FARRAGOZ Student of 2017

We have never chosen a student of the year before. I do not like the idea of saying one person's work is better than that of another. We do not have classes and exams like in normal schools. Learning anything online is very difficult. You need an extraordinary amount of motivation just to keep going.

Our mission is to do everything we can to make sure every student gets enough from our courses to change their lives. But often what we do is not enough.

A few days ago I read through the British New Year Honours list for 2018. In case you do not know, the British parliament recognises successful people in different fields for their contribution and the Queen bestows titles on them. In short, it is the making of knights and dames.  I read that in a lot of cases, they were not only honoured for their achievements, but for their efforts to change the lives of others such as through charity work and educational programs. One such person is the first Briton in space, Helen Sharman, who joins the Order of St Michael and St George, for her long-standing commitment to educational outreach in science and technology.

So I thought to myself, which FARRAGOZ student in 2017 stands out as doing not only exceptional work but also gave back to others.

Our student of the year is without hesitation Moacyr Santizo. Moacyr enrolled in the Patina FINISHES Course only 4 months ago and is a very talented painter. He works hard and produces a lot of his own work. He never hesitates to try new techniques and recipes. But that is only half the story because a lot of students do that. We see the work they produce in their shops.

What makes Moacyr different is his dedication to help others in his group. When he paints samples or furniture, he shares in his group, an extremely detailed analysis of the techniques including what he found difficult, his workaround, whether he was satisfied with the result or not and what he would do differently in the future.

He is always first to welcome new members to the group and always gives excellent feedback on their questions. This takes time and effort from him and we appreciate it.

So, Moacyr, congratulations on being our student of the year!

To all our other students producing beautiful patina throughout this year, well done, thank you for sharing your magnificent work with us and keep it up.

To those students who had life happening to them in 2017 and could not produce those patinas they dreamed of, drop me a line and let's give it another go in 2018.

To everybody, thanks for your loyal support throughout the year. We would like to wish you all a healthy, happy and successful 2018!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Tania

&

The FARRAGOZ Team

xxx

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Beach Themed Christmas

Living with your toes in the ocean makes a beach themed Christmas the obvious choice.


The wreath on the front door was actually the Christmas table centrepiece two years ago. I am surprised it lasted this long!

I suspended several decorations in this colour scheme from the chandelier in our stairwell using vintage velvet and silk ribbons.





This is a very common dune plant that is green in winter and dries out in summer. The birds feed on their seeds for months.









The paper nautilus, periwinkle and tiny abalone shells are from the beach.













I love these old star decorations my aunt bought in France many years ago.





The pewter tureen is a Paris flea market find.









We bought the gold trimmed white crockery over twenty years ago when I decorated my aunt's flat in Paris. The two of us had such great fun running around the city and dragging almost everything two flights up the narrow staircase. When she recently gave up the flat, she shipped the crockery to me knowing how much I loved it and what sweet memories it would hold.









The vintage glass baubles are all flea market and charity shop finds. The sea star, which I found at a shell shop is one of the very few nature items I have ever bought. Somehow finding objects in nature for your collections is much more satisfying than buying them from a shop.

The white shells, arranged back-to-back, were quite worn so I could easily string the vintage ribbon through them to make this wreath. 

From all of us at FARRAGOZ, we would just like to thank you for all your support and friendship and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Tania

&

The FARRAGOZ Team

xxx

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