Upcycling
" Is it finished yet?"
Grandad Matthews was an antique restorer.
Damn good one at that.
As kids, we loved to visit his workshop in Kemp Town, Brighton after school.
He was well into his 80's when he retired.
Many of the pieces grandad worked on wound up in some extremely salubrious places.
High end antique shops in London and the US.. ...the latter via the American antique trade.
He specialised in hand painted chinoiserie.
Beautiful, beautiful work.
When I started teaching myself to paint and decorate furniture it was at the height of the extreme " shabby chic" look.
Heavily distressed paintwork.
Grandad was pleased I'd come into the business... as he said,
" Through the back door....."
but "shabby" completely confused him...his being a much more polished look.
"Is it finished yet?" he was heard to say more than once.
I hope Grandad would be happy with the way our work has evolved over the years.
It's a bit of a nod to his passion for chinoiserie.
We use decoupage and 19th early 20th century images...on a black green or red background..with a hint of gold...
and a finish that emulates in our humble way Grandad's extraordinary lacquerwork.
We take extremely down at heel furniture items and vintage buckets and pots and give them a new lease of life.
So now..I can hold my head up and say,
" Yes, Grandad..it's finished."
#upcycling
#kemptownbrighton
#Brighton
#decoupage #interiordesign #decorative #paintedfurniture #vintage
##antiquestore
Grandad Matthews was an antique restorer.
Damn good one at that.
As kids, we loved to visit his workshop in Kemp Town, Brighton after school.
He was well into his 80's when he retired.
Many of the pieces grandad worked on wound up in some extremely salubrious places.
High end antique shops in London and the US.. ...the latter via the American antique trade.
He specialised in hand painted chinoiserie.
Beautiful, beautiful work.
When I started teaching myself to paint and decorate furniture it was at the height of the extreme " shabby chic" look.
Heavily distressed paintwork.
Grandad was pleased I'd come into the business... as he said,
" Through the back door....."
but "shabby" completely confused him...his being a much more polished look.
"Is it finished yet?" he was heard to say more than once.
I hope Grandad would be happy with the way our work has evolved over the years.
It's a bit of a nod to his passion for chinoiserie.
We use decoupage and 19th early 20th century images...on a black green or red background..with a hint of gold...
and a finish that emulates in our humble way Grandad's extraordinary lacquerwork.
We take extremely down at heel furniture items and vintage buckets and pots and give them a new lease of life.
So now..I can hold my head up and say,
" Yes, Grandad..it's finished."
#upcycling
#kemptownbrighton
#Brighton
#decoupage #interiordesign #decorative #paintedfurniture #vintage
##antiquestore
