and immediately cheer up seeing the cost of things in the shop.
I might have been ripped off with the ride, but
my fabric and cushions are a complete bargain…
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| Blue Tuk Tuk for Blue Monday |
Back in Australia I need to call upon friends with benefits!
The benefits I need, are to be living in Hong Kong, with a valid China visa
and a shopping plan which includes frequent shopping days across the border!
Luckily I know just the person,
indeed Izzy had the first cushion made for me…
That was six years ago so luckily she forgotten the hassle of it then,
She is a really good friend!
Shenzhen, is across the border in China from Hong Kong
and the Lo Wu shopping plaza is where we used to go shopping,
you can find most things there
one way or another, but that’s probably another post!
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| Jim Thompson’s home Soi Kasem San 2, Bangkok |
Only things in China are unpredictable and the cushion
becomes a complete epic adventure,
the border car park was closed,
the ATM machines had no money in them…
and without cash in Shenny you might as well forget it…
Luckily she is Woman used to doing important cushion business in China.
Perseverance is her middle name!
My instructions were
take it to your favourite tailor, haggle a bit, haggle a bit more
say my friend won’t be very happy
“Tai Gui Le” too expensive…
but don’t spend long at all on the bargaining
“I don’t want it to be a hassle you know”
and then go and enjoy a good day out!
I can’t remember the final cost but they threw in the cushions for free
and I’m very happy with the results.
They are indeed my favourite cushions
Even if this involved a flight to Bangkok, a flight to Hong Kong,
a day trip to China and another flight back to Melbourne…
These cushions are almost better travelled than I am!
With thanks to all the wonderful hosts.
