Lino Love with Betty Jo Designs - Lino Revival

Today is your last chance to leave a comment and go into the draw to win one of Liz Jones' customised cuckoo clocks similar to this one! You have until 10pm, and the winner will be announced tomorrow! While you're waiting for the winner to be drawn, head over to the Nicholas Building for the Pop-up Studio sale and meet Liz in real life [all the details are here!] - Jenny x

Vintage Linoleum is becoming harder to find as more home owners decide to pull up their old floor coverings and polish their floorboards or replace them with newer products. As much as I love the idea of a whole house with original Linoleum floors, it is often not practical. Time takes its toll, and most of the classic old lino is too worn to retain.

That’s where I like to step in and go into rescue mode (after assessing the safety and potential of the linoleum.) I took some photos of the vintage Lino in the pre- renovated Ballarat house of Haylee Hartley and Marcia King (co-owner of Red Brick Gallery) before I helped pull some of it up. After a good clean it has been transformed into some Betty Jo products.

While home owners usually send the old lino to the tip some want to keep a remnant to re-purpose as a memento. Lino pieces can make beautiful framed artwork. Tracey Burman acquired these pieces from her Great Nanna’s house that was just weeks away from being demolished.

Framing salvaged linoleum has also been done beautifully here and here.

About 100 years of colourful flooring material was taken up from the kitchen of Thomas Mouland House in Newfoundland. While most of it was damaged, scraps were repurposed to create this totally gorgeous staircase by Cape Race Cultural Adventures.

I am regularly given piles of lino from house renovations and I love making a keepsake for the homeowner.

Sugar Skull Clock made from donated Clifton Hill lino.

Brooches made from donated Gundagai lino.