Make a coffee, cut a slice of cake and turn to page 12!
For those outside of Surrey read the full interview here:
1.
What does your business do?
Sara Prebble Design is my furniture design and
restoration business in leafy Hersham Village, Surrey. I take old, tired
furniture and give it a new look to suit the current style of French Shabby
Chic and gustavian distressed look. Using various different colour schemes to
match in with a room’s decor, I transform each piece with a unique, fresh,
current and revitalised style for any home.
saraprebbledesign.blogspot.co.uk
2. How many people do you employ?
I’m an independent furniture restorer. It’s
just me.
3. What does your shop/business bring to your
town?
A bespoke service offering the opportunity to breathe
new life into old pieces of furniture in an environmentally friendly way.
4. What makes your business unique?
Every piece I transform is unique. Every customer’s
home and style is different and they get a new love for their old furniture and
they can help design the new look with me, making their piece completely unique
to them and their home. It doesn’t have to be furniture either, Frames, Candle
holders, basically anything wooden can be upcycled in this style.
5. What type of businesses would you like to
see brought to your town?
An Art & Crafts Centre/Marketplace to
showcase designers in Surrey would be a great space. There is a lot of design
and craft talent in Surrey.
6. How has your business changed since you
started?
The style and trends change but the techniques
stay the same, I have quickly learnt that when you think you have seen every
style of furniture, something surprises you.
In the future I am looking into holding
workshops, people can come and have a go at doing the techniques themselves and
leave the day with something they are proud of.
7. What's the best thing about owning your own
business?
The creative freedom and the customer
relationships I make along the way. I work with people to create/restore
something they imagined for their homes and I get to meet some great people
doing it.
8. How has your business been affected by the
recession?
Times are hard for all businesses but if
anything it has benefitted, it’s a lot more cost effective to reinvent a coffee
table than to buy a new one.
9. How is the business likely to evolve over
the next decade?
In the future there will be less quality pieces
to work with because of a trend for easy to put together furniture. But trends
change and the great thing about reinventing furniture is you can do it again
and again.
10. Why have you chosen to base your business
in Hersham, Surrey?
It’s as simple as this is where I live, It’s
close to London and near lots of inspiration.
11. What's the strangest customer request you
have had to deal with?
No strange requests but the most unique piece I
have worked on is an Antique Hostess Trolley that was used as a computer table.
It looked great.
12. What has been your proudest moment in
business?
Getting my first customer. Building a business
is hard work and it’s nice when you start to see it coming together.
13. Are critical reviews important or is word
of mouth better?
Word of mouth is better but I recognise the
importance of both. As I work with people for their homes I hope when they are
happy with their piece, they spread the word.
14. What do you think makes your business stand
out from your competitors?
The personal touch. Customers get involved with
the restoration of their furniture, we discuss their ideas over a cup of tea.
15. Who is your role model in business?
Holly Tucker
and Sophie Cornish of NotOnTheHighStreet.com They have achieved something very
unique, the perfect online market place for crafters. Reading their book is a
great motivational booster.
No comments:
Post a Comment