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New workspace ... new prints!
Posted by Dave Bull on June 20, 2013 [Permalink]
Plenty of new things around here these days, and so little time to show you! Anyway, here a couple of updates:
First up is that we have finally been spending some time updating the 'Partner Shops' section of our website, and just yesterday we added a batch of wonderful Showa-era shin-hanga prints, including a number from the famous set of 'Beauties' created by the relatively unknown publisher Ishu Kankokai.
These are very high quality items (with prices to match :-( but are truly spectacular prints, both in their physical dimensions, and in the carving and printing quality.
The group includes prints by Hakutei, Kobayakawa, Ikeda and Shunsen and is selected from the most iconic images of the Taisho period. Head over to Mokuhankan, and look in the 'Old Prints and Books' section of the catalogue.
The other 'new' update is about our workroom - we're getting very close to getting it completed!
The final panelling went on the other day:
And yesterday afternoon our carpenter Mr. Tashiro and I gave the walls a couple of coats of clear preserver:
He's off for a week or so now on other work, but during that time, myself and the staff will lay some carpet tiles, and (if we can rope in enough neighbours) get the new cabinets in place.
They've been sitting outside for weeks now, waiting for their time. I picked them up on an internet auction very cheaply (the terrible economy here in recent years has put an immense pile of 'office' stuff onto the market), and they'll do very well for our new room ... if we can actually get them into place. They are 200 kg each (steel cabinets!), and it's not going to be a trivial job getting them down two long flights of stairs ...
Added by: Michael Kohne on June 21, 2013, 10:57 am
For moving the cabinets: try to rent an appliance hand truck. Same sort of thing you'd use to move a fridge. These work great for this kind of job.
Strap the cabinet tight to the hand truck and it's not too difficult to move big stuff up and down stairs (down IS easier, so you've got that going for you). Do be careful about keeping control while going down the stairs - take it one step at a time. I've moved 250-300 lb arcade machines alone with a decent hand truck.
Added by: Dave on June 21, 2013, 11:23 am
Using any kind of wheeled vehicle isn't going to be an option. We have to cross around 8 meters of rough ground first (with the thing held horizontally), then stand it up, turn it 90 degrees, and slide it down around 12 meters of stairs - with a landing half-way down - culminating in another 90 degree corner at the bottom (with railings etc. in the way all along the route).
I'll post photos later (if we live through it). It's pretty much going to have to be manual all the way (except for the slide part ...)
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