Competition

Did y’all miss me? I was sick with Tonsillitis, ’tis a scourge…

The real scourge was the lack of the new competition though, amirite?

Sooooo, NEW competition for you guys 🙂

This fabbo Wine Holder is up for grabs. The cantilever design is as clever as it is cool.

Impress your friends! Make your enemies want to wage war on your truly epic taste in design. 

Want it? Yeah we know you do!

So pop on over to our Facebook page and enter.

Leave a comment saying you saw this on WordPress for an extra entry 😉

 

Click it….click it nowwww….

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bamboo-Suppliers-of-Ireland/346153835403030

 

This competition has been brought to you by the words Christmas Present and Bamboo. Get in!

Beauty of the Bamboo Bridge

Bamboo bridges are not only structurally fantastic pieces of work, they are without doubt the most beautiful works of bamboo art on a grand scale. Take for example the Bamboo Cane Bridge, Village Kabua, Republic of Congo, a wire and bamboo cane bride spanning the river. Built for a practical reason, but extremely beautiful in it’s simplicity. It is obviously built as a passageway for locals to get across the river, the use of bamboo means it’s sustainable and can be easily fixed by everyone over time.

Bamboo Cane Bridge, Village Kabua, Republic of Congo

Sometimes a river just isn’t enough to show off your bamboo, this next bridge I found is also a thing of beauty. Built in Indonesia to cross this fast running piece of water it affords a wonderful view of the waterfall as well as the rapids beneath. It is constructed in a simple yet sturdy fashion: the emphasis is on the wicker style flooring with bamboo slats interwoven over each other. The sides poles are really long, single pieces of  bamboo. I don’t know about you, but I love it.

Cinulang Waterfall, Indonesia

From the simply beautiful to the simply amazing. This bridge by Iwaki Kazuya is called “Lachiku” is in Toyko. It is a visual treat or nightmare depending on your constitution 🙂 and made of 300 Moso bamboo poles . I think it shows the versatility of bamboo as an art material as well as a practical one. This bridge is very modern and definitely built for those with a sense of fun and adventure.

Bamboo bridge, Lachiku, Toyko, Japan

And from the simply amazing to the not-so-simply breathtaking. This bamboo bridge in Manila shows what you can do if you can whittle and have a day or two to yourself ;p . It can be found in the Chinese Gardens in Rizal, Manila. It is more aesthetically pleasing than practical, though it is definitely a bridge to all intents and purposes. If I had a bridge like this I would use it as a throne, that is all that needs to be said about it 🙂

Bamboo bridge, Chinese Gardens, Rizal, Manila

Wrapping up this little blog today we have my favourite image of a bamboo bridge. Four people and their trusty steeds on the way home from a days work, the sun setting in the background and the peace and quiet reigning all around.

Crossing a bamboo bridge on the way home.

If you want to build your own bamboo bridge, contact us at http://www.bamboosuppliers.ie/

Related articles

• Bamboo Star Festival (bamboosuppliersofireland.wordpress.com)
• Temporary bamboo bridge replaces tourist attraction in Thailand (treehugger.com)

Pet Friendly Bamboo

Recently we embarked on a new bamboo project: Pet toys, runs and houses.

Having first hand seen how easily a gerbil can eat a plastic gerbil house, I was wondering how easy it would be for them to take on a bamboo house. Krzys made one up on a whim, what do you think?

Look how surprised this mouse was at what happened next 😮

Once we got started these kinda happened:

 

Then we just got carried away altogether:

 

We’ve created a range of useful toys, feeding/water dishes and hidey holes. they range from small animal toys above to reptile and bird pieces below. We can provide longer snake poles on request.

    

We decided that you could get the items above individually made to order or you could go for a bit of pot luck in one of our Assorted Unfinished Bamboo Packs. They are the same pieces as above they just haven’t been cleaned out and sanded down. For anyone really interested in doing stuff for their pets this is a small easy project to complete, you just need a piece of sandpaper and a little time. You can choose from 3, 4 or 5 piece packs. Each pack contains 3, 4 or 5 different pieces with pieces increasing in size in the larger packs.

Shauna of Shauna’s Petshop has been testing out some bamboo for us in a variety of interesting places. We’ll have some pictures from her soonsoon.

10 Greatest Uses for Bamboo

10 of them. Here. Now. You’re not going to bamboo this.

Construction

1. Bamboo is used far and wide in the East as scaffolding. Though this fact is well known, in China they can legally only build up to 6 stories with it, however did you know that  in Hong Kong they build waaayyyy past that, I think I can see 20 stories in this one:

2. Bamboo is used to make houses and schools around the world. A green school made entirely from bamboo was built in Bali in 2006 to encourage understanding in sustainability and growth in children as well as to show the world at large what can be created with sustainable materials.

