PHEW!   One week to get a move on and finish Blooie.   ‘It’s do-able’ we confirm to ourselves.

 Lets get going...

It was such a great feeling as the apartment was getting lighter and all the heavy raw materials were being refined into their final resting places.


It was really nice to work on some small details after the monumental task of securing the cabinets, worktop and doors in place.

On putting the handles in, we got that satisfying sensation of seeing a glimpse of the final product.  These small tasks seemed to take no time at all as we were buzzing so much in anticipation.  Now it was just the bed to go in,  I hope it fits!!!

And so it did- just.  Another Phew.  Unfortunately it was raining when we had to go under the van and seal all those holes up.  Hey Ho,  you can only get dirty once at a time.

Well, that was it – all the big bits fitted and now it was time to get into some serious detailing.

 

Our jigsaw skills we’re coming along by now and it didn’t take too long to realise we could add a little flair to the fascias. So a Blooie logo was designed (I’d always campaigned to having some waves in the van so when my design was accepted I was very pleased). A lot of scary cutting, followed by some relaxing sanding, and varnishing created a lovely little detail that just popped out of the Bloo(ie!) last minute.

Finally, it was a question of cushions- some mega comfy foam wrapped in super soft faux leather was a high task that Jen tackled beautifully, even adding a piping (for the first time ever).  These guys lift Blooie’s style right off the street!

With a couple of hours before Blooie’s maiden voyage to Geneva airport, we were able to clean her up, stock her with camping gadgets and sit/lay down and enjoy the fruits of our labour!!

Of course, there’ll still be little bits that we’ll want to add in the future but for now Blooie Scampette is DOWN on the Street and seriously ready for some mega styling camping action!!

-Ben

It’s been a little while, but here we are.  A little progress report on how Blooie Scampette, our VW T4 Transporter is getting on.

The conversion project taking Blooie from work-horse van, to leisure vehicle is leaping forward.  At the same time it is taking over our apartment and making us a little bit crazy!  Just keep thinking, camping trips, camping trips, camping trips… BBQ’s and wine, BBQ’s and wine, BBQ’s and wine…

 

Our roadside workshop has still been keeping locals and holiday-makers entertained, and Chamonix is VERY busy at the moment.  We get regular visitors to Blooie’s sliding door, checking on progress and wondering how long until the ‘van warming party’ we have excitedly planned.

 

Progress so far includes, bolting in the cupboards, fitting the side step, finishing off the carpeting, sealing the underbelly from rust and corrosion and reconnecting all the lights – nothing very exciting to photograph, but here are a few.  (a picture of me covered head to toe in black underseal crawling out from under the van would have been a good one.   Oh, we should have taken it!)

Ben has stormed ahead with van work while I’ve been catching up with Head Full of Feathers custom orders.  He’s been an unstoppable machine!  I do think, however, that if he was told he had to paint another cupboard door green, he might be safer contained in a padded room!  Ballz has been easing the workload, he wants to get out on the road soon.  He gets paid in bananas, so he’s pretty cheap labor.

You know we love to hear your comments - go on! Don't be shy!!

 

 

The past couple of weeks have been a constant headache caused by the snails pace of the french postal system.  I have been awaiting many supplies to complete some fantastic bespoke fascinators, for some wonderful occasions.  Nothing has come.

As the work in the Head Full of Feathers fascinator design studio has almost ground to a halt, we found small pockets of time to get outside and get some work done on our beloved Blooie Scampette, our 1995 VW Transporter van.

We managed to borrow a jigsaw and cut out all the plywood panels for the walls.  Then we covered them all in the same sand coloured carpet, and screwed them in.  A pretty big job, but one that really changed the interior of the van.  Mmmmm, very very cosy!

Next to go down was a big thick layer of insulation for the floor.  We put in extra wood supports for where the rock n roll bed will go  and covered the whole lot with plywood board.

Then for a bit of personality; the black and white checked flooring!  A classic!

We got very very excited in the hardware store looking for the perfect colour to paint our cabinets that will be going in next.  Nothing came close to what we had envisioned - so we had this FANTASTIC green mixed for us.

And so this is where we are up to.  Ben has been painting and repainting the cabinets to get the perfect cover and sheen.   I'm about to get to work on the cushions for the seat/bed.  The apartment has turned into a Blooie Scampette workshop, but we are VERY happy with the progress so far!

Oooh, I think I just heard the post-lady.  I hope she has packages for me.
Back to feather fascinators for a while!

Our baby is a blue 1995 VW Transporter panel van, named Blooie Scampette.  

We recently started doing a home make-over transformation on her, from van to Camper .  (Think 'Pimp My Ride' but done tastefully without 7  flat screen TV's, and a result that we can explore Europe and sleep in.)

We shopped for all the parts back in England, and brought it all to Chamonix, France where we live, to put together.  Our little 'side-of-the-road' project, as we have no garage or driveway, has gained a lot of interest for locals and holidaymakers. 

A side window has already been put into the sliding door and we have a rock n roll bed ready to go in.

So far, there have not been any arguments over working in such a confined space, or artistic differences.  Although i'm sure Ben is sick of hearing 'measure twice - cut once' (and certainly enjoys it when I forget my rule!)

Getting the insulation to the sides and roof finished was a great.  Suddenly we are working inside a dark blue van, in the French midday sun, and we are kept COOL.  We have started carpeting the insides and celing (mmmm, cosy) and will soon start working on all the interior comforts we have planned and visualised.  The carpeting so far is going up quickly, just the interior panels  to do now...

Will keep you all posted on our progress.  We'd love to hear your comments and Ideas (we are always looking for new ideas!)