At Redefined Finds, we carry the full line of Fusion Mineral Paint™️, Mango Paint™️, as well as our ‘redefined’ furniture, home decor and upcycled finds! “Originally, we started as a shop that sold painted furniture that we had purchased used and ‘Redefined’. I had been doing that out of my home and two antique malls for the couple of years before that, so it was time for my own shop,” said Alison.
“We also sold the Fusion Mineral Paint line and ran a few workshops on how to paint your furniture and give it new life. We had a few other products in store like hardware and some of my friends’ art on the wall. Over that first year we started to add more gift products as well as some products from local artisans,” said Alison. Redefined Finds was in the early stages of evolving, with customer-demand leading the way.
“Our customers seemed to be looking for the furniture plus a space to buy gifts and home decor. This is when we really started to notice a change and the workshops were really catching on, we knew we needed to grow this side of the business as much as possible. The desire for people to Do-It-Yourself became apparent,” she added. Alison was cognizant of her financials and space utilization – it was backwards: the most popular space was squeezed, such as the workshop space, while less frequented – the large retail space – wasn’t carrying its own weight. The third anniversary for Redefined Finds is definable by change.
Alison has been hosting approximately 20-24 workshops per month and attracts all age ranges attending. “We get people who want to learn new skills, and once they start painting their own furniture they are hooked,” she said. She reports that they also get people who want to enjoy a social afternoon or evening out with friends or family and do a project-based class by either herself or one of their guest teachers. The variety of workshops that they host now goes well beyond painting, “So we attract, mothers and daughters, friend groups, work parties, family gatherings and everything in between.”
If you ask Alison what she is most excited about: “I am most excited about creating a social hub for the downtown core where people can come, be social and create at the same time. We will have DIY Thursday, which is a full day and evening that is open to drop in and pick an item that we have or bring an item in and paint it for your home. This is going to be such a fabulous addition, because now there will be a place to drop in anytime during the day, after work or after school, that you can spend one hour or a few, and go home with something unique.”