Beau Ford's Geometric Sideboard

Painter in Residence, Beau Ford, used vibrant colours from the Chalk Paint® palette to create a fun and contemporary one-of-a-kind piece.

Beau chose a great colour palette of Burgundy, Arles, Provence and Emperor's Silk and used a very simple technique to transform a dull sideboard in to an eye-catching piece of art.

To begin the transformation Beau created areas of colour, somewhat like a camouflage pattern, using Arles, Provence and Emperor's Silk. Once this first coat of paint was throughly dry Beau used square stickers to mask off sections that she would later peel off to reveal the first coat of paint – that works together to create a geometric pattern. Beau painted over the top of the stickers and the drawer fronts in Burgundy, and continued to paint the top and sides to match. Once the paint had dried Beau gently removed the stickers to reveal the squares of Provence, Arles and Emperor's Silk.

To finish the piece she used Arles to highlight the legs and drawer handles, and gave the piece a coat of my Clear Soft Wax to protect the surface.

What do you think of this technique? Have you done anything similar?

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pics from Beau's residency and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and her blog: http://drip-designsfurniture.blogspot.com.au

And remember to follow #PaintersInResidence on Instagram and Facebook, as well as my Painters in Residence board on Pinterest.

Across the great divide

2014 was another exhilarating year, rounded off by two fantastic trips to Ireland and South Africa.

Northern Ireland
In October, I headed across the Irish Sea firstly to Northern Ireland to see my Stockists (over 20 now!). While there, I was able to visit lots of my Stockists' shops and spend time meeting customers. I was very honoured to cut the red ribbon opening of the second Doris and Jeannie shop (below) on Belfast’s Ann Street.

While stopping by to visit Little French Barn in Lisburn (below), I couldn't believe my eyes when the mayor turned up to meet me in his full regalia!

Ireland
Then it was a train to Dublin and a packed reader event with the Irish Times who recently published a fantastic feature about me. Among the many Irish Stockists we visited, it was great to see visit two great shops in Dublin (Rua Dublin, below left and Find, below right).


I adore Ireland: it’s wonderful and it tugs at my roots – I’m part Scots Irish – my great great grandfather John Sloan came from County Down so it was lovely to go back there.

South Africa

What can I say about this absolutely extraordinary, wonderful and inspiring country? It is very different to the country that I knew when I grew up in Southern Africa as a teenager. There’s a very positive vibe which I readily embraced. 
What I enjoyed the most on this particular visit was the vibrant culture of the country – I found it so exciting with the Dutch Africaans, French, German, African tribal, and Cape Coloured influences all around.

I’d been to South Africa on a flying visit in 2013 to set up our paint factory there, but this was my first ‘official tour’. The SA media and magazine interest was phenomenal and I did loads of interviews all around the country.

In Cape Town, I stayed in a most amazing hotel called the Cellars-Hohenort (below) located in the Constantia vineyard Valley on the slopes of Table Mountain. It has to be one of the most beautiful hotels I’ve ever stayed in. I loved the Cape Dutch architecture and the landscaping was spectacular – it was like the Garden of Eden!

Among the very, very many highlights from this extended visit, I really enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people at the book signings we did. In Cape Town, we had a fabulous time at Stockists Froggatt and Frost (below).

I also visited JustDarling in Walkerville, Gauteng, which is very French, very pretty and light.


Here I am meeting with all the stockists in the Johannesburg area.

I was interviewed by South African legend Jenny Cryws Williams (below) on Radio 702 (Thanks, Jenny!)
.

Another Jo’burg stockist, I visited was Eau-la-la in Pretoria run by Ingrid and Lili (below). I loved their bohemian-warehouse style with reclaimed African-made stuff – it was really funky and eye-catching.

Here I am in Durban, again visiting stockists (gathered below).

Thank you to everyone who came to all the SA gatherings – it’s such a vast country, some travelled over a thousand miles to see me! I came away with a powerful feeling that my heart is in South Africa. It’s like a home from home. It is so stimulating and the colours and designs really touched me.
 
