Business consultant, specialist in marketing and social media, university lecturer but always very artistic, suddenly I found myself an almost full time carer for my mum so I started buying and refreshing little tables.
In truth I really didn’t intend to start a little tables business but the more I found little tables and bought them and then painted them inevitably the more I had. So when the shed got too full I had to recognise that by default I had the makings of a business whether I’d planned it or not! I also found a lot of interest in them from local shops so I knew I was going in the right direction.
Why little tables ?
Well … little tables were practical – I could fit a lot in a small car – I could put newspaper over the dining table and work on them indoors – they weren’t going to be too heavy to carry around – they wouldn’t take up much space in shops.
From a sales perspective – everyone needs a little table somewhere in their house and most people are bored with their nests of tables and plain wooden tables so there is definitely a market for them.
I only buy solid wood tables free of any woodworm. They may be slightly knocked in places but that’s all part of their charm. I usually paint them using Annie Sloan chalk paints but sometimes I just use dark wax on them to bring out all the grain in the wood – it depends on the style of the table. Some tables have a pattern worked on the top either in paint or burned on; some are painted throughout, some are only painted on the top. I have tremendous fun deciding what colours to use and where to paint them. I never paint an antique table I either don’t buy it or a I clean it up and sell it as it is.
I do a lot of work on commission so get in touch if you’re in East Devon and have a lovely piece of wooden furniture that needs to be rejuvenated !