I'm All About The Base

This is a feature of the time I did my heaviest project ever…

The end goal was to have a rustic-looking concrete coffee table base and this was surely something out of my comfort zone. I took on this project with lots of fears and doubts but hey, you don’t try you never know.

Phase one: Mould Construction
I had the entire mould construction process planned out in my mind and to me, there was nothing that could go wrong. I had everything I needed and walked through the process in my head one last time before I began.
In theory everything seems great but in reality, that’s not always the case. I had to detach and reattach the mould about 4 times before I was finally satisfied with the outcome and thanks to the help of some of my friends who were present in the studio, their suggestions helped a great deal.

Phase two: Concrete Casting
Again I had everything planned out in my mind and nothing could go wrong and I was so hopeful…but…
I forgot to factor in how labour intensive it was going to be to stir concrete and I never knew how time-consuming it was to mix so much concrete with my own hands.
In any case, the worse was yet to come. As I poured the concrete into the mould, I could see the mould slowly coming apart and I had to do quite a bit of rescue work midway and I made masking tape my best friend that night. I just went round taping wherever there were holes and at one point I was struggling a little to hold everything together! It’s kind of funny how I managed to pull it off, it was really an emotional rollercoaster for me with so much to worry and panic for. But that’s how I learn best.

Phase three: The Reveal
I had some trouble removing the inner mould and for a split second I asked myself whether I could hand over the project with the inner mould intact. I mean… no one’s gonna see it once everything is installed but that would be shitty workmanship. In the end, I managed to remove it with sheer will and the help of some friends (thanks for being there in times of need).

Overall, this was a really fun experience for me. I gained a better understanding on how to work with concrete on a larger scale and what to look out for. I’ve also learnt to take on challenges face on and that fear is something created in our own minds.

P.S please keep projects like that coming for me!