The Diary Of A Furniture Painter
The pandemic was good to me. Painted furniture sales were terrific and since I paint for sanity, it was almost heaven in Michigan. My how times have changed. An economic slowdown in 2022 and a move to an antique shop (of near flea market quality), my painted furniture sales screeched to a near halt.
In response to slow sales, I made furniture makeovers neutral and simple. I figured they would appeal to larger audiences. I also added a bunch more re-sell smalls by picking thrift stores and estate sales for things I thought would sell. Still, it’s been a struggle to sell one furniture piece a month and make rent. That’s not near enough to keep KellaChic emotionally and creatively afloat. And, being totally honest, I go a bit negative without a busy brush.
18 months later
I am finally getting my head out of my ass and the very familiar ‘woe is me’ head space, just long enough to make a couple decisions as a business woman:
- Bring back the bling (i.e. color and transfers) on furniture to create wow more stunning statement pieces. Neutrals don’t sell – who knew?
- Shift from buying smalls to painting smalls like little tables, candle sticks, picture frames, piano benches, you know items I can sell under $50. This should keep my brush busy.
- De-clutter the tops of the furniture pieces leaving only a couple staging items on them.
Below is a picture my booth as of September, a sort of Before shot. It is operating under ‘more stuff is more sales’ and ‘simple furniture is better’ strategy. I still can’t understand why sales are slow but, reality is still reality no matter what I think of it.
It’s October 2023
This month was a ton of fun making ‘to paint’ small hauls and studying how to transform them into cool re-purposed gems. Many thanks to “Confessions of a Serial DIYer” for more than just inspiration. Christy James is a source of hope for this old painter. She has a massive bank of ideas to restart my creative engine. I’m just getting started with the new strategy. It may take a few months to transition my booth space but already there is impact.
I found this shelving unit on FB Marketplace to display smalls in attractive vignettes and I love it. It meets shop criteria for ‘see through’ or temporary booth partitions. Not only are the smalls looking more cohesive but it helps furniture look better with only a couple items on top. More pictures to follow.
My attempt to style with more bling: Doing them moved the needle on the fun to paint scale – yay me! Painting simple and sleek designs is just not as fun really.
The first one is only half way to full wow. The second one . . . made it all the way to wow. It is my first time doing the faux linen painting technique and it is so much fun! My execution is spot on but, in my opinion, the color is . . . meh. Hopefully someone will like it. It goes to my booth today. Wish her luck. I’ll use different colors next time.
This second piece, Vigorous Violet, is full on bling. She’s quite a statement piece that I can not take credit for. I’ve seen this same design from other wonderful painters and love it. I plain and simply copied — except for the iridescent stripes and harlequin stencil on the sides. Thats my touch and I’m glad to have it. And a funny thing, I got a call from a buyer about the MCM piece in my booth and she asked if I had more painted pieces available. Both of these pieces, (above and below) were still on my porch so I sent her pictures. She bought Vigorous Violet right off my porch! Wait what!? Is this fluke or does bling win the game? We shall see.
Booth Reset
It’s a small booth. Making it look uncluttered is a task. Accomplishments from this reset: only one or two staging items are on painted furniture, there is better use of the “walls” (which are backs of neighboring booths) and, adding the shelf unit for a better display of smalls. Gone are the ‘dogs’, as in low value and not very special items sitting in my booth for months. My church is having a rummage sale so there it goes!
Dear Fellow Painters and Lurkers
Thanks for reading what goes on inside the head of a driven furniture painter. It’s been a while since there was enough enthusiasm (or lack of feet dragging discouragement) to update the website. Honestly, writing it has helped me claim the learning lessons. It kind of draws a distinct line between struggle and hope, making a little gap. The most relief and hope comes from other DIY’ers who are brave enough to expose their inside thoughts, bloopers and re-do’s. (Thanks again Christy James.)
