:: Rad People :: Crystal Thomas

Crystal Thomas. See. She sounds rad already, right?  Well of course she is.  And don’t think of Crystal Gayle when you say her name, because I am thinking she is NOTHING like Crystal Gayle.  If Crystal Gayle was cute and clever and knew how to get her hands dirty you might be on to something.  But Crystal Gayle is probably none of those things. Crystal Thomas LIVES those things.

Crystal is no floaty wishy-washy lady a la the OTHER Crystal.  For one, she would never wear her hair like that all too-long, centre parted wistfulness.  And for two, she would not want to be dubbed ‘Pretty Girl of the Week’.  Pretty as she is, she would most probably rather be a Rad People.  Far less hair care and doe-eyed bashfulness involved.

Crystal Thomas bought this bus.  It’s a double decker Leyland bus.  It is very.. um… beautifully decaying and Crystal and her family (of six siblings, parents and other helpful types) have been restoring and reinventing this bus for approximately 68 days now.  The bus doesn’t ‘go’ : it has no motor or transmission, so it’s destined to become the world’s cutest cubby.  I  mean holiday home.  It’s actually WAY better than a cubby, because it’s having a complete refit to make it fresh and modern and beautiful.  Every bit of mossy clumpiness is being lovingly (or a bit crossly at times I would imagine) sloughed off, ready for many licks of paint between picnics and cartwheels and other fun, exhausting times.

Crystal has a natural affinity for seeing the beauty in things, methinks.  A bit of an eye for transformation, for sure.  She’s worked with Top of the Creative Pops people like David Bromley and Suzy Hoodless, and now she’s combining her down to earth Bacchus Marsh roots with her interior obsessed outlook to make GOOD.  And look how good.  OMG.

The bus will be parked on a property down the coast, once finished.  Imagine how lovely it will be, waking up  in this bus, smelling of fresh paint and ply-wood and gum trees and seaside.  Imagine peeking through fresh curtains from a comfy, new bed to see streaming sunlight and wide open spaces and sunny skies.  Wow.  I feel like I’ve been on holidays already just THINKING ABOUT IT.  Imagine cooking sausages on a little stove inside, on a chilly night, with big glasses of wine… and playing records.  Yes.  I think records would be a good idea….

Thanks to Crystal for the photos (all cheekily lifted from her website, Double Decker Days.)  And thanks to Readymade (sob!) for the heads up about this Rad People and her Rad Project and her Rad Gang of Pizza Eating, Painting, Planking Pranksters.

xx your pal Pip