A painting workshop

Last weekend I had the pleasure of being invited to 19 Alexandra Road, in Clevedon for an Annie Sloan painting workshop. This wonderful shop sits nestled in between boutiques offering customers a trove of found trinkets and treasures, as well as beautifully upcycled furniture, all painted in the irresistible shades of Annie Sloan chalk paint. 

I was contacted by the twins who run the shop to see if I'd like to come and take a look and participate in the workshop, run by their mum, to try out the paint and learn some techniques. I was thrilled to be asked, and couldn't wait to see what all the Annie Sloan fuss was about. 

I arrived on a fresh and bright sunny Saturday morning, to be warmly greeted and introduced to the workshop. We sat around a large table in a purpose built studio area with lots of natural light, with bowls of various shades of paint laid out in front of us. Amongst the group I was definitely the youngest participant, a novice in the world of painting furniture. Many of the ladies (yes all ladies) had current projects or ideas they wanted to work on, and had previous up-cycling successes under their belt. But the workshop is for beginners so even though I had little experience of painting furniture we were all taught the same techniques, in a helpful and friendly way. 

It was great to learn how to add texture to paint, learn how to get an aged feel and to practice layering with the paint. It definitely gave me lots of inspiration for future projects! With a coffee and pastry break in the middle I had a wander around the shop itself, falling for many objects, including a set of chairs that was already reserved for someone! I loved all the small objects dotted around, and the memory boxes caught my eye, I may even have a go at making one myself.

I was asked to pick out some of my favourite objects from the shop, which with so many beautiful things on offer featuring lots of local artists, such as: prints, books, brooches, glasswear, baskets and trinkets, was a hard task! But I managed to narrow it down to a nature inspired memory box, some beautiful glass bottles and the classic Observer books. 

So thank you Victoria and Becky for having me, I will definitely be back to visit when I've made up my mind on the upcycling project! 

I was offered a place on the workshop for the purpose of this review!