Enameled Dunlop Lights in situ at Lush store, Kings Road London
See our white-enamelled Dunlop lights looking fantastic in the new Lush store on the Kings Road. We salvaged a large quantity of these from the famous ‘Fort Dunlop’ factory in Birmingham. Look out for them in other Lush stores over the coming months. Lush Website
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December 8, 2008 at 4:32 pm |
Here begins the Trainspotters blog…
We’d love to hear any comments anybody may have about our website, http://www.trainspotters.uk.com, and welcome all constructive criticism.
We’d like to see this blog develop into a useful resource for anybody looking to source and use architectural and industrial salvage in general, particularly reclaimed lighting, which is our speciality.
Happy blogging….
January 23, 2009 at 2:30 pm |
As it is the first blog of 2009, I thought I would begin at the beginning and give you a little background on Trainspotters:
When Southern Networks decommissioned their old slam-door trains and broke them up for scrap, Jesse Carrington (ex-director of Lassco) spent the next three days tracking down and buying 2,000 luggage racks and Trainspotters was born.
However, it was a phone call from a contact in the demolition trade that set the direction that Trainspotters would go on to take.
“Since then the business has expanded hugely but I’ve stuck with the name because people remember it.”
Trainspotters was offered the chance to salvage thousands of 1920s-1950s enamelled down-lighters from the world’s largest interwar manufacturing plant: The Rover Car Factory at Longbridge in Birmingham.
“The site, which had been a car factory since the Austin company was founded there in 1905, already had the bulldozers in, so it was a race to retrieve the acre upon acre of period industrial lighting.”
Utilizing the skills of local craftsmen, Trainspotters fully restored the lights and set up their website: http://www.trainspotters.uk.com
Now trainspotters specialise in sourcing good runs and quantities of items, making a useful resource for larger scale commercial projects such as bars and restaurants – as well as home-owners.
“Unlike other companies, which offer individual or pairs of lights, Trainspotters can offer up to 200 matching pendants making us the first choice both for individuals who want to add a run of lights to their home and for architects who want to add instant character and soul to large projects such as restaurant, bar or hotel re-fits.”
Tucked away in the grounds of an old Cotswold wool mill, Trainspotters is close to Stroud railway station (1 ½ hours from London) and to junction 13 of the M5. The New Warehouse, Libbys Drive, Stroud, Glos, GL5 1RN. Call 01453 756677 or visit http://www.trainspotters.uk.com
January 30, 2009 at 12:46 pm |
Hi
We have had a busy week here at Trainspotters – and everyone seems to be buying reclaimed laboratory worktops! It seems that many of you have decided to stay put in your current home but to give it a face-lift. With this in mind, i have put together a list of ten easy ways to achieve a modern rustic kitchen.
1. Mix old and new – contrast shelves made from recycled egg crates with modern steel-fronted appliances. Personality, functionality and a nod to the past are all hallmarks of the modern rustic look.
2. Update basic or stock kitchen cabinets by removing the doors. Open shelving not only keeps items within easy reach but also makes a decorative statement out of cookbooks and appliances, such as Typhoon’s retro stove top expresso maker. For other retro-looking appliances visit http://www.retrotogo.com
3. Alternatively gain valuable storage and add instant industrial style to your kitchen with a reclaimed luggage rack, which can double up as wine rack. http://www.trainspotters.uk.com
4. Give the floors some instant age by installing reclaimed wood or rustic tiles. Flooring that looks worn or handmade adds warmth and character. Visit http://www.salvo.co.uk for stockists of reclaimed flooring.
5. Quirky lighting – vintage light fixtures are an inexpensive way to add character and patina to any space. Look for old commercial and industrial lights for dressed-down kitchens. http://www.trainspotters.uk.com specialises in sourcing reclaimed industrial lighting such as enamelled downlighters from the Rover car factory.
6. Add texture and character with tongue and groove wainscoting, it can be used on a ceiling to visually lengthen or widen the space and it also camouflages damaged walls or nasty-looking artex!
7. Give your kitchen a casual and friendly feel by replacing a solid door with a stable door. The swinging upper sash lends natural light and by closing the lower part of the door you create a gate, keeping small children and pets contained.
8. Use neutral cool colours. Visit http://www.dulux.co.uk for their huge range of calm grey-greens that look fantastic against both reclaimed wood and modern steel appliances.
9. Add a laid-back casual feeling to the room by using ‘lived-in’ furnishings or accents. If there is room a soft leather armchair that you can ‘wear-in’ will make the room feel comfortable and lived-in.
10. Remember that the most successful rooms are not about following trends blindly, but about being comfortable with your own style, so use the open shelving to display your crockery or collections.
I hope this helps – let us know how you get on!
Love from Trainspotters
March 6, 2009 at 2:49 pm |
Hello again
The sun is shining in Gloucestershire today – whoopee! At Trainspotters we’ve been celebrating by indulging in a spot of ‘Spring Cleaning’.
We spent this morning burnishing the cast iron on the prettiest desk and bench sets we’ve ever laid eyes on – and waxing the elm desk-tops to reveal their beautiful patina. The desk uprights have ‘CH’ cast in the central motif (Charterhouse or Christ’s Hospital perhaps?)
Check out http://www.trainspotters.uk.com to see the photos of the newly spruced up desks. Too good even for very promising little scholars? Personally I think they would make a witty and elegant telephone table for a grand hall. Let me know what you think!
Love Leigh
March 20, 2009 at 1:41 pm |
Hi
I have just spent a pleasant hour or so surfing the internet for inspiration and have come across one blog in particular that i think would interest anyone who likes the ‘Trainspotters vibe’! Check out the following link and let me know if you agree: http://twentyfirstcenturyretro.wordpress.com/about/
April 17, 2009 at 11:51 am |
Hi there
We’ve had another busy old week here at Trainspotters. We’re particulary pleased with a shipment of English fruit crates – all dating from 1969-71, so some are marked in shillings and some in pence as this was the cross-over period for the new currency – decimalisation occurred 15 Feb 1971. The crates have languished unused in a barn ever since and are therefore in great condition.
We’ve also just hung an original movie poster advertising ‘Dead Reckoning’ the 1947 mystery thriller directed by John Cromwell. It starred Humphrey Bogart as ‘a man who trusted no-one – especially women’!!! It has pride of place in the office and Jesse swears he won’t sell it – at any price!
Jesse is just back from visiting an amazing factory in the Czech Republic, where he organised salvaging a large number of black enamelled industrial pendant lights with glass domes and caging. Many of which have already been snapped up by a Russian Ogliarch!
Visit http://www.trainspotters.uk.com to find further treasures…
Bye for now, Leigh