The second part of my shoe room post (after accidentally deleting it) on The Shoe Girl Diaries is coming (I promise). The room is taking longer to put together than I thought it would (which is quite discouraging) and is constantly changing, making it that bit harder. Between the work involved and my poor health, it's tiny bits at a time and you just get into it when it's time to stop. With new buys, I've had to rearrange previously completed sections, so yeah, it's a constant work in progress. I did have all my special character heels in one unit (though they've since outgrown this), with the heels facing outwards, but these Irregular Choice 'Glissade' just weren't quite right. They were lost and not shown off to their best, so I'd been on the look-out for something better for them.
I decided to order a light up display box from Ikea (Synas £25). It's made from sturdy clear perspex, 24cm square, which I hoped would fit my shoes and the base lights up.
Don't be alarmed when you see the box it comes in, it's only an inch or two deep, but the sides are all packed flat and you slot them into one another easily. You then push those 4 sides into a channel in the base and there's a clear lid to pop on top. It comes wired up with a plug and there's even an on/off switch on the lead. The lights are LED with thousands of hours lifespan.
These shoes are a size 6/39 and I found I could have them together sitting straight on or sideways or slightly diagonally (I prefer the latter), without them looking squished in. They do have a big platform and heel, so it was more the height that was a worry for me, but again they are a perfect fit.
Of course, they look even more amazing in the dark with the base lit up. The shoe almost disappears aside from the lone ballerinas, poised in their carved perspex casing. A recognisable silhouette, balancing above the light, but surrounded by darkness. Almost haunting.
Suffice to say the Synas is absolutely perfect for these shoes. I no longer fear someone picking them up or knocking them over and breaking them and from a practical perspective, they are encased and closed off to dust, win! The cable is 2m long, but I have an accessible plug point in the room, next to my Kallax unit, which is where the box will sit. They can also be stacked on top of each other or I've seen people take off the lids and turn one upside down on top of another to display a taller doll or figure inside the two boxes. My mind races with what else I could use these for to be honest! I'd highly recommend them if you are looking for an eye-catching, interesting way to display a special pair of shoes. The whole light box thing reminds me of possibly one of the cheesiest Boyzone music videos ever, Father and Son. Now you've seen that, you can't un-see it can you? I still have no explanation as to why they're all wearing long-johns. One of the great boyband mysteries!
OOoh, isn't this lovely, especially that last picture in the dark!!! A very special box for some very special shoes!x
ReplyDeleteI forgot I made a video too of the ballerinas twirling in the dark, must put it up on YouTube when I have time.
DeleteI think this is a great solution to the storage problem for some of the more special shoes. Until this week when the shelves have been put up, I'd always just kept all of my pairs in their boxes but now I've emptied about a third of my boxes onto the shelves. I have most of my "most special" pairs out on there although I also have a glass display cabinet to build and I'm kind of wondering whether I should store some of my favourite pairs there.
ReplyDeleteI've put glass doors on two of my cabinets and kept what I call the undustables in there. Things like glitter, suede and some of the more intricate fabric ones. The jelly shoes etc are easy to clean, so I'm not too concerned about those getting dusty. It's tricky to find that ground between wanting everything out, looking pretty where you can see them, but being practical and realising they are going to collect dust and be difficult to clean.
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