Saturday 15 August 2015

Come Along And Help Us Celebrate Our Second Birthday!

You are cordially invited to ShabbyAnd…  on Saturday September 5th to help us celebrate our second birthday in style!

Everyone who walks through the door of our premises at 35A to 35B Barfield Road, West Mersea, Essex, on that day will be given a glass of fizz and some nibbles to help us mark this special occasion and to thank you, our customers. We value all of our customers and as a token of our appreciation we are giving everyone 10 per cent off everything in the store for the day.

‘It’s happy birthday to us, ‘ said ShabbyAnd…’s owner, Ann Beament. ‘Who would have thought we would have come so far in such a short time and I firmly believe our best is yet to come!’

ShabbyAnd… which is well known across the region for our fabulous range of lovingly restored furniture, shabby chic goods, unique home accessories, soft furnishings, gifts and cards, as well as for being one of the UK’s main stockists for child-friendly and eco friendly Autentico Chalk paints.

You might have seen ShabbyAnd…featured on TV when the producers of  ‘Peter Andre’s 60 Minute Makeover’ programme selected one of our two tier occasional tables to help refurbish a room of someone nominated by their friends and family for some star treatment. ShabbyAnd…’s proprietor, Ann, who turned her love of transforming heirlooms and well-loved pieces of furniture into a business, had used her creative talents to give the table a make over using Aged Paper Autentico Vintage Chalk Paint and dark wax.

Since then our business has gone from strength to strength. We have installed a special paint mixing machine so that we can mix and supply any of the Autentico chalk paint range for all projects, whether you want to use it on internal or external walls or on furniture.



 We have also expanded into a second neighbouring premises to provide extra space for our regular workshops where our experts show people how to upcycle well-loved pieces in a shabby chic, retro or vintage style. You name it and we can reinvigorate your favourite household items using paint and wax or by applying special effects, whether it is a table, chair, chest of drawers, wardrobe, picture frame or mirror, etc.

All of our workshops are an enjoyable experience, lasting three to four hours, where beginners and or more experienced enthusiasts are shown how to prepare the furniture, the necessary tools and equipment, painting techniques, layering techniques, and how to apply waxes and special effects.

Last year we were shortlisted for the Essex Business Awards and we are currently nominees in several categories of The Trust Awards UK 2015. Please vote for us at: http://www.thetrustawards.com/uk/companies/shabbyand/?cid=32


Monday 29 June 2015

We Are Offering A Unique Opportunity To Mark Our Second Birthday

We have some great news! We are launching a fantastic competition to find a new ShabbyAnd…  enthusiast to join us as we approach the anniversary of our second year in business.

This is a brilliant opportunity for a creative and enthusiastic young person, who might be fed up with the school environment or want to start earning their own money.

Shortlisted for the 2014 Essex Business Awards, ShabbyAnd… at 35A – 35B Barfield Road, West Mersea, Essex, CO5 8QX would be the ideal place to start a career in retail. We are the first main stockiest in the UK of Autentico Chalk Paints and we are well known across the country for selling unique household accessories, gifts and cards.

We are also proud to be an official supplier of ‘Peter Andre’s 60 Minute Makeover’, which refurbishes rooms for people nominated by family and friends. Our work appeared on the ITV show last November, after the producers contacted us and asked us to donate a two tier occasional table. ShabbyAnd…’s owner and creative director, Ann Beament had used her talents to breathe new life into the piece by lovingly restoring it using Aged Pepper Autentico chalk paint and dark wax.



Ann is also well known across Mersea Island as she supports all of the big community events. You may already be familiar with her and have seen her manning our ShabbyAnd… stall or you may have met her when you visited our shop.


 ‘As we enter our second year in business, ShabbyAnd… is a growing organisation and a well-known brand,’ said Ann. ‘To mark the occasion, we are offering a unique opportunity for whoever wins this competition to develop their career alongside an apprenticeship scheme. The ideal candidate will be full of enthusiasm for everything connected with ShabbyAnd… We are looking for someone who not only wants a career in retail, but who can demonstrate they have the talent, creative flair and ability to easily fit into our ShabbyAnd…. team of shabby chic experts.

The top entry to the competition will win a free beginners workshop and a career at ShabbyAnd… built alongside an apprenticeship opportunity.

To enter, simply choose from our selection of 150 Autentico paint colours and design your ideal bedroom on an A4 piece of paper using a mood board layout and submit your CV.


