#25Project: Raglan, Wales!

It gives me the greatest pleasure to present you with the latest 25 Project – this time from Wales! As it's 'back to school' for a lot of you this week, I thought it fitting to share this transformation of a gorgeous old school hall with you.

With a population just short of 2,000 and the nearest town of Abergavenny 15 miles away, this Old Church School Hall has always been a focal point for the village of Raglan. A little history first: built in 1857, this hall started as a local community school. In World War II, many of the families in Raglan opened up their homes to evacuee children and so the school had to accommodate an influx of new children.

Over the years, as the old school became a hub for the local community, it understandably started to show wear and tear. Together with some fantastic volunteers – young and old – my Stockist Lucy Hywel, who runs That's Lovely That in Abergavenny, gave the place a much-needed facelift.



Using mainly Old White and Duck Egg Blue, they really made a feature of the wood panelling on the walls. Touches of Aubusson Blue help bring everything together, creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

I've been told that, since the completion of the project, two new clubs have been formed and are now using the hall for Yoga and Tai-chi. This, along with the other organisations and clubs that use the space already – that's martial arts, kids clubs, art groups, film nights, and girl scouts. Phew!

Well done to everyone who participated in this gorgeous transformation. May the Raglan Old Church School Hall continue to be used by the community for at least another 160 years!

Yours,

Annie

#25 Project: Methilhill, Scotland!

Are you ready for some bright and cheerful colour? Well, I have just the thing with this 25 Project from Scotland!

This is 'Charlie's Shed' in Methilhill, an eastern coastal town in Scotland. This space is now a cafe for the local community who use the youth club next door.

I love that the space is used as an after school club and a community cafe, and that they also hold skill building and family centric workshops there. 'Charlie's Shed' was built within the Methilhill Community Learning Garden in 2016 as the next part of their continually growing project. The idea is that this space will also be a place that offers cookery classes using the produce grown in the local garden.

Before the transformation began, the local community were consulted by my stockists based in Kirkcaldy, the wonderful Lorraine and Nadia of Love Restored. Everyone who wanted to be involved spoke about how they'd like to see the space looking. I love that the final look reflects this, with the main look being all about fun!


A total rainbow of a room, most of my brightest colours were used, including English Yellow, Emperor's Silk, Antibes Green and Napoleonic Blue. The tables and chairs in the cafe were all painted and given a coat or two of Clear Chalk Paint® Wax to protect it from food stains and spills.

The real works of art, however, are on those wooden walls. A big beautiful rainbow, adorable sprouting mushrooms and that huge tree were all painted in Chalk Paint. I especially love the stencils incorporated throughout, including my Stencil in Classical Bird that seem to be fluttering away!

I want to thank all the people involved in making this transformation happen, and I especially want to say a big thank you to all the children who helped with the painting too! Well done to everybody!

Yours,

Annie

#25Project: Sendai, Japan!

Here is something special now, a 25 Project all the way from Japan! When I visited this extraordinary country in 2015, I was welcomed with open arms and came away with the most wonderful memories, so it was such a thrill to see these photos land in my inbox!

The project took place on a farm in Sendai, where a space was being built for children affected by the tsunami in 2011. This building was built by the community and painted using my paints.

The Kubono Community Association, along with the children who will benefit from the space, used Chalk Paint® to add bright, cheery personality to the furniture and walls, really making it their own. I love how the structure of the building is very typically Japanese in style, and yet the colour combinations they chose, like Henrietta and English Yellow, are so playful!

Here are a few photographs from Sendai that I feel really tell the story of how this community came together:

I'm sure you'll agree that these photos are very special, and I feel very proud of my stockists in Japan for being such wonderful ambassadors and leaders in their community.

I want to give the last word to the community of volunteers involved in this project, who told me the following:

"In 11th of March 2011, we lost so many friends, families and so many things by the huge earthquake and Tsunami, but now we stand up for our bright future. We are appreciated for having experience such a kind project. Volunteers enjoyed painting and was full of smiles. We are so proud of being chosen the project as a representative in Japan, and we are looking forward to using this space."

If you'd like to read more stories like this from my 25 Project, search #25Project on this blog.

Yours, 

Annie 

#25Project: Thessaloniki, Greece!

Here is the second project from Greece! You might remember that I had the good fortune to visit the last one back in October, which you can read about here.

This delightful transformation is in the North of Greece in the city of Thessaloniki. An old public library, Sintos Library needed a little love and care and I am thrilled that the results have created a calm, studious air to the space!


When I visited Greece I noticed that the stockists were all so fantastically close, always ready to help one another, and this project is no different.

Led by their local stockist, lovely Myrsini of The Small Factory, and Elsa my glorious Greek distributor, a group of Annie Sloan stockists and local volunteers transformed this space over two days.

They mainly used a palette soft greens, blues and pinks, including Country Grey, Old Violet, Versailles and Scandinavian Pink.

I love that fun addition of my Circles Stencil on the rail, and you can see some of the other designs in my Stencil Collection dotted here and there too!

The finished place is for reading, contemplation and study.

And there you have it!

I feel very honoured and proud to have such a fantastic group of people representing me in Greece. To keep up to date with all of their work do follow them on Facebook at Annie Sloan Greece.

Yours,

Annie

#25Project: Turkey!

Today I'm sharing a completed 25 Project all the way from Turkey! This very worthy venue is a school for deaf-mute children and the space that was chosen to be transformed is the art and drawing room of the school. The picture below shows a rather dated room, with walls covered with gold fabric!

My distributor for Turkey, Meltem of Dama Vintage and the local stockist, Tulay of Eski and Yeni, organised the design and transformation, along with volunteers from the local University and the school. To give the space a lift and to transform it into a creative and colourful room they used Chalk Paint® in a palette of Scandinavian Pink, Antoinette, Provence and Original. Everything was painted, from that gold fabric to the school desks, tables, bookshelves and chairs! I love how they created a tactile, fun and engaging space for the children by using patterns, prints and stripes with the paint. It is now a space that breathes creativity.

The best part of the project is of course, the reveal, and I’m told that this one was very special. The volunteers got a chance to meet the students who used the space and there was great excitement from the children when the freshly painted art room was revealed!

I want to thank every single person involved, from the volunteers to the school, and my Turkish stockists and distributors. Their hard work and patience has really paid off and I hope that the space helps the students creativity to bloom.

Yours

Annie

#25Project Transformation 10: New Zealand!

This week I've been loving all things coastal and beachy, so what better time to share this beautiful coastal inspired #25Project from Pohutukawa Coast in New Zealand!

The Beachlands Community Trust, situated in a beautiful log cabin, is a community events space that provides arts and crafts classes to the locals amongst other things.

The wonderful people at Taylored Revival, their local Annie Sloan stockist, led the project and were there every step of the way. I thank them for all of their incredible hard work in this transformation.

It was inspiring to see just how involved the whole community were with the transformation of this space, from sharing their thoughts and ideas on design and colour schemes to pitching in with the painting.

I think the pictures from the project speak for themselves, so scroll down and have a look at this positive, joyful project! 

The before.
Dark and a little old fashioned 

The outside is done!
Now for the inside...

Everyone coming together to help paint it Louis Blue

Vinyl chairs painted in soft blue tones.

These vinyl chairs have been painted in Greek Blue and finished with Clear Wax
The table is English Yellow

Duck Egg Blue! 

To find out more about this fantastic project more head over to Taylored Revivals blog, it's a fascinating and uplifting read!

Well done to all the team and the community of Beachlands for coming together to transform this cabin in to a bright, breezy and coastal haven!

Yours,

Annie