Project: Covid Cubby
Client: Two Wide Eyed Daughters with Money
Category: Hands On
Time: 2020
I knew that getting a nail gun and drop saw for Father’s Day from my two young daughters (paid for by me) came with consequences.
“We want a cubby”!” Excited, I put my architect’s hat on and designed a space-age cubby made from pvc pipe and corflute – for some reason the sketch still pulls at me. I think it’s the Utopian simplicity of it all, I still have the sketch on my office wall.
But talk about tough clients. They hated it!
“Bub (that’s my moniker), we don’t want that architect stuff, we want a cubby like in House on the Prairie - with a loft”
“Well girls”, in preparation for a dissuading argument I’ve used so many times on clients, “This cubby idea, the way you want it, it’s going to cost quite a bit of money and you know, who’s going to pay for that?”
“We will!”, as they plonked about $2000 on the table as if they were cartel members who’d cashed in on a deal.
Before Covid, a Netherland Dwarf/Mini Lop rabbit cross was fetching $30 on Gumtree. All of a sudden everyone wanted one and my girls were selling rabbit babies for $120 – and there was no shortage of supply! So, over the first year of Covid they had amassed a small fortune.
Of course, as a home-schooling parent, the girls value-managed the budget and provided much of the labour (supervised by Mrs Bub).
The Covid Cubby sits pride of place in our backyard and has weathered well. The cubby is representative of a Gold Rush era where rabbits were gold and opulence unrestricted.
I still like my original design…grandkids maybe.
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