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Pickled Onion Furniture

 

Nicola Kaufman is a local mum of two boys. Eight years ago she fell in love with painted furniture. As she couldn't afford the beautiful furniture she saw in shops, she trawled antique stores, charity shops and car boot sales. Once she had lovingly filled her house with old treasures that she'd scrubbed up and painted or waxed, she decided to sell a few pieces. She was so addicted to painting her hubby thought she might wax or paint him! Nicola now runs her own business, Pickled Onion Furniture, holding workshops and doing commissions for people, focussing on working with tight budgets, not only up-cycling the furniture but sourcing paints and fabrics that would otherwise go discarded...



I am married to a great guy, Dotan, who I met whilst travelling when I was

18. We have two wonderful boys – Joey is 12 and Aidan is 10. We also have

a bulldog called Luma, who is very much a part of the family and is always

by my side.  

   I started my business part-time in 2006. I began painting furniture for our own home, as we moved into a new house and I didn't have the money to buy all the beautiful painted furniture that was starting to appear in the shops. Some was furniture I already had and some were things I found at car boots and charity shops.

   At the time, I was working in a nursery school part-time, and with very

young children, I would paint at night. I got the bug and started reading lots of mags and books about different techniques. It took me about nine months to complete my task of making my house a beautiful welcoming home and, by now, my husband was starting to get nervous I was going to paint or wax him!

   I then decided to rent a space in Henley Antiques (now Laura Ashley) and

I sold small pieces of furniture on the side, as I so enjoyed the satisfaction

of breathing life into an old piece that would otherwise go unnoticed or

be discarded.  

  That's the best bit – I love reusing what you already have, or using something that someone else does not see the potential for and bringing it back to life. There are so many different styles of painting that you can create something for everyone's taste. I still love wood and also enjoy scrubbing down an old table and feeding it with wood reviver, oils or waxes and returning it to its former glory.

   We moved abroad for a short time due to my husband's work and, to keep busy while kids were at school, I went on a six-week painting course. I was totally inspired by the group of ladies that I learnt with. It was so wonderful

to be around people that were so excited about painting like I was.

   When we moved back to the UK, I decided I would run my own painting workshops, so in 2010, I ran my first one. This was for a girl that I had done a commission job for and she invited her mother and sister for a beautiful day together spent learning and being creative and having quality time together. They were so pleased with the day that they told friends and my painting classes were born.

   Up until very recently, I have juggled being a mother, working as a TA two days a week and painting. I was asked to up my school hours to two and a half days a week, which I did, and this made me realise it was time to make a choice – I was spreading myself to thin. I gave my term's notice and finished working at the school in July.

   With the encouragement of my husband, children and friends, I am putting everything I have into my little business. So far, I have a commission to recover all the seats in a wonderful traditional pub in Henley called the Row Barge. They are keeping the pub in its traditional English style, which meant me sourcing old-style fabrics.

   I asked on an online forum and and ebay, and got some wonderful fabrics that people were going to discard as they had had them in their loft or garage for years, so were happy to sell them for a fraction of the price of buying new. I have nearly completed washing and polishing the wood of the chairs and recovering them with extra wadding for more comfort and a fresh look for

the pub.

   I am so glad I made the decision to work for myself as I would not have been able to take on such a big job had I still been working at the school.

   At the beginning of the year, I did a 10-week upholstery course. As I run painting workshops, I enjoy going on other people's workshops to learn different teaching skills and painting styles. It's good to learn what's new on the market and, most importantly, I enjoy 'getting away from it all' and having fun on the workshops, meeting new and like-minded people.  

   Last weekend, I volunteered to work at Kirstie Allsopp's craft market and helped Annie Sloan's crew to set up and clear up, which ment I got to enjoy her workshop. I was also totally inspired by Out of the Dark's workshop,

which is a wonderful charity who educate and employ young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Both workshops have totally different painting styles and was a real eye-opener for me.

   The best part of having my own business is that I can fit in with my children and work around their needs, plus I thoroughly enjoy what I do. The worst part is it can be unpredictable and financially this can be difficult, but I think now that I am putting more time into the business I will get more out of it.

   The best piece I have ever created is an Old Pine Dresser that belonged

to my parents. I am originally from South Africa and this dresser was always in our dining room. I have wonderful memories of that dining room. Anyway, this dresser had been stored in a shed in the UK for many years, and when

I found it I could not believe the state it was in. One side was completely rotten, the back had fallen off and I was adamant I would bring this old sentimental dresser back to being the centrepiece of my dining room. With lots of sanding, scrubbing and drying out, a new back wallpapered and painted in chalk paint and aged with dark wax, this dresser has now been watching over my family eating their dinners.

   I get my inspiration from seeing people so happy with their transformed piece. I love educating people on how to transform their own furniture on a tight budget. A few people have started their own businesses after attending my workshops, which is great.

   Painting furniture is now very fashionable, and courses and paints are widely accessible. I am unique in that I don't promote any one particular paint. I have tried and tested almost all paints on the market and can advise people what's best for them according to their style. There are some amazing products out there and you don't necessarily have to be artistic to create an amazing look, you just need to know what products to use and how to use them. Anyone can do it!

   So that leaves just one question for Nicola. Why is her company called Pickled Onion Furniture?

   A lot of people ask me if I like pickled onions. My company is called Pickled Onion Furniture as my name is Nicola and when I was little, my parents called me Nickle Pickle. This later got shortened to Pickle. When I was thinking of a company name, I thought of Pickled Onion as it's part of my nickname and it's an aged onion that is one of my favourite techniques, ageing the furniture with dark wax!

 

In October I'm running small evening sessions on Thursdays

from 7-10pm, £30

9th October - working with chalk paint and cracklure

16th October working with chalk paint and decoupage

23rd October working with chalk paint and cracklure

 

This will be repeated in November, details on my Facebook page.

 

I run Saturday workshops on the last Saturday of every month 

9.15am-4.30pm, £90

Bring along a small piece of furniture and I provide the rest. Techniques learnt are painting with chalk paint, and waxing and distressing to create the real vintage 'shabby' look. I also provide smaller pieces like candlesticks, heart coasters to learn decoupage with napkins and how to use crackle glaze.

 

For more information call 07940521976 or visit

 

Dresser before

Dresser after

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