Meet Penny Pieces - Putting the Love Back Into Tired Furniture
Tired furniture doesn't have to be destined to the skip. With a lick of paint or some more radical re-working you can soon spruce up a well-loved chest of drawers. We got in touch with Rachel who runs Penny Pieces in Ponteland, Newcastle to learn all about her family-run shop.
Meet Penny Pieces - How to Restore Furniture and Bring It to Life
Tell us how it all started!
"I used to upcycle my furniture at home as a hobby then worked for the original owner of Penny Pieces. When she retired I took the opportunity to follow my dream and took over the business along with the help and support of my family."
"We love to put the love back into tired pieces of furniture by upcycling or repurposing. Then they go to a new home via the shop or a customer's commission."
"Often people have a sentimental or dated piece they don’t want to throw away so we use our magic to breathe new life into the pieces."
"Being able to upcycle pre-loved furniture helps reduce the amount of items that would usually be sent to landfill."
"We support local charity shops, pre-loved sites and some people give us items they no longer need but don’t want to skip or sell themselves. I also advertise on my business platforms for commissions, however most customers come by recommendation or seeing upcycle furniture in the shop."
What inspires you when you’re upcycling furniture?
"My inspiration is first led by the style of the furniture and its purpose: will it be good to use as the original intent or something new, keeping in mind trends but also excited to experiment and create a new effect."
"I may also add to the item a stencil, transfer or new fixings. Sometimes we bring the wood back to the original grain then enhance it with waxes."
"With commissions I support the customer in choosing the correct paint for where the furniture is intended then what we can achieve in their vision."
"I’m continually reminded of the furniture's pre-loved life , how it will look and eventually find a new home and be loved again."
What kind of shop is Penny Pieces?
"We love being local in the community but also being a destination shop where people discover where we are and what we do and what we sell."
"We also like to support local businesses and stock a variety of hand made items along with household items and a variety of gifts. We are a Frenchic Paint Stockist which we use for our upcycled furniture."
Thanks so much to Rachel for telling us all about her wonderful shop. If you have some furniture that needs a bit of TLC, then do consider Penny Pieces. It also sounds like a great place to visit if you want to buy some preloved furniture as well as gifts, jewellery or other exciting treasures.