3. Bamboo considered a great material in building roads and bridges. The structural properties of bamboo are such that is can hold more weight than wood. Used as a reinforcement in roads in India, it is used instead of wire reinforcement that we use here in the West. Bridges built from bamboo are structurally very sound as well as being extraordinary beautiful:

Here’s one we made ourselves:

Culinary Arts

4. Parts of the bamboo are used in cooking. Bamboo shoots contain a toxin that is creates cyanide in the body, they have to be boiled to get rid of the toxins to make them suitable for human consumption.

5. You can make beer from Bamboo.

Yes, beer! It is made from a combination of hops and bamboo leaf extract. Apparently it  is characterized by

1. Typical aroma of bamboo leaves as well as a refreshing and mellow taste
2. Abundant in bio – flavonoids and better activities of anti-free radicals and anti-oxidation; and
3. Excellent storage stability and lower re-ascend of diacetyl.

Therefore, bamboo beer is a kind of high -quality healthy beer, which can help lower blood-lipid when consumed frequently.

If anyone fancies trying to make it let us know and we’ll happily test it for you 😀

Transport

6. Bamboo Bicycles. Bamboo bicycles are pretty brilliant it has to be said. The bamboo has to be cured by smoking and/or heating to strengthen it even further and then it can be cut and made into bicycle frames. The first bamboo bicycle was shown in 1894, with the frame made of bamboo and metal. Modern frames are entirely bamboo with resin sealed joints. 

7. Bamboo Skateboards. If you thought the bicycle was cool then what about Bamboo Skateboards? Bamboo has a high elasticity and so you get more rebound, basically you’re getting more pop for your money.

If you’re really interested in skateboarding check out Touched Longboards and talk to Jeff who gets awesome bamboo ply from us for some of his spectacular boards.

Art & Music

8. Bamboo Paper originated in China 1,800 years ago and is considered one of china’s four greatest inventions (the other’s being ginpowder, printing and the compass). Bamboo is still used to make paper in the East and as a sustainable resource it far exceeds that production of wood paper that we use in the West. The Bamboo is shredded then pulped and placed on trays to allow the water to drain off, it is then hung to dry. 

9. Bamboo instruments have been around forever we imagine. From bamboo flutes to bamboo slit drums, with xylophones, jaw harps, panpipes, guitars and even ukuleles in between. Bamboo is a versatile materials both in it’s raw and processed forms.

Sport & Recreation

10. Bamboo Archery Bows. Bows made from bamboo, like the skateboard mentioned before, have a high elasticity and good rebound. They are slender and weigh very little and as well as looking good they can shoot particularly good distances.

From For those in the know:  A ladies Tonkin bow of 33lbs at 26″ gave a point of aim on the boss at 80yards. This bow also recently out-shot the Gents’ Clout distance (180 yards) by shooting 210 yards (Source: Bamboo Longbows)

 

Well they were some bamboo uses we really liked, feel free to post some of yours in the comments section.

Also check out our bamboo projects on www.bamboosuppliers.ie

How to Clean Bamboo

Is your bamboo fence looking tired? What about that lovely bamboo patio set? This is the time of year to look it over and fix it up. Sunshine and rain tend to weather bamboo making it look old and tired. Once you tackle it your bamboo will come back looking like new.

Firstly clear away all debris from your fence and check it over. Did you find discolouration? Well worry not, read through these cleaning tips to see if they can be brought back to life:

Firstly you need:

• warm water
• detergent (laundry detergent will do)
• possibly some bleach
• a power hose or a medium nylon brush for scrubbing

 

And the work begins:

• Power hose your bamboo with warm water and a little detergent mix. We recommend using a liquid laundry detergent at about a 1part detergent to 10 parts water
• To manually wash: mix detergent 1 part to 10 parts water also and use a medium bristle brush.
• Always wash out of direct sunlight, though that’s hardly a problem in Ireland at the minute 😀
• If you have mildew on your bamboo you might want to add a bleach product to kill off the micro-organisms. We recommend adding about 2 parts bleach to the mix for this.
• If the mildew is deep into the bamboo you can sand it lightly, but remember you can ONLY SAND bamboo when it it DRY. Sanding wet bamboo will shred the fibres!
• Rinse down your bamboo after cleaning
• Allow to fully dry
• Apply a good oil or wax to seal up your bamboo
• You now have a brand new looking fence or patio set

Remember to store your bamboo furniture out of the winter weather as much as possible.

Your fencing will be fine as it is not moved around as much, so it won’t be susceptible to the knocks tables and chairs tend to get. Just make sure to keep leaf and or garden debris from collecting at the fence as it may encourage mildew and keep the bamboo damp.

