30 April 2021
Breathing new life into furniture leads to CREST21 awards entry
A HORSELL business has combined its two guiding principles with a pair of entries in the CREST21 Business Awards.
Jane Goodman has put forward Home Office Chic in the Going Circular and Sustainability Impact categories, a neat summary of her aims.
“It is a small business with sustainability and teaching others at its heart,” Jane said. “The mission is to help breathe new life and joy into pre-loved furniture and teach others to do the same, reducing landfill.
“Home Office Chic started three years ago to help those who wished to salvage their old furniture, rather than take it to the dump, by having it upcycled or changed to reuse it.
“People would commission me to paint it and I can do this in a range of styles. The same applies with an upholstery treatment – change the fabric rather than throw something away!
“The idea of shopping at a big Scandinavian-type store and buying throwaway furniture has clearly influenced the idea that it is disposable and short lived.
“I want to embrace the circular nature of furniture, using, recycling and remaking, rather than the linear style of take, make and dispose.
“Whether I transform it or give others the skills to save more of their furniture, there is a positive environmental impact.”
Jane describes her business as having four distinct areas: buy and sell, commissions, workshops and paint sales.
“I decided to become a stockist for eco-friendly British brand Frenchic Paint,” she added. “This business has been recognised by the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2020 and is the ideal partner for my upcycling.
“The paint has become increasingly popular and allows me to run workshops to teach others to transform their own projects.
“What I hear most from my customers is, ‘I have something old, it’s well made, I no longer like it, it doesn’t fit my current style’.
“Older furniture is more durable, although I draw the line at touching antiques!”
Jane’s father was a master upholsterer, and one of her ideas about developing the business is to create a hub for budding upholsterers.
“And I’d like to train in full restoration work of furniture, or work alongside craftspeople who can fix the broken furniture that often people consider disposable,” she said.
* THE CREST 21 Business Awards will be streaming live from The Lightbox in Woking on 20 May. Online attendance is free.
To get a front-row seat to Surrey’s first sustainable business awards, simply visit click on the link to register:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/crest21-business-awards-tickets-151471686893?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch
Credit: Woking News and Mail