Ann added: ‘We have a unique ethos and enjoy transforming furniture that other people might throw out. If you want to find out more about what we do before submitting your entry, feel free to pop into our shop.’

Thursday 11 June 2015

Look Who’s Our Winner!


 We are delighted to announce that the lucky winner of our Free Prize Draw was Elaine Leyton of East Mersea, who scooped the top prize out of 300 entries.

She received over £500 worth of goodies to beautify herself and to give her home a ShabbyAnd… makeover.

Staff at Shabby And… teamed up with Friends Hair Design & Beauty to offer this fantastic prize at Mersea Island Food, Drink and Leisure Festival recently.

Elaine will soon be participating in one of our Beginners’ Painting Workshops, where she will be taught how to lovingly up cycle her favourite piece of furniture using Autentico Chalk Paints. 
She was also presented with a bumper hamper of ShabbyAnd… goodies handpicked from our shop at 35A – 35B Barfield Road, West Mersea, Essex, CO5 8QX, to add that touch of the shabby chic class to her home, as well as some treatments at Friends Hair Design & Beauty. Pop along if you would like to see for yourself what we have available.
 
ShabbyAnd…’s owner, Ann Beament, said: ‘We were absolutely delighted with the number of entries to our Free Prize Draw.  If it hadn’t have rained on the Sunday, we would have run out of entry slips.

‘Lots of people came for the Mersea Island Food, Drink and Leisure Festival and our stand was one of the most popular attractions.’

Our other good news is that everyone who entered the Free Prize Draw is being contacted to give them a 10 per cent discount voucher for ShabbyAnd… and Autentico Chalk Paint products.

If you would like to join Elaine on a Beginners’ Workshop and learn how to breathe new life into an heirloom or give a well-loved piece of furniture that time worn or vintage look, just get in touch. It’s a great way to develop a new interest, it will help save the planet by recycling materials and could save you pounds refurbishing your home.

Ann, or one of her team of shabby chic experts, will show you how to clean your furniture and how to repair it. They will demonstrate how to prepare surfaces before showing you how to apply Autentico Chalk Paints to give each piece a retro or distressed appearance. You will also learn how to apply waxes to seal your piece with soft sheen.

If you have already done one of our Beginners’ Workshops, you may be interested in increasing your skill and knowledge. We also run workshops for advanced practitioners of all things shabby chic, who want to learn more skills like how to create crackle glaze effects, craquelure system, 3D effect using stencils and the Terrapieno embossing paste and Art Medium. 

For more details about our Autentico Chalk Paints Workshops, call 01206 618920 or contact us via www.shabbyand.co.uk .

Or for more details about Friends Hair Design and Beauty call 01206 382000 or contact us via www.friendshairdesign.co.uk

Monday 18 May 2015

Our New Improved Workshop Space Is Now Bigger and Better!



Here at ShabbyAnd…  we have recently invested in our business to improve our workshop facilities for lovers of shabby chic and Autentico chalk paints.


The area where we hold our workshops to show people how to lovingly transform their furniture to create stunning vintage and retro look has been expanded at 35A – 35B Barfield Road, West Mersea, Essex, CO5 8QX.

This good news means that we can now increase our services for group bookings for people who may be looking to entertain their family and friends, teams or groups with something a little bit different.





All of our workshops are fun and last three to four hours. If you are looking for a novel Hen or Stag party pre-drinks get-together, or run a WI group or sports team, Scout or Guide troop, for example, this could be the ideal activity. It would certainly be something to tell your friends about and you could have some new skills to photograph and post on your social media.

Our very own Shabby Chic Queen, Ann Beament, who was shortlisted in the Essex Business Awards in 2014, will be conducting the workshops. She will be sharing her expertise and knowledge with all attendees.


It was her love of transforming furniture with these techniques that led Ann to turn a much-loved hobby into a successful business and shop which sells Autentico Chalk Paints, carefully restored pre-owned furniture, creatively designed and ethically sourced goods that will be cherished by you or as gifts by your loved ones.

We run our workshops throughout the year for beginners, who are picking up new skills so that they can achieve that distressed or vintage look, and also for advanced practitioners of all things shabby chic, who feel the need to increase their learning.
 
The full spectrum of skills that will be demonstrated at the workshops are listed on an earlier blog, but you can rest assured that you will leave with a new talent that could save you pounds. Instead of having to buy new furniture for your home, you will be able to breath new life into your favourite piece or heirloom at a fraction of the price.


Contact us now for further details and for the dates of our next workshops or make your group booking!