English teacher Leslie Perry is among the large pool of interesting and niche hobbies found at Valley. Her niche involves the art of antique furniture redecorating, a hobby that has manifested itself into quite the side hustle.
“Picking the paint color is one of my favorite parts,” Perry said.
She stumbled upon this niche a few years back, after finding a jewelry box off of Etsy and repainting it to her liking. With a bit of research, Perry had dug herself into a rabbit hole of the craft of furniture redecorating.
“That is when I started researching the craft of furniture flipping and discovered a whole community of people who love flipping pieces,” Perry said.
The timing of this discovery was just right, as she was at a time in her life where she needed a hobby to just indulge in her own creativity without it feeling like a job.
“My mom was also sick at the time and I needed a hobby to get lost in, something that didn’t feel like work,” she said. “It felt good to create something beautiful.”
Perry’s process is much more than simply repainting old furniture and putting it up for sale on her Etsy shop, ‘Charmcraft.’
There are a multitude of steps before and in between the paint job, such as drawing up the plans for redecorating, picking out paint, cleaning it, and the use of power tools in the sanding/priming process.
“I love finding a cool piece, and then planning every detail from the color of the paint, the waxes I will use, to choosing decoupage paper or furniture transfers. Planning is my jam,” she said.
Although planning out the designs and decorative materials is Perry’s favorite step, she has found quite a liking to the refurbishing stages as well.
“I love power tools,” Perry said. “I sand between every coat because I want the final surface to feel like butter. Then I usually add furniture transfers, decoupage or waxes to highlight details.
Her all time favorite piece is a jewelry box she gifted to fellow English teacher Heather Olis.
“The jewelry box I found and re-modeled took forever, but it was a pure labor of love,” she said.
Etsy serves as a hub for small businesses, a space for all sorts of DIY arts and crafts. Perry’s shop on Etsy, aside from providing her the value of a creative outlet, has provided her with some serious revenue as well.
“I’ve made enough to pay off three credit cards and finance some travel,” she said.
In terms of the aesthetic for her pieces, Perry prefers a more classy and elegant appeal, a style that differs from her own interior decor.
“I like to create stuff that is way too fancy for my own rustic taste and house,” Perry said.
