I've decided to take a little bit of time and share with you our process of business to answer all the questions you may have about what we do and why we do things the way we do. Also, I would like to cover our services that we offer and hopefully answer your questions about that as well!
{OUR PROCESS FOR RETAIL}
We spend hours and sometime days hunting and finding the perfect furniture to paint and sell. We travel long hours, incur tremendous expenses for travel time and fuel, spend all day trying to find and pick out the best pieces, load it all, bring it home, unload it all, clean it, fix it, measure it, price it, take pictures, post pictures, answer multiple emails and Facebook questions, etc. Sometimes we spend 10-12 hours in one day bringing in new inventory!
Once the piece sells, it's a whole new process. It's time to talk to the client, get his/her vision for the piece, choose colors, fabrics, hardwares, review past pictures and examples and finally come to a conclusion that we all love!
It's time to be sure all drawers work, all joints are secure, all veneer is in good shape, etc. These repairs sometimes take several hours depending on the amount of work required. We also make sure the pieces are repaired to the best of our ability and are in great working order before they go home to you.
{Start here for our process on CUSTOM ORDERS}
Next is deep cleaning and prepping for paint. We sand very few of our pieces {GASP!} and have very good reasons for doing so. Here are those reasons:
1} Painting furniture is a fad, we should all know that by now. It's like Fashion. It's IN today, could be OUT in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years. Who knows. Point of me saying that is this...If I were to strip every piece of furniture and sand it back to bare bones, it would be FOREVER ruined with the first drop of primer or paint! It could never be restored back to it's original, stained beauty. The primer or the paint would absorb into that original wood and ruin the original wood.
2} Most all of you love distressed pieces, with wood showing back through. If it were sanded back down to original, bare wood that would not be possible :(
WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE TAKE THREE EXTENSIVE PREP STEPS TO BE SURE WE HAVE A SOLID ADHESION TO INSURE DURABILITY FOR A LIFETIME
The only time I sand back to original, bare wood is when I am going to be staining a top. Other than that situation, we have an extensive cleaning process, top of the line products and primers that we use before we get started painting. I'd tell you what they were, but those are my little secrets! It has taken me years of trial and error along with lots of blood, sweat and tears to figure out what works!
Now, it's time for the FUN part! Paint!! Well, really I think it's all fun, but this is where the beauty begins.
We mainly use latex paint, sometimes Chalk Paint and sometimes, very rarely we use Milk Paint. My preferred paint is latex, hands down. I only say that because of the color choices and the durability, PLUS I really like my local Sherwin Williams staff. The only downfall to Latex is that it takes 30 days to fully harden so we have to be very careful until that point. Miss Mustard Seed taught me that :) Most of our finishes are sprayed, but some are hand-painted depending on the piece of furniture, the details, the finish requested, etc.
Once the piece is painted we get into the beauty and the details of the piece with distressing, glazes, specialty finishes, hardware treatments, and so on and so forth.
Finally, all of our pieces are sealed with WAX for ultimate durability. We very rarely use Polyurethane, unless it is requested by the client for a specific reason. Polyurethane takes 30 days to cure and is nearly impossible to keep it clean while doing so in my shop. I love the wax and the durability it provides.
I think that pretty much sums up {OUR PROCESS}, so I'll move along.
{SERVICES OFFERED}
* CUSTOM PAINTING ~ We offer custom painting services on furniture and accessories you already own. I would say that is 80% of what we do on a normal weekly basis. To get a quote on a piece you already own please EMAIL me, TEXT me {256.690.4390} or send me a Facebook message. All items that I quote are strictly that, a Quote. I quote only off of pictures sent and very rarely do I ever go up on that price, unless we change the finish or the furniture is in a different shape when it arrives.
Completion times range from 4-8 weeks from the date of drop off.
Half payment due via Cash, Check or Credit Card at time of booking, second half due upon drop off.
*PAINTING WORKSHOPS ~ We offer painting workshops for groups or private lessons. Classes are $200/person. These can be arranged to fit your schedule, or you can join in on an already scheduled class. You bring a small table or chair to work on and I teach you all my little secrets and you take home a completed, beautiful piece of furniture. In the event that you have to cancel or reschedule your class, you have 6 months to reschedule.
Full tuition due at time of booking via Cash, Check or Credit Card.
Checks not accepted within 72 hours prior to class.
*KITCHEN CABINETS ~ We offer custom painting on Kitchen Cabinets on location. To receive a quote, please contact me to schedule an on-site meeting and estimate.
Half payment due at time of booking, second half due upon project completion.
Cash, Check or Credit Card - first half
Cash or Credit Card - second half
Hope that helps you guys further understand what we do, why we do it and a little bit of how we do it. I absolutely love what I do and love each and every face I have met in the process.
To find our retail pieces, please visit University Pickers!
To find what we have available for customization, please click HERE!
COMPLETION TIMES RANGE FROM 4-8 WEEKS CURRENTLY
ALL SALES ARE FINAL. NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES.
