AT THE White Elephant Studio in Manor Farm, Burton Bradstock, the latest phenomena in interior design is drawing interest from across the country. What started as a sideline furniture restoration business has now snowballed to be at the forefront of the current ‘Upcycling’ trend. This week View from reporter TOM GLOVER spoke to TONY MASON and JAN THORPE about their booming business.
IN a small workshop in Burton Bradstock, a new furniture company is helping homeowners revamp their properties with the latest trend in interior design.
Upcycling is a new phenomenon to hit British shores and has received national media coverage in recent weeks thanks to an episode of the BBC series Mary Queen of Shops.
The theory behind ‘upcycling’ is to take an out of use or waste product and re-vamp it to give it a whole new lease of life.
When Tony Mason and Jan Thorpe’s White Elephant Studio opened on a chilly November evening last year they had no idea about the practice, but it is now the key to their success.
Jan said: “The BBC2 documentary has really put it into the foreground now, the idea that you can transform your home with painted furniture is just very much in vogue at the moment.
“We didn’t even realise it was upcycling to begin with though, it was just something Tony had always wanted to do”
The studio is now packed from wall to wall with Tony’s latest designs but the furniture business has only developed to its current level due to the high public demand.
The studio originally began life with its primary function being a lecture room for Jan’s public speaking seminars with her own business ‘Speechtrain.’
The furniture business almost began as a sideline but as more and more people saw their old family heirlooms transformed into something modern and contemporary, the greater demand became.
“With a lot of these items they have sentimental value to people,” Jan explained.
“We had a guy come in the other day who owned a Welsh dresser and he was quite shocked to see we had one the same and how it looked.
“He only had the bottom of the Welsh dresser left and was using it in his shed for storing wellington boots and he had thrown the rest away.
“He looked quite sad about it because he didn’t realise it could look like this.”
Tony added: “Quite a few people remember the stuff as well. It’s been in their house since they were children, whether it’s a sideboard or a dresser, and they say now you’ve painted it its completely different”
Having spent 35 years as a decorator Tony had always wanted to spread his wings and release his more creative side.
Inspired by the quirky details of 19th century French furniture Tony made the leap into restoration.
“It s 100 per cent better than my decorating days; that was just a trade - it’s an industry but this is a bit arty.
“It’s a talking point and we have people come in and talk for hours about it,” said Tony.
“It seems to be extremely popular around this area and also with a lot of people from London and the south east who are down here on holiday.
“We had one lady come down who said that if we took it back to her village in Sussex we would sell out in a week. I am a amazed at the response and when people say things like that to you, you know it’s going the right way.”
The business has an obvious eco-friendly appeal and the recent publicity surrounding this has definitely been a factor in the White Elephant’s growing success but Tony admits this wasn’t the original idea behind the business.
“The eco side of it is a bonus in a way really, it’s only in the last few months we have started to think that way.
“You see a lot of this stuff being burnt, a lot of the pubs burn it when they re-decorate and it’s a wicked waste,” he said.
The White Elephant is only a small business with Tony the skilled designer and Jan the driving force behind the business administration and presentation in the studio, which also features the work of local artists and unusual items to help finish off your home in style.
Despite just being a two-person team though, the pair do not fear the might of the multi national furniture giants that dominate the industry.
Jan said: “We offer furniture which is a lot better quality, if you go to a lot of the big names nowadays you are not even going to get wood, its pressed cardboard.
“This is proper wood and a better quality of stuff; the fact that it looked dreadful when it arrived doesn’t matter, you turn it into something new and fresh and different.
“It’s certainly value for money; there isn’t a comparison. You could re-furnish your whole house for a fraction of the price, there is a big difference between our prices and buying something new”
Tony added: “You could turn your whole house round; it may be old furniture but it can look stylish and contemporary in modern building or you could put it in an old cottage and mix it with antiques because it has history.
“If you look on eBay nowadays, Welsh dressers are going for up to £200 and that’s without being touched, and some of them are in a terrible state.
“Our idea is to buy things as cheap as possible and pass it on. We are pleased for people to come down and take a look even if they don’t intend to buy. It just gives people ideas and they can go away with a new outlook on things.”
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