We've Got All Sorts Of Baggage

The Gatsby Summer Afternoon has come and gone. The event was gloriously magical.  And we made a whole lot of crazy nonsense.

For those not familiar with this event, it's a day-long lawn party, where all the guest wear clothes from the 1920s and 1930s, and bring over-the-top picnics.  It's about the most insane party imaginable, a sort of Burning Man for the Downton Abbey crowd

Of course, someone has to schlepp in all those cucumber sandwiches, champagne bottles and vintage table-settings.  And once you're on site there's nowhere to hide anything that doesn't fit in with the aesthetic of the event.  

Robb started dreaming about a rolling cart that would break down flat to fit into our car, and that would also function as a serving trolley. He took his inspiration from the sorts of carts traditionally used at European railway stations.

The folks unloading those massive baskets are women, and they're wearing high heels.  This photo, presumably, was taken during the Second World War.  

This looks more like the Great War.  I'm not sure what's going on in this picture.  Is she working, or just goofing around?

Robb didn't make a direct copy of any particular cart. He took inspiration from a number of designs, and then built something that suited his fancy.

Robb matched the stain to a 1920s walking stick he owns, that folds down into a chair.  (You can see it in the top photo, to Robb's left.)  He wanted to have curving lines, and rounded edges.

Everything had to break apart easily, to fit in our car.  This cart struck me as part military campaign furniture, and part IKEA flat-pack.


 


It coordinated nicely with the piece Robb built last year:  a hand-truck that converts into a chaise longue.

In the end, we were having too much fun, and failed to photograph our picnic set up.

I think there's so much pressure to take perfect instagram-worthy photos of one's social life.  I often think that people are so busy documenting their lives that they forget to savor the moment.  But that's a rant for another day.