Arundel Eccentrics
Arundel Eccentrics
I was short on cash and found the shop difficult to finance...so..after a year rented a small barn on a farm in the nearby village of Binsted.
Set it up as a workshop / showroom.
By then I had a few US trade clients.
They loved visiting the farm.
It was like a secret no-one knew about...actually ..it WAS a secret no-one knew about.
Which led me take spaces in antique centres around Arundel, to show my collection.
The look of Arundel Eccentrics upcycled pieces is a take on the " Arte Povera " decoupage of the 18th century.
A lacquerwork finish.
A hint of gold.
18 th/19th century images.
It started on Victorian bamboo.
I thought it might work on chests of drawers... and decorated a large Georgian chest in need of TLC..with fish all over.
Nass gaped when he saw it.
The chest went to the US via an eccentric trade customer willing to take the gamble..
a few months later she sent me a copy of the US publication Architectural Digest..and there was the chest.
By now Nass had joined the business...and we had returned to the old brewery warehouse.
We evolved the look of our upcycled pieces onto vintage buckets and pots...and built up a stock of English and French antique furniture and interior pieces.
Stalled out occasionally at antique fairs such as Ardingly and Newark.
While money was tight and we were building the business I worked full time nights for 7 years at a residential home in Crawley.
" Adolescents With Challenging Behaviour. "
Painted and decorated for a few hours each day..drove the hour to Crawley..worked a 12 hour shift..drove the hour home...
And yes..it was as wild as it sounds.
Never felt so exhausted in my life.
Our little cottage in Arundel has a long garden with a studio at the end, down by the river.
I ran the workshops in the studio.
Nass prepared a vegetarian lunch in the house.
Complete with glass or two of wine.
All very civilised....and fun.
Taught everything from simple painting and distressing...to gilding...craquelure..crackle glaze...
We even had students travel to us from the US....
In 2016 we were invited...out of the blue..by a phone call from the senior buyer...
.. into Liberty London... with our collection of English and French antique furniture and decoupage items.
We had the run of their top floor for three years.
It was extraordinary.....in an old warehouse off the beaten track..and in one of the most prestigious stores in the world.
After we left we were getting telephone call orders for decorated pots and buckets, for months...
....from high end celebrities who had been buying them as gifts in the store...
I was decorating to order and sending our decoupage pieces to pop stars and film producer royalty and actors in Hollywood.
We were tight on time...inundated with US trade orders...
The bed would take a few days.
"I don't think we can do it." I told the client.
"We really don't have the time."
" I'll help you," replied Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley.
And she did.
Rolled up her sleeves and worked alongside me for three days.
Decoupage
has taken us on some fantastic adventures over the years...
We've even spotted some of our decorated pieces in King Charles's
Duchy of Cornwall holiday cottages.
This summer we wanted to do something special for The Sussex Snowdrop Trust...
....a unique local charity providing ‘Nursing Care at Home’ for local children who have a life-threatening or terminal illness.
We mulled over a few ideas...chatted it through with the Snowdrop Trust and their patron Chica The Duchess of Norfolk and decided on our signature style of decoration.
A pretty English 19th century chest was found.
We wanted to include images that would align with the philosophy of the Trust and have special meaning...
As one of the first flowers of spring, the snowdrop symbolises new beginnings, hope, and the ability to overcome challenges.
Butterflies symbolise the soul.
Ladybirds for hope and protection.
Dragonflies?...
... transformation, adaptability, and spiritual clarity.
We painted the chest black with a touch of gold.
To give the feel of an English country garden we used a striking flowery border.
We left a space for the Trust's patron
The Duchess of Norfolk to sign her name in gold.
As a final touch we placed in a drawer a handwritten and signed message from her on headed Arundel Castle notepaper
The chest was on display in our warehouse throughout the Arundel festival then headed north to Lots Road Auction house in London.
It will be in their 12th october auction.
& The Business Roller Coaster Ride...
Thirty years ago I started a business with 2 friends I had met while working evenings at the Body Shop HQ in Littlehampton.
Ambiance.
We set up in a then very down at heel 19th century brewery warehouse in the backstreets of Arundel..
..once part of the
Arundel Swallow Brewery
....it was business on a very tight budget.
How we did it I'll never know.
Nass and I were broke at the time.
Body Shop friends helped us clear and paint the warehouse.
Gordon Roddick the Body Shop CEO attended the low key opening and became a regular visitor.
Our landlord let us use an empty shop one summer as the warehouse was off the beaten track.
We bought furniture from Worthing junk shops and were teaching ourselves from old books to paint and decorate.
We decided to try decoupage.
Which led us off on a tangent and..
...we worked on decoupage decorated furniture for a top antique dealer for a few years.
In 2001... I started up Arundel Eccentrics by myself, in Nineveh House in Tarrant Street, Arundel...a converted chapel filled with independent small shops.
Thirty years ago I started a business with 2 friends I had met while working evenings at the Body Shop HQ in Littlehampton.
Ambiance.
We set up in a then very down at heel 19th century brewery warehouse in the backstreets of Arundel..
..once part of the
Arundel Swallow Brewery
....it was business on a very tight budget.
How we did it I'll never know.
Nass and I were broke at the time.
Body Shop friends helped us clear and paint the warehouse.
Gordon Roddick the Body Shop CEO attended the low key opening and became a regular visitor.
Our landlord let us use an empty shop one summer as the warehouse was off the beaten track.
We bought furniture from Worthing junk shops and were teaching ourselves from old books to paint and decorate.
We decided to try decoupage.
Which led us off on a tangent and..
...we worked on decoupage decorated furniture for a top antique dealer for a few years.
