Happy Thursday friends!  The weekend is almost here.  So looking forward to this weekend!  My sister is coming to visit and we are having ourselves some “girl” time!  One thing I love so much about blogging is all the fabulous “girls” I have met.  My circle of friendships has expanded around the world.  One friend, who I have been following since she was first getting started is my friend Sharon from Elizabeth and Company.

Sharon knows all about the importance of friendship.  Her love of restoring furniture is interwoven with her friendships, literally.  I am so excited for her to share here today.

Hi everyone, I’m Sharon from Elizabeth & Co. and I’m thrilled to be hanging out at Redoux today. Karen is a constant source of inspiration and one of my favorite blog friends. The girl is crazy talented and fearless! One day I’m going to fly across the country and join her on an early morning dumpster diving expedition – exciting and scary all at the same time! 

 I asked Karen if there was anything in particular she wanted me to share today. She said that she would love to know how I got into the furniture refurbishing business. Well the answer to that is simple ….. it just kind of happened! I’ve always loved decorating with vintage finds and the concept of recycling and repurposing furniture. I seriously love furniture! But I never imagined doing it professionally or had any big dreams of opening a shop or business of my own. Then occasional sales began to become popular and I loved everything about the concept! Each sale is fun and fresh and a whole new experience. There is excitement in the anticipation. I wanted to be a part of that! And seriously, you can only do so much shopping and furniture refinishing for your own home. I started brainstorming with a few friends. We asked ourselves a whole lot of questions that started with “what if” and ended with “why not”. The next thing we knew, Elizabeth & Co. was a reality. And our name comes from the fact that we each have a daughter with the middle name of Elizabeth. You can read all the details here. 

We all started collecting furniture in our garages and practicing. I was on the computer every night reading everything I could and believe me, I was taking notes. I talked to people and I asked questions. And although I’ve never kept a journal or a diary in my life, I decided that if we were going on this little adventure, then I was going to start a blog and write about it.

This little end table was my very first furniture post almost two years ago.

I’ve since sanded, painted, distressed and waxed more furniture than I can count.

… to ridiculously heavy buffets.

And glazed furniture.

And played with chalk paint.

And now I often make my own chalk paint.

I get questions about making chalk paint almost every single day!

 I really love what I do. So when I write about a furniture project, you’ll get all the details. I learned through the generosity of others and I intend to pay it forward. If you have any questions, I’m happy to help. The greatest compliment is when someone says they were inspired to take on a project of their own!

The girls at Elizabeth & Co. come together to host several vintage tag sales each year. I love working with these girls and meeting the customers who come to our sales. Nothing makes me happier than to see a piece of furniture that I transformed heading off to a new life in a happy home!