When Sally Bourne Interiors, a posh shop in Muswell Hill, London, decided to paint a few firewood logs for their Christmas window display, they had no idea they were actually creating the latest decor trend that would sell out in just a few days’ time. Believe it or not, they ended up selling about 60 logs of painted wood at £10 ($14) apiece!
“They were used as a window display over the Christmas period, but then we got lots of people asking if they could buy them when that finished,” the store manager said. “We didn’t want to throw them away so we decided to sell them as people thought they could make stools and side tables out of them. We had about 50 or 60 logs in total and most of them were the large ones, which were a good 50cm circumference.”
The logs were apparently sold out last Thursday, with the last one going at a whopping £30 ($40).
Photo: Twitter/JamieCricht0n
According to the manager, Sally Bourne Interiors employees had gathered unwanted logs free of cost from a park nearby. “Then someone got rid of the creepy crawlies and painted and prepared them for the store,” he said. The sides of the logs were painted in bright colors like yellow and pink, which seems to have caught the attention of shoppers.
It was meant to be a one-off project, but seeing the demand the painted logs generated, the store might be bringing them back in the future. “We haven’t had any negative response at all,” the manager said. “We may even hold a tutorial on how to do your own one.”
Not everyone was amused by the idea, of course – a photograph of the colorful logs with price tags attracted lots of snarky tweets and comments. “Seriously, who is that dumb to pay that much for a log?” asked Ian Meade, a designer from Barnsley.
Photo: Sally Bourne Interiors
“Mad World!” wrote Marcia Hearne, from Herefordshire. “Better take insurance on my basket of (unpainted) logs! Was just going to burn them but maybe I should put them in a safe!”
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” added Jenny Lee. “If you really want a painted log you could just get one from a field and paint it yourself.”
Robert Gummer, a passerby in the affluent London neighborhood, said: “This is like selling ice to Eskimos. But there are plenty of poor saps around here who will happily buy painted wood.”
(losgs in the Christmas display) Photo: Sally Bourne Interiors
But there were a few people who spoke out in support of the trend. Ajyahan Muuammetnuroua, from Muswell Hill, said: “I think it is reasonable because if you think about it, people will pay a lot for that natural look – a lot of people want that organic style. I know it’s just wood but people want that whole natural look in their homes so I do think it’s reasonable.”
Others just made fun of the store and the people who bought the logs. “But aren’t they too darling for words!” one person joked, while another said: “Middle one has no paint… you want a couple of quid knocking off that one.”
Photo: Google Street View
Spending money on firewood logs is crazy, but we’ve seen sillier trends in the past. Remember Gary Ross Dahl, the man who made millions just selling rocks as pets? And let’s not forget this Texas entrepreneur actually made up to $10,000 a month sending people messages scribbled on potatoes. As one Twitter user pointed out, it appears that “the world has gone stark raving bonkers.”
