Page 36 • The HERALD • 30th March 2023 v SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL EVENTS v Diamond Exterior Cleaning Local Exterior Cleaning specialists ■ Roof Moss Removal & Coating Applications ■ Driveway & Patio Cleaning ■ Gutter Cleaning & Clearing ■ Solar Panel Cleaning DiamondExteriorCleaning.com 07452 824555 nick.diamondexteriorcleaning@gmail.com DECORATING Interior and Exterior Established 1985 07867 528307 mark.blake.decorating@gmail.com See Southampton Publish ‘From Parks to Port’ – An Accessible Trail for the City! Local volunteer group See Southampton have produced new online and published material highlighting an accessible walking trail within the City. Made possible by a Community Chest Grant, the walking trail is titled ‘From Parks to Port’, and takes visitors on a journey of exploration from the City Art Gallery and the Parks in the north of the city to God’s House Tower close to the Docks. e trail is very much a sensorial experience, engaging colour, smell, texture, water and visual stimuli. See Southampton Chair Nigel Philpott noted: “We are very thankful for the Community Chest grant which has some of the points of interest along the way. For more information about See Southampton please visit: seesouthampton.co.uk enabled our volunteers - led by Katie Santos and her team of designers - to produce a publication highlighting the richness of our city, and making it accessible to as many audiences as possible. We have taken great trouble to understand the needs of a number of audiences with accessibility needs. Online for example, the 15 descriptive points of interest may be accessed/ heard by the visually impaired via optical character recognition (OCR) software.” Councillor Sarah Vaughan, Shadow Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Crime Prevention, was delighted with the production, praising the lea et design: “They are amazing; the work which has gone into the walking map is incredible. Please pass on my gratitude and thanks to the team who created these documents and brought the walking map to life.” e lea et is available to download from the See Southampton website: https://www.seesouthampton.co.uk/ accessible-tour-map/. Hard copies can also be picked from certain venues in Southampton, including the City Library, SeaCity Museum and Westgate Tower (operated by See Southampton volunteer guides on Sundays). On 12th March See Southampton Guides Katie Santos and Martin Brisland offered an accompanied accessible walk free of charge explaining See Southampton Tour Guide Katie Santos (credit Laura Ferreira) HAPPY UPCYCLER Website: www.happyupcycler.co.uk Instagram: @happyupcyler • Facebook: Happy Upcycler Upcycling furniture can prevent it from ending up at landfill. If you want to help the planet by purchasing a pre-loved piece of furniture, then have a look at the FOR SALE items on my website or social media. I like adding a splash of colour, but each piece of furniture I save from landfill is unique - colour palettes and designs vary. Alternatively, if you want to upcycle furniture yourself but not sure where to start, then why not attend one of my 3-4-hour workshops. Learn different painting techniques with chalk paint to enable you to return home with the confidence to paint. There is a workshop on Thursday 27th April at St Andrew’s Centre, Dibden Purlieu, at £49 per person. Contact me to book your place. Here are examples of items currently for sale. UPCYCLE YOUR FURNITURE With interior design styles changing season to season and year to year, many ‘wanna be’ trend setters favour ditching old furniture and going on shopping sprees. STOP. Upcycling old furniture is a trend and has been for years. In this present climate, it makes sense to join the upcycling trend. Happy Upcycler, based in Dibden Purlieu, told us: “Older pieces of furniture are often very well constructed, of good quality and made from gorgeous real wood. All it takes is a little effort and creativity and anyone can turn an old tatty piece of furniture into something fresh, colourful, on trend – whatever style they wish. If an individual can stop just one piece of furniture from ending up at landfill, then wouldn’t that be a good thing!?” Even modern furniture made from at-packs and consisting of chipboard may be given a new lease of life. e Happy Upcycler uses chalk paints, wax and varnish from the Annie Sloan product range and has given a new lease of life to many items of furniture over the past few years. She started o practicing on items she saved from land ll and then undertook evening and weekend training courses, face to face and online. In 2022 she attended a 6-day painting technique retreat near Bristol. She tells us: “The best thing to do for inspiration is look at current fashions in shops, browse Pinterest, read home magazines or follow influencers – but better still, use your own creativity and make something that feels right. You can paint smooth, stipple, add texture or even decoupage. Making something yourself is fulfilling and can be a bespoke statement piece in your lounge to wow friends and family. Just make sure it’s not Ercol, G-Plan or any gorgeous vintage piece where upcycling it would be shameful.” Some people may turn their nose up at upcycling or purchasing from secondhand shops, which is ne, as we are all di erent. If you want inspiration from Happy Upcycler or wish to purchase any of her upcycles then you can nd her on Instagram@happyupcycler, on Facebook or on www.happyupcycler.co.uk NOTE: Happy Upcycler will be running painting technique 3–4 hour workshops at St Andrew’s Centre, Dibden Purlieu at £49 per person to include blending, frottage and texturing techniques with chalk paint. See advertisement below. Before After
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