Women of Warwick WI meeting
Wednesday 1st July 2015
5.30pm
Seminar room, University House
Committee members present:
Julie Taylor (President), Maxine Thacker (Vice-President), Jane Hutton (Treasurer), Lesley
Preston (Assistant Treasurer), Emma Sephton (Assistant Secretary), Ngan Dam & Elizabeth
Coyle (both Events)
 Julie welcomed everyone, including the new people in the room; Gillian Crisp, WI advisor
and main contact for our group and also Ali, here to do the talk on furniture up-cycling

Julie then made this month’s announcements:
- WI Royal Garden Party: feedback postponed asSandra Hill not present
- NFWI AGM report: read out (sent from a member of the Alcester group). The Royal
Albert Hall was full. Janice Langley opened the meeting and welcomed everyone.
Jerusalem was sung once the Queen arrived. WI is based on the same principles as 1915
when subscriptions were 2 shillings = 2% of wages. It is still the same proportion of
wages now. WI is in a secure financial position with large tax refunds due. Royal guests
were welcomed with the National anthem and Jerusalem. Prizes were also handed out.
There was a talk on the history of the WI and previous successful resolutions, together
with a talk from the curator of royal palaces and WI history. Resolution and amendment
to "Social care" was voted on and carried but more time was requested to consider.
New Board of Trustees was announced.
- August session: session cancelled. Instead a table has been booked at The Clarendon
Arms in Kenilworth on 7th August, so please let Julie know if you wish to attend.
- UoW Summer Staff Party: to be held on 26th August. External Affairs team have been
asked what they would like us to do and we have suggested a cake stall. This will be
good for raising our profile on campus. Please let Julie know if you are able to help.
- WOW WI Banner: we want to create our own banner and will use federations as basis
for design. Gillian confirmed we can use the official WI logo.
- Future sessions: Committee are working on a programme of events from September
onwards, including Mathematical knitting and the AGM. The website is also being
updated and we are making a push on marketing the group across campus. Please let
any committee members (but preferably Elizabeth or Ngan) have any suggestions.
Suggestions discussed in the meeting included talks on chocoloate, live cooking and a
chiropractor session.
- WOW WI Facebook page: Desiree has our page up and running with 56 likes and posts
having reached 565 people. We need everyone's interaction to keep up momentum, so
please invite friends and turn on notifications for new posts. There is also a WI tweet
chat #WIHour from 8-9pm on a Monday where you can interact with other WI
members.
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Committee members update: Nicola Hunt has stepped down from the Committee as
Assistant Secretary due to work commitments. Desiree is happy to cover until the
formal vote for new committee members takes place in November.
Gillian said she was thankful for the invite to our meeting and is thrilled we have started
our group. She confirmed that Sue Coates will provide constitutional advice and she will
provide federation advice.
Desiree shared that she will be going on a trip to Richard III exhibition on 2 Aug if
anyone else wanted to go too - £7.50 entry price plus car share.

Next session:
To be held on Wednesday 7th August – meal at The Clarendon Arms. Please let Julie know if
you wish to attend.

Julie then introduced Ali from Felicitations Vintage Furniture
Notes from session
Ali thanked us for for the invitation to talk. She has always been interested in joining a WI
group and will now!
Felicitations Vintage Furniture is the name of her company on Heathcote Industrial Estate in
Warwick. Her husband now does furniture restoration full time and she helps part time
alongside working as a local government officer.
Upcycling or hacking is using furniture, not as it was intended e.g. Piano stools in the hall,
makes furniture more exciting!
She would encourage all to have a go as it is a great way to bring furniture back to life, including
the popular painting of furniture.
People have now got less money for nice furniture and it is a shame to waste good old pieces
made of lovely wood, good craftmanship and for a fraction of the price. Environmentally
friendly too as they don't end up down the landfill. You can choose your own colour and style,
create your own heirloom.
You can buy from specialist auctions or privately. If at an auction, stick to a limit! There are
other places too like, Gumtree, eBay, local Facebook groups, car boots. The nicest furniture are
heirlooms.
What to look for in a new project? Inspiration from magazines, social media, Pinterest, TV
programmes, piece of old fabric. Felicitations Vintage Furniture were even mentioned in Period
Living magazine.
If you are thinking about doing it, start small. Don't start with a sideboard but a chair or small
table.
Before you buy, there are some things to think about. Avoid dark wood, light wood is easier to
paint. Avoid lacquer, varnish is easier to remove. Be discerning and check it over e.g. chair
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joints still work. Make sure drawers work well. Woodworm is treatable if old. You will notice
fresh fine powdery blonde dust that can be treated with treatment.
Techniques to use depends on the piece. Sometimes items just need a clean and polish.
Rustins scratch cover works well on scratches (not ringmarks) and comes in different colours.
Sand tops down to remove the marks till it shows the grain again and the. Use Briwax to bring
the grain out.
Painted furniture is still popular and sometimes pieces are too far for anything else but a paint
job. Use earthborn clay paint which is environmentally friendly and children and pet safe.
Good to touch up as soft and cover with wax. Prep = sand down first for a smooth base.
Undercoat with acrylic or anti-bleed paint (Rustins) 2 coats. Dries very quickly. Touch up with
third coat. Let it dry thoroughly. Use roller for long strokes, sponge to get in cracks and smaller
brush to touch up and for corners. When dry, apply a finish. Sand lightly (180 grade) for a
smooth finish. Can do a base and top coat in different colours. When you sand the colours
come through. Wax final thing, use Briwax when runny. Apply with j-cloth or light cloth. Work
into furniture, small squares at a time. Leave to set for a couple of hours and then buff it up.
More wax on is more durable but hard work.
You can acid dip furniture to remove all paint if needed as repainted so many times.
Other finishes to make unique include: stencilling, crackle glaze (makes it look aged),
decoupage (using pvc glue)
Chairs are easy as you can pop in new seat covers and recover them easily. Just go over
existing fabric and use staple gun. Buy fire-retardant calico (if old). Needed by law to be fireretardant.
Ali runs workshops and offers paint and starter kits. They can also do commissions and repair
pieces/paint and wax pieces. Open Friday-Sunday showroom. They sell a lot of furniture on
eBay so can view in showroom before you buy.
Notes agreed to be accurate account of meeting
Signed:
Date:
Name/Position: Julie Taylor, President
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