I first met Sarah-Jane when she attended my workshop in the summer of 2018, she had just left her teaching job and was determined to get her little furniture Up-cycling business off the ground. Of course, I loved the fact that she was doing something she loved and was working towards carving a business that would fit alongside her young family. It was exactly what I had done 5 years before. We spoke about how I could help her and decided to take her on as my first mentoring student. It was very soon after this that she called me and told me she was hosting her first workshop! Well of course I had to go and celebrate this first workshop with her, as she had worked ever so hard to get there.

SJ’s first workshop was held at Craig and Rose flagship store in Chiswick organised by The House of Upcycling. She had already bought the prepared rescued side tables for us to Up-cycle. as well as everything else we needed to enjoy a fun day of creatvity.

Our first task was to pick the colour of the paint and paper we intended to use. The choices were so vast, it was diffcult to choose. No prizes for guessing that I chose pink paint and a paper to match.

We then got prepping, and gave our table a base. SJ was on hand to fix my drippy bits and to advise us with the best technique. Although I thought it would be complicated and I would make a big mess of the project, SJ was a great teacher and helped us with anything we found difficult. We laughed and joked while working. It was really so much fun!

After the first base coat was painted, I then went on to paint my table in Craig and Rose’s beautiful pink shade ‘Wedgewood Lilac’ – a small sample pot is all that was needed for a small item like this one.

Half way through the workshop, it was time for lunch and we stuffed our faces after all the elbow grease we had put in. It was lovely to hang out with new people that were also creative. It made a lovely change for a Saturday.

I really can’t believe that I achieved this in a day workshop! I was so proud of myself. It was also lovely to see the other creations of my class mates too.

And here we are with our tables, after a fabulous fun day. It was so rewarding to have a go at being creative, but in a way that I’m normally not used to. It was also great to spend the day with like minded ladies and forget the world for a few hours.

I highly recommend a workshop with SJ – and if you don’t fancy having a go yourself- take a look at the lovely pieces she creates on her instagram feed here – there really is something so heart warming about saving something from going to the rubbish heap, amd making it completely personal. You can find out more about Craig and Rose paints on their website linked here
You can also find out more about The house of Upcycle here

It’s really has been a pleasure to watch SJ grow, not only is she a great at what she does, shes become a lovely friend too.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post, let me know if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them .

Much Love

Tia x