Map Memories – Gecko Designs

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Tim Floyd

South Downs Way Cycle Route

Really useful maps, routes and information for the South Downs Way Cycle Route plus some great ideas. Whilst researching I found lots of references, maps, links and information that would be really useful to anyone looking at having a go at cycling the South Downs Way. These include a South Downs Way Map as well as information about a hardcore 1 day planned charity south downs way cycle challenge for 2018 from The BHF British Heart Foundation. Additional links for this are at the bottom of the page.

I was looking for maps I could use for a personalised mountain bike picture for a friend who was planning an adventure to complete the South Downs Way cycle route on a mountain bike. Many people walk it but doing it on a mountain bike is also an option. Most cyclists take 2-4 days to cover the 100 or so miles from Winchester to Eastbourne (you can do it the other way around but many agree that cycling towards the sea rather than away is the better option.) There are other nutters though that aim to do it in just one day. If this is of interest look at this review of how tough the BHF one day challenge really is.

The mainly off-road mountain bike route follows the escarpments and ridges of the South Downs through Hampshire and Sussex with some breathtaking views along the way. The south Downs Way cycle route follows the ancient chalk ridge of the South Downs from Winchester to Eastbourne and the elevated position makes for some stunning views over the Weald to the North and the English Channel to the south. Ancient monuments, nature reserves, sites of special scientific interest and picturesque towns and villages are all there for you to see. The route is shown by blue, plum and red arrows.

Useful Links:

https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/sites/default/files/sdw_mtb-guide_2015a.pdf

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/south-downs-way

https://www.cyclinguk.org/cycle/great-rides-chalk

http://www.bikedowns.co.uk/

https://www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/events/bike-rides/south-downs-way-off-road-bike-ride

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bhf-south-downs-way-100-how-tough/

http://www.trailbreak.co.uk/south-downs-century/

http://www.cxsportive.com/cx-century-the-south-downs-way/

Posted on June 27, 2017June 27, 2017 by Tim Floyd

Pecage and Pecage Art

What is Pecage and Pecage Art?

Whenever customers visit my market stall they have the benefit of seeing my pictures first hand, inspecting the precision bevel cut mount designs, the quilted fabrics, quality solid wood frames and generally ‘getting it’! See my tips below on how to use Pecage to create that perfect gift.

The most common comments are “simple but effective”, “I’ve not seen this before”, “this is completely new and unique”. A regular question then is “What do you call it?”

Although certain techniques I use have been used before they have not been combined in the unique way I do it and to be honest I did not know how to answer the question “What do you call it?” So I racked my brains, considered all the elements involved in making my pictures and all the benefits they offer, options available, personalisation, and feedback from regular customers and I now have an answer to the question.

It is called Pecage.

Now the …age bit on the end you will recognise from words like collage and decollage, French arty farty stuff, – but the Pec… bit nominally stands for Personalised Elemental Creation. Hence Pecage or Pecage Art. The hashtag is just #pecage.

So there you have it. Pecage is your personalised creation made up of elements that you can choose. As an engineer by trade I like #pecage because it is short, simple and easy to understand. Remember the most regular comment I get is “simple but effective”? Well any engineer will tell you that it takes a lot of design, development, work and effort to make something look and work simply whilst the ducks in the background are peddling furiously!

Pecage gives you a series of options. I try my best to create great matches of design, adding character with vibrant fabrics, and mounted in simple but true solid wood frames and lots of customers love the mixes I produce. However, if I don’t quite get it right for you simply invoke the #pecage philosophy and create your own mix of design, fabric, maps, personalisation and framing options.

Here are some tips and some blogs that might help you find that perfect gift:

5 Secrets to finding the perfect gift for someone special

A Personalised Picture makes the Perfect Gift

Birthday Presents for Her – Gift Ideas for her Birthday

Birthday Presents for Men – Unusual gifts he will love

Mens Gift Ideas

Presents for Men

Presents for Mum

Engagement Present Ideas

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Tim Floyd

Silhouette Art from Gecko Designs

Silhouette Art from Gecko Designs. Cut Out art has many forms but for us the focus is to create unique and exclusive mount cut out art backed by our own formula of padded fabric that exploits the perspective effects of the cut mount giving your chosen cut out art both a contemporary and traditional look.

All of our cut out art is framed in real wood frames, either antique pine or white wood, and we try, where we can, to stick to our roots (no pun intended!) and create artwork that appeals to all who love the countryside, rural retreats and also, of course, those who actually live outside our cities and urban environments.

We have a wide selection of fabrics that we have chosen to back our mount cut outs and although there are some combinations we, and many of our customers, prefer, the actual choice of which fabric you choose is entirely up to you. But keep an eye on our bestsellers if you are struggling for ideas. If you absolutely insist, and we have done it, we can make up very personal art using fabric you supply using the same principles we use for all of our fabric backed cut out art products.

