We're Back... Find us in Victoria & George, Edinburgh

We source, restore, recycle and paint antique and vintage furniture and homewares, mainly focusing on classic pieces with simple lines - items that would fit perfectly into a cottage, farmhouse or traditional home. Much of furniture dates back to the mid-late 19th century and is made from old pine, elm, oak, mahogany and teak. They’re solid, sturdy pieces that have lasted for more than 100 years and will last for 100 more.

We also like to source antique and vintage items from across the waters - places like India, Japan, France and Belgium. We love our smaller pieces and the things that complement our way of styling and thinking. We stock smaller items such as lampshades, cushions, frames and mirrors and Scaramanga’s range of leather bags and journals.

We’re in the city centre, in the south side, and we feel very lucky to be part of the Bruntsfield community. This area is becoming a bit of a rarity, because we still have lots of small, independent family-run businesses dotted along the street. It has been lovely to hear that some customers have done most of their Christmas shopping just by walking down our little street.

I’ve always collected antique furniture and bits and pieces, and painting has been a favourite hobby. A few years ago I decided I’d had enough of my full-time career, so I took the plunge, decided to turn the hobby into a job, and that was that. A few friends thought I was a bit mad, but I love doing what I do and I hope the passion for it comes through. It isn’t always very glamorous though - I spend half my life covered in dust and paint, lugging furniture around and driving across the UK in my van to discover treasures

I’ll admit, a lot of it comes down to personal taste - I’ve sourced every single item that is the shop myself. But the main thing for us is to take old pieces and make them better - give them a new lease of life - whether this means restoring or sympathetically painting them. Recycling, avoiding waste, using natural products and being ethical in what we stock is important, and we like to work with businesses with a similar ethos.

We’ve got a large range of items in store, including lots of classic shoulder and tote bags, laptop bags, a range of journals and wallets and plenty of stocking fillers, including pencil cases, key ring purses and very smart leather collars for our furry companions. The range sits beautifully with our antique and vintage furniture, the styles marry together very well.

To get bigger - but not too big. We love the fact we’re a family business and we only work with a few close and trusted people at the moment. Next year we have plans to expand the business a bit, to venture more online and cater to nationwide customers, and to hold painting, making and mending workshops.

There has been a lot of talk about blue and light green colours being a trend for 2020, and that would be perfect for us!

When we paint furniture, we like to make sure that the colours complement the old pieces we are painting. Modern pinks, pastels and neon shades aren’t our style and we won’t try to make an old piece look new. We love the classic green-blue palette, rich marine-style shades, so we’ll be focusing on that a lot next year.