Mackenzie-Childs bombe chest; must go to right home and be put in the right place; bun feet...too cool
Well, lunch yesterday was all about me painting some furniture for a friend who is opening a store soon. He wants to offer affordable and unique gently-used furniture to the discerning public.
Mackenzie-Childs bombe chest; ooh, love black & white stripes and checks.
He said I would have total artistic freedom. I could paint whatever I wanted to on whatever pieces I wanted to. I would also assist him in setting up an internet presence for his store, through a blog or a website, or whatever I could come up with. And in exchange, he would feature my art, any of it, in any way I wanted. He would also set up an area in his store for me to paint, as opposed to having the furniture in my basement.
Mackenzie-Childs mirror; again with the black and white.
The only limitations: keep it affordable so that both he and I could make a profit. Well, there are other limitations, too, really: I have never painted furniture before, although I have painted on wood. I have never even liked painted furniture, although I do think the pieces above are kick-ass. But they are very very expensive. There's a reason they are expensive, too. But, WTF, I'm going for it. Artistic and personal freedom, experimenting, somewhere to go when I feel like it, some extra $$, it's worth a shot. I wonder how the blue church bus would look on a desk; or the red tow truck on a chair; or the rusted trash bins on a table?
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6 comments:
Gosh!! I think these are terrific!! I have painted furniture for my own home, but nothing this "controlled and designed". I think you are on to something BIG. Yes, one problem is to keep them affordable. That is a huge challenge. The cost of materials and TIME makes it difficult to price them in an economical price range. I wish you great good luck though. These a fabulous!!
Thanks, Sheree. I totally agree with you about the TIME; a lot of the materials I already have on hand. I don't know that I'll do mine as controlled and designed as the ones I showed... but I do love the stripes and the checks. And those take time in the taping, don't they?
Mary,
Yes you have materials on hand, but they still costed something at some time. I do this a lot. I figure, "Well this didn't cost me much to make because I already had the paint!" However, when I go to paint more stuff, I have to replenish my supplies. Either way, it costs $$$$.
When people come to my house, they always say "Oh, make me one of those!" I just smile and think "It took me 20 or 30 hours to make that. Would they be willing to pay for that time?" Hmmmmmmm. There is a local artist around here who paints fabulous, funky furniture. I see it all over the place in local tourist shops. I know it doesn't fly off the shelves because I see some of the same pieces months later. The price tags range from $500-$3000ish. Somebody must buy them occasionally. Otherwise the shops wouldn't keep them. I doubt the artist is rolling in dough though.
Now, if I could only find those people who buy this kind of thing for that price, I would be a happy camper! :-)
Yeah, Sheree, you should look in the Mackenzie catalog -- $2,500 is nothing. I don't expect to spend that kind of time or paint on this stuff, but I still don't want it to be junk. I'm trying to look at the piece of furniture as a blank canvas on which to make my stuff. We'll see how it goes -- I don't expect to get rich, but it sure would be nice.
Oh my gosh, Mary! This will be so much fun!! Maybe you could judiciously place design elements here and there, letting some of the old finish or bare wood show through. They wouldn't have to be over the top like McKenzie Childs' designs. They would be your designs after all. Maybe that would be a solution to the time issue.
This is a wonderful opportunity! I hope it turns out to be something lucrative for you both.
Ah, Martha, so positive. Good idea, though -- I have put off redoing any piece that is actually really wood -- that's today (Wednesday). I like the idea of letting some of the wood show through.
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