We also offer Map Memories, with maps behind any of our own cut outs. Typical reasons our customers select our map memories cut outs include remembering or celebrating where people come from, where they are going, where they met, where they did anything to be honest!

Gecko Designs Map Memories cut out art is ideal for house warming presents, weddings, anniversaries, engagements and almost any occasion where location has become personal to the person giving or receiving the map memory gift. Our most popular cutouts for map memories are the heart, double heart, oak tree and lovebirds but we have had customers choosing cats, monkeys and geckos! Whatever floats your boat! Oh we have those too!

So if you are looking for that unique gift or are buying for your own home decoration project then look no further than Gecko Designs. If there is not an option clearly available on our lovely website that you really really need then just drop us a or give us a call and we will of course do all we can to help you create that personal, unique and exclusive gift or wall decoration.

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Site Default

Gifts Dorchester

Gifts Dorchester.

Looking for gifts in Dorchester, Dorset’s lovely small county town? Look no further as we have exclusive and unique cut out art perfect for gifts and of course for your own home.

We live here too and having spoken to many local people, residents, visitors and the like we have come to learn that rural, country style, real wood and unique are words that are most often used when looking for gifts in Dorchester.

Gecko Designs, based in Stratton, are pleased to be able to offer unique and exclusive cut out art for special and everyday gift occasions. If you are searching for Gifts Dorchester we aim to please. We have a market stall in the main street Cornhill, just at the top of South Street in Dorchester. Our market stall location moves a bit from day to day but usually we are near Boots, Costa Coffee, Seasalt – somewhere about there! We are there most days but definitely Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and throughout the summer some other days too – but definitely NOT Sundays!

You will not find our products anywhere else, apart from our website and most of what we have on display on the stall is unique, sometimes one offs and this is where we showcase and introduce all of our new designs for the first time so you could come along and buy something we might never make again.

We would love to meet you, show you our designs and talk with you about how we can make it special for your gift for someone else, or even better a gift for yourself!

We do understand though that many of our viewers, and stall visitors for that matter, see us once and then cannot get back to Dorchester to discuss their unique gift plans. No problem, just contact us via this website or give us a call on the number at the top of every page of this website.

We take orders via our online shop http://geckodesigns.co/ and we ship all over the UK for a small fee for postage and packing. If you are local, that is Weymouth/Dorchester or not too far away, we are happy to deliver to you for cash on delivery. You can select this option at checkout on the shop if you prefer.

So come along, get buying gifts Dorchester, for birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, weddings, christmas, housewarming – almost anything really. We are here to help.

Elaine

Posted on July 31, 2015July 31, 2015 by Site Default

Bertie and Jack – That is not Us

Bertie and Jack – Who are they? Some of our customers mention, when visiting the stall, that they have seen something similar, but thankfully not as interesting to them, when visiting Bath, for example.

What they have probably seen is Bertie and Jack which is a cut out company offering paper backed cut out art in contemporary white and black mdf frames which seems popular with city dwellers but does not really appeal to the countryside and rural lovers that frequent the Dorset Netherlands. And in most cases these customers have been put off by Bertie and Jack prices and are very happy when they see ours.

We are completely different from them. We need to make that completely clear. The cut out mount designs are our own for a start, and we use quality padded fabric in our cut out art which is a completely unique formula in the UK. Also, as a nod to my late father who was a carpenter, and with respect to our countryside surroundings, we use only real wooden frames for our cut out artwork.

Gecko Designs is the only company offering this exclusive combination of mount cutouts and padded fabric and we pride ourselves on providing something that our countryside lovers really enjoy. We also offer some lovely fabric based landscape art of Stags in the Wild and Country Wildlife, and as a reference to our seaside location (ie the South Coast) we have a very popular range of fabric based Beach Hut landscapes. Now, you don’t have to live in Dorset to get your hands on our lovely stuff, any country dweller, and also those city dwellers that have a love of the rural, can order online at our Gecko Designs Shop and we will make your personalised, unique and exclusive cut out art or map memory as soon as we can and send it along to you.

We do not carry stock as everything is made for you and we always check we have got it right before sending it out too.

So forget about Bertie and Jack and look to Gecko Designs to create your gift or home decoration.

Posted on July 31, 2015July 31, 2015 by Site Default

Cut Out Art from Gecko Designs

Cut Out Art from Gecko Designs. Cut Out art has many forms but for us the focus is to create unique and exclusive mount cut out art backed by our own formula of padded fabric that exploits the perspective effects of the cut mount giving your chosen cut out art both a contemporary and traditional look.