Highlights from the UK's First Furniture Painting Conference!

The UK's First Furniture Painting Business Conference took place on 3rd - 5th September 2021 and it was A-MA-ZING! I had the best time hanging out with like-minded people, learning new things and motivating each other to shoot for the stars when it comes to our businesses! It was incredible to see all the different brands and businesses collaborating to celebrate the world of furniture painting in the UK! The organisers, Sarah Pelley from Home Revival and Kate Holt from Colour me KT (both brilliant upcyclers and businesswomen with a wealth of industry experience), did a phenomenal job organising this fabulous event. The attendees were so inspiring and the feeling in the room was joyous and uplifting. 

Lynn Murrell from The Butterfly's Wing & Michelle Beadling from Chic Little Haven 

The conference included workshops, demonstrations and business support. I attended to represent Shabby Nook and showcase General Finishes products (and of course, to have a good time with my favourite kind of people!) I was really nervous to be presenting and demonstrating products on stage, but everyone was so kind and supportive which helped big time and before I knew it, I discovered I have a Nigella Lawson voice on stage! Where did that come from?!

The General Finishes showcase went down really well – people were so impressed with the quality of the products. It shows how important is to see products in action and give them a go – rather than just reading a description on a website and seeing a pretty picture in a tin.

General Finishes Range

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 The General Finishes Stain Blocker demo was seriously impressive – I used it over mahogany and there was NO bleed through at all! We demo’d the fabulous Enduro Var which is currently still on offer at Shabby Nook (whilst stocks last). Their Milk Paint range also went down an absolute storm – so of course this is coming back to Shabby Nook very soon! General Finishes Stains received phenomenal feedback – people were impressed with the quality and how easy they are to use. And it wouldn’t be a General Finishes showcase without showing off their classic and highly regarded Topcoats – I am so pleased to have introduced more people to this brand.

We made a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT during the event – I am now the official Posh Chalk UK Distributor! I am so happy to finally be able to tell people! I am a huge fan of Posh Chalk products and I’m really excited to implement some new support and marketing ideas for our stockists. We are on the look out for new stockists – check out our Posh Chalk website here and if you are interested in becoming a stockist, please submit a stockist enquiry form!

Posh Chalk Range

Speaking of Posh Chalk – Solly Jo’s (CEO of WoodUbend and founder of Posh Chalk Interiors) showcase was fantastic as she demonstrated how to use the products in different ways! People were blown away and astounded by their versatility. Again –you need to try out products and see them in action to truly to appreciate just how amazing they are! She demonstrated using Metallic Pastes as a wash over the top of a surface, and how to do raised stencilling effects with Stencils and Metallic Pastes. Of course, their fabulous Decoupage Papers were an absolute hit – they are such high quality and beautiful designs. She also demonstrated using Metallic Pigments mixed with the Infusor to make metallic paint. Linda Hague from Unique Home Pieces “couldn’t believe the difference” it made using the Infusor instead of a Topcoat – the finish was super shiny and didn’t tarnish! You know I already love these products and I am so pleased to see other people getting excited about them and appreciating all the different uses!

WoodUbend Range 

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We were so busy being amazed by all the wonderful products and techniques being showcased that I didn't get round to talking all things websites and SEO with the other attendees. If you attended the conference the good news for you is you're going to have a lovely free e-book come to you very soon with lots of top tips with getting going with SEO on your website. And if you don't have a website yet, even better news, our sister company, Kouki Limited, is launching its next intensive training course in November where you can learn the basics, be coached through the set up, and finally get your Shopify website up and running!  If this is something you would like to learn more about register your interest here.

It was such a fantastic weekend and we’ve needed a week to recover from all the excitement! If you didn’t make it to this year’s conference, or you did and you are missing it already, there is some good news – this is going to be an annual event! See you there next year!