In 2001... I started up Arundel Eccentrics by myself, in Nineveh House in Tarrant Street, Arundel...a converted chapel filled with independent small shops.
I was short on cash and found the shop difficult to finance...so..after a year rented a small barn on a farm in the nearby village of Binsted.
Set it up as a workshop / showroom.
By then I had a few US trade clients.
They loved visiting the farm.
It was like a secret no-one knew about...actually ..it WAS a secret no-one knew about.
Which led me take spaces in antique centres around Arundel, to show my collection.
The look of Arundel Eccentrics upcycled pieces is a take on the " Arte Povera " decoupage of the 18th century.
A lacquerwork finish.
A hint of gold.
18 th/19th century images.
It started on Victorian bamboo.
I thought it might work on chests of drawers... and decorated a large Georgian chest in need of TLC..with fish all over.
Nass gaped when he saw it.
The chest went to the US via an eccentric trade customer willing to take the gamble..
a few months later she sent me a copy of the US publication Architectural Digest..and there was the chest.
By now Nass had joined the business...and we had returned to the old brewery warehouse.
We evolved the look of our upcycled pieces onto vintage buckets and pots...and built up a stock of English and French antique furniture and interior pieces.
Stalled out occasionally at antique fairs such as Ardingly and Newark.
While money was tight and we were building the business I worked full time nights for 7 years at a residential home in Crawley.
" Adolescents With Challenging Behaviour. "
Painted and decorated for a few hours each day..drove the hour to Crawley..worked a 12 hour shift..drove the hour home...
And yes..it was as wild as it sounds.
Never felt so exhausted in my life.
Fell over asleep, while still standing once.
But, as well as paying our bills, I managed to change the lives of a few of those young people...win/ win
But, as well as paying our bills, I managed to change the lives of a few of those young people...win/ win
When I stopped working nights, we ran furniture painting and decorating workshops from our home.
Our little cottage in Arundel has a long garden with a studio at the end, down by the river.
I ran the workshops in the studio.
Nass prepared a vegetarian lunch in the house.
Complete with glass or two of wine.
All very civilised....and fun.
We had some lovely people who returned time after time.
In 2016 we were invited...out of the blue..by a phone call from the senior buyer...
.. into Liberty London... with our collection of English and French antique furniture and decoupage items.
We had the run of their top floor for three years.
It was extraordinary.....in an old warehouse off the beaten track..and in one of the most prestigious stores in the world.
You couldn't make it up..could you?
After we left we were getting telephone call orders for decorated pots and buckets, for months...
....from high end celebrities who had been buying them as gifts in the store...
I was decorating to order and sending our decoupage pieces to pop stars and film producer royalty and actors in Hollywood.
The woman who ran the local post office was agog when she read the address labels...
We've worked on some interesting magazine
We've worked on some interesting magazine
shoots for national publications...
.
Been on a few TV programmes..though it's
not really our forté...and we probably wouldn't repeat it.
Having said that...
Celebrity Road Trip with Alison Steadman was great fun....she was delightful.
and.....
60 Minute Makeover with Peter Andre and
the flamboyant US interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard was fun.
When we went to California to stay with our son and his family..we all dropped by to Martyn's studio...he had invited us for afternoon tea.
Last September I was booked to decorate a 4 poster bed in the very beautiful Cholmondeley Castle.
We were tight on time...inundated with US trade orders...
The bed would take a few days.
"I don't think we can do it." I told the client.
"We really don't have the time."
" I'll help you," replied Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley.
And she did.
Rolled up her sleeves and worked alongside me for three days.
Decoupage
has taken us on some fantastic adventures over the years...
We've even spotted some of our decorated pieces in King Charles's
Duchy of Cornwall holiday cottages.
This summer we wanted to do something special for The Sussex Snowdrop Trust...
....a unique local charity providing ‘Nursing Care at Home’ for local children who have a life-threatening or terminal illness.
We mulled over a few ideas...chatted it through with the Snowdrop Trust and their patron Chica The Duchess of Norfolk and decided on our signature style of decoration.
A pretty English 19th century chest was found.
We wanted to include images that would align with the philosophy of the Trust and have special meaning...
As one of the first flowers of spring, the snowdrop symbolises new beginnings, hope, and the ability to overcome challenges.
Butterflies symbolise the soul.
Ladybirds for hope and protection.
Dragonflies?...
... transformation, adaptability, and spiritual clarity.
We painted the chest black with a touch of gold.
To give the feel of an English country garden we used a striking flowery border.
We left a space for the Trust's patron
The Duchess of Norfolk to sign her name in gold.
As a final touch we placed in a drawer a handwritten and signed message from her on headed Arundel Castle notepaper
The chest was on display in our warehouse throughout the Arundel festival then headed north to Lots Road Auction house in London.
It will be in their 12th october auction.
Here's the link
chest in auction
It's not been an easy ride...and not all rubbing shoulders with celebrities.
Nass suffers from Primary Progressive MS and had a cardiac arrest in lockdown..
.....my neighbour and I performed CPR and Nass was airlifted to hospital from the field opposite our Arundel cottage.
Thankfully he survived.
It's not been an easy ride...and not all rubbing shoulders with celebrities.
Nass suffers from Primary Progressive MS and had a cardiac arrest in lockdown..
.....my neighbour and I performed CPR and Nass was airlifted to hospital from the field opposite our Arundel cottage.
Thankfully he survived.
" What's next? " I wonder.
If you'd like to see our current collection of English and French antique furniture and decoupage items here's the link to our website.
If you'd like to visit our warehouse you'll find all the links to message.