Playstuff for Playforce UK

So we mentioned Educational Toys a couple of weeks back, didn’t we? 🙂

Well, work has been under way this week to complete an order for Playforce UK, it’s quite large as you can see. Krzysztof has been working his little fingers to the bone between cutting, sanding and waxing.

Poles cut ready for splitting

Split poles ready to be cleaned

Ready for sanding into shape

Poles packed up and ready to go

And what are they exactly, I gather at least one of you is asking :p, Well have a look:

Natural Channelling Set

Fun, film sets & festivals

Marty is a bit of a social animal, never wants to be in the office, always out looking for the next fun thing to do (yeah, yeah, I’ll pay for that tomorrow 😀 ). However, to his credit, he’s put up our bamboo in some great places and at major events and to fantastic effect too. Here’s a small gallery of festivals, film sets and fun showing what has been made from the materials we provide:

MONKEYS!!!! Dublin Zoo

Pirates Village Liffey Valley 2013

Pirates Village Dundrum 2012

“Wild” film set 2013

 

“Wild” film set 2013

Bloom 2012 set up
Click the picture to see Marty’s video at Bloom 2012

Mandala with Bamboo surround @ Electric Picnic 2013

Electric Picnic 2013

Body & Soul 2012

Body & Soul 2012

Electric Picnic 2011

Electric Picnic 2011

How close was that?

 

 

Did you also wake up this morning and panic at the thought of only having 1406 hours and 52 minutes to do your Christmas shopping, only to realise that the clocks went back and now you actually have 1407 hours and 52 mins?

These are the things that are sent to try us I think ;-D

Bamboo Star Festival

Every year the Japanese hold the Bamboo Star Festival (Tanabata) which celebrates the meeting of the deities.  It originated from a Chinese folk legend concerning two stars-the Weaver Star (Vega) and the Cowherd Star (Altair)-who were said to be lovers who could meet only once a year on the 7th night of the 7th month provided it didn’t rain and flood the Milky Way. It was named Tanabata after a weaving maiden from a Japanese legend, named Orihime who was believed to make clothes for the gods.

 

 

It’s a spectacular display of bamboo carving and candles laid out throughout the countryside to depict the stars of the Milkyway.

 

One of the stories about the history of the night which I particularly like:

Orihime (織姫 Weaving Princess^?), daughter of the Tentei (天帝 Sky King, or the universe itself^?), wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the Amanogawa (天の川Milky Way, lit. “heavenly river”^?). Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard every day to weave it. However, Orihime was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tentei arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (彦星 Cow Herder Star^?) (also referred to as Kengyuu (牽牛^?)) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa. When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and married shortly thereafter. However, once married, Orihime no longer would weave cloth for Tentei and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven.

In anger, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa and forbade them to meet. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tentei was moved by his daughter’s tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if she worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet, however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. It is said that if it rains on Tanabata, the magpies cannot come and the two lovers must wait until another year to meet.

People often write wishes and romantic aspirations on long, narrow strips of coloured paper and hang them on bamboo branches along with other small ornaments. They are then set afloat on the river and burned after the festival

Related articles

• Wishing on Tanabata – for a Dry Night and More (mangosalute.com)

Educational Toys

We have designed a series of educational toys for play schools, crèches and early start programs that focus on the developing skills of young children. With maximising utility and adaptability in mind, while taking into account limited budgets and the high standard of toys required, we created both indoor and outdoor toys for children between the ages of 1 and 6.

The Playschool Collection encourages fine motor skill development, independent decision making, hand-eye co-ordination on an individual basis. Toys from it also foster teamwork, group decision making and imaginative play.

Bamboo Wire Run

With the dual purpose of hand-eye co-ordination for young children and learning to count for older children, this wire run is a fun way to learn for a variety of ages. Suitable for 18 months+.

Click here for website

Light Mindworks 

A challenging puzzle for pre-school requiring a range of motor and decision making skills. Children have to stack the bamboo pieces around the pot in the correct order to complete the puzzle.

Click here for website

Open Ended Play Set

A selection of 18 open and closed bamboo pieces suitable for ages 3 upwards to encourage imaginative play.

Click here for website

Water & Ball Bamboo Play System

This fun and exciting new system from Bamboo Suppliers of Ireland creates a wide range of learning opportunities for young children. We have designed a fully interactive experience in which children can use water or balls, depending on pieces selected, to navigate through suspended bamboo chutes, hollow poles and baskets.

Each part of the system can be purchased separately to facilitate budgets as well as providing a unique design for your pre-school. The entire system in transportable, can be arranged in multiple configurations for multiple purposes.

Please contact us to discuss the system you require, if you have an idea of the space allocation for the design we can work quickly with you to create your system.