1 Year Anniversary – It’s Top 5 Time

I took a sharp intake of breath, slapped my face a few times, splashed some cold water on my chops, did a few warm-up stretches and then finally typed my first blog post  nearly 1 year ago.

84 posts; 11 pages; 223 comments; 107 followers; 21,885 views and Anita Brown [Design Studio] is still going strong.

As I sit on my favourite spot on the sofa (I have two sofas and yet for the past 3 years I’ve perched my butt on the same cushion of the same sofa….weird…..I’m not kidding when I say there is now a permanent crater on said cushion…I clearly have a pointy derrière, or something).  Actually, my sofa is pretty awesome.  More specifically the fabric of my sofa is pretty awesome.  I’m going to upload this photo before common sense prevails and I decide against it.  This is how utterly amazing the fabric of my  sofa is:

Like every great photo, there’s a story behind this particular one.  Yes, this is an imprint of my butt and yes this very cheeky (sorry, couldn’t help it) imprint was on my sofa.  A very impressionable fabric, don’t you think?  You see, I very innocently vacuumed my sofas one day.  I’m guessing when you have a velvety-like sofa fabric and then proceed to vacuum it; it kinda makes the texture of the fabric stand to attention.  I decided to take a coffee break before resuming my vacuuming activity and when I gulped down the last of my coffee I stood up and for some strange reason I turned around to face the sofa and this was what I saw.  And what do you do when you’ve noticed a very clear butt imprint on your sofa?  You got it; you take a photo of it.  Needless to say, my female friends HATE my sofas – their body confidence issues tend to nose-dive after they’ve sat on my sofa.  Brings a new meaning to the term ‘does my bum look big in this’, right?

Anyway, I’m digressing.

Top 5 posts it is!  In no particular order:

1.  Embrace The Cushion – this was a post that concluded my mini-makeover of taking a bog standard IKEA bookcase and partnering it with a vintage Anglepoise lamp and an iconic Tolix chair.  The perfect blend of modern meets vintage, with a little bit of industrial styling thrown in for good measure.

2.  Fotoshop Fail – I was inspired to create this post because of the greatness that is Adam (check out his blog, Chowderhead).  A little collaboration ensued and I have to say I chuckled like a buffoon for far too long with the results of his ‘Fotoshop Fail’.  Well done Adam, you made it onto my Top 5!

3.  Collaborative Working – A Dream Come True – I’m particularly proud of the work contained within this post.  I worked with an interior designer to produce some very effective 3D Visuals and to date this is without a doubt my best work iro 3D Visualisation.  The hours and hours and hours of torturous self-teaching finally paid off.

4.  Certificate of Commendation – I entered an undergraduate Nationwide competition and never in my wildest dreams thought my submission would have been shortlisted for a commendation.  I was thrilled.

5.  The Belfast Harbour Office – This report was the culmination of many hours of research that included reference books, a trip to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, a site visit that resulted in 263 photographs and a haunting trip to the Thompson Dry Dock where Titanic once rested before her maiden voyage.  I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of compiling this report for my Degree studies.

I hope you’ve enjoyed browsing through my Top 5 posts!  Happy Birthday Anita Brown [Design Studio]!!