FLAT FILE OF MY DREAMS

who remembers this beauty?

it’s a stunning flat file I saw in a painting studio in early 2019 and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. the owner said he had a mechanic friend paint it with auto paint forever ago. at the time, I had no reason (or space) for owning such a thing but that didn’t really matter.

fast forward to my new, larger studio with my new needlepoint canvas and pastel painting storage problem and I immediately set about finding something to recreate this look.

I spent a lot of time on ebay, craigslist, and etsy looking for a flat file that wasn’t too deep (no more than 30” because of my table setup) and not too wide (24” was ideal) but also for the closest listing because I didn’t want to blow money on freight and shipping. I found Brookvale Artisans on etsy and they had a great assortment of flat files and were only 90 minutes from me. I sent a message asking if I could pick up and Alan said he’d meet me at the warehouse. SOLD!

Abby and I headed down the week before christmas and met Alan in Hamden, CT at his warehouse to pick up my vintage Mayline engineering flat file. on their website, Brookvale Artisans site says they ‘rescue, repurpose & reinvent’ and they aren’t kidding. they have FIVE, enormous warehouses FULL of the wildest stuff. machines, gadgets, tools, pieces, and parts - you name it. Alan explained that they provide all kinds of props for movies and TV shows. I can’t imagine how they can find anything but my flat file was front and center and ready to go. Alan helped load it into my car, Abby and I drove it straight back to my studio and we got it set up.

I spent time at Lowe’s picking the paint department’s mind about how to make my gray cabinet green and explained that I couldn’t / wouldn’t use spray paint. I was told that a bonding primer would create the best surface and to use a roller. Abby and I spent time cleaning the drawers with rubbing alcohol, wrenching the drawers’ inner flaps off and removing the hardware before getting started.

for #cardart2018 I spent a lot of time pilfering paint chips and one of my favorites was Valspar’s ‘Lime Twist’. it’s super close to John Deere green and I had it mixed up in a satin finish and got to work. ultimately, it took three coats and a ton of patience and I couldn’t be happier!!! the last thing I had to sort out was a top for the cabinet. they’re meant to stack so only one cabinet has a top. looking back, one of the etsy listings was $100 more and now I realize it’s because it’s the one cabinet with the top. I figured I could have a piece of MDF cut down to size and paint it to match the cabinet but Abby and I were out antique hunting (one of our favorite things to do together) and she spotted this large, vintage cutting board. It looked promising so I measured it, checked the cabinet dimensions from the original etsy listing and IT WAS AN EXACT MATCH. like, literally. 🤯

and that’s the story of my super cool, needlepoint canvas & pastel painting storage cabinet. it’s been enormously helpful and it brings me so much joy.