ShabbyAnd........The Story Gathers Momentum

ShabbyAnd........The Story Gathers Momentum

Just over a year ago a new business began on Mersea Island that is going from strength to strength at a breathtaking pace.

Partners and self-confessed workaholics Ann Beament and Sara French are local Mersea girls with expansive ambitions. Their business, ShabbyAnd, was conceived originally to up cycle vintage and retro furniture using fresh ideas, exciting colourways and much elbow grease. In the early days, word-of-mouth, local advertising and a strengthening web presence brought in the business but soon the partners realised a retail outlet was required to give their customers the opportunity to see and touch the products of their inspiration and perspiration.

Ideal shop premises became available in Barfield Road, West Mersea, which they quickly acquired and opened in September 2013. Soon other items were selected to sell alongside their unique and striking items of furniture. These comprised gifts including locally designed cards and jewellery, eclectic but very original ornaments and unique handmade soft furnishings too.

ShabbyAnd became proficient users of Autentico Chalk Paints and soon added an authorised distributorship of the wide range of lime based products to their portfolio. The two partners hold workshops in their Barfield Road shop teaching this exciting method of reinventing old furniture favourites, and these have proven to be extremely popular. They have also been asked to run classes teaching their craft as part of the Community Arts Workshops at the Community Enterprise Centre in Colchester. Based in Commerce Park on the Whitehall Industrial Estate, the Centre provides work space for community projects.

The burgeoning reputation of  the partners' talent for colour and design has led to a lot of orders to reinvigorate furniture, including commissions to remodel a number of complete kitchens. This is challenging them to extend further and acquire workshop premises too. Just watch this space for the next instalment of the ShabbyAnd Story.