I even managed to bring back some more red earth too!
 


So as we enter a new year – and not only that but also the 25th Birthday of Chalk Paint® – I’d love to wish you all a bright and colourful 2015!


Yours, Annie

Merry Christmas

As 2014 draws to a close I've been reflecting on another tremendous year. I've visited the USA, the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, France, Ireland, and South Africa and have met so many wonderful people along the way. The Annie Sloan family has grown to include over 1,200 Stockists around the world, with new countries coming on board such as the UAE, Oman, Singapore, Estonia, Serbia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

I've written and published my latest book, Room Recipes for Style and Colour, I've launched the Annie Sloan Fragrance Collection, extended the Annie Sloan Brush range, introduced two new colours to the Chalk Paint® palette and just recently brought out new mini waxes. We also organised our very first late-night shopping event on 21st November with a huge number of Stockists taking part from across the globe, raising significant funds for local charities close to our hearts.

I'd like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous 2015!

Yours, Annie

Janice Issitt's Vintage Floral Bedroom

After treating herself to this vibrant floral bed linen, Painter in Residence Janice Issitt decided to create a colour scheme to complement her new bedding.

The striking cupboard that sits next to her bed has been painted in a number of colours from the Chalk Paint® palette. The hot pink/red colour is a mix of Emperor's Silk and Henrietta, and was left over from another project that Janice worked on. She used Country Grey and Old White to provide a neutral background to frame the rest of the cupboard.

Janice cut her own stencils to give the cupboard character and a vintage feel. She painted the stencils in Aubusson Blue, Antibes Green, Florence and Greek Blue, picking out colours on her bedspread. She then finished the cupboard with Clear Soft Wax to protect the surface.

Janice also painted the mirror that sits on top of the cupboard in Paloma, a contemporary neutral with a purple tone. She used a combination of Clear and Dark Soft Wax to give it an aged appearance – the perfect complement to the vintage floral style of the room.  

What do you think of the finished look? Have you ever created a vintage floral colour scheme using Chalk Paint®?

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pics from Janice's residency and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and her blog: janiceissittlifestyle.blogspot.com

And remember to follow #PaintersInResidence on Instagram and Facebook, as well as my Painters in Residence board on Pinterest.

Colour of the year?

Pantone recently announced that ‘Marsala’ was its ‘Colour of the Year’ – an interesting gambit on many levels, I thought. And certainly it’s caused quite a media stir and has been commented upon up by several Annie Sloan Stockists, too.

The graphic designer’s friend

What’s it all about? Back in my college days studying Art, I never really came into contact with Pantone colours – it was much more a graphic design thingy and designers talked about it all the time as it was a way of specifying and matching colour. It was explained to me by a graphic designer as a means to clarify conversations such as “I would like it in red”, “What shade of red?”, “Somewhere between tomato and pillar box”. Pantone gets its precisely. Hence it’s not just Marsala but Marsala 18-1438.

Marsala

Pantone say it's ‘a naturally robust and earthy wine red’ and I quite like it personally. In fact, Marsala reminds me of a blend of three of my colours: Burgundy and Primer Red, with a dash of Old White Chalk Paint®.

Kicking off the colour conversation

And ‘Colour of the Year’? Pantone have been promoting a centrefold colour since 2000, I believe, and I think it’s a really interesting idea. If it raises the profile of colour in our lives that can only be a good thing. It makes people focus on colour and that’s exciting – we all need it. 

Having said that, I don’t think we should take it too seriously. It’s for colour forecasters – especially in fashion (clothes and handbags), beauty (we’ll see it in lipsticks) and it kicks off a conversation in interiors, furnishings, design, and graphics, which is all good stuff. It’s all about the zeitgeist and the ‘Colour of the Year’ reflects that – perhaps Marsala is about the need to be more ‘grounded’ in what to many seems a time of freefall?

One colour fits all?

I have to say that the idea of trying to make one colour the colour for the whole world in all these areas seems a wee bit ambitious, and anyway your shop or style simply might not be able to include this or any ‘Colour of the Year’. What happens if you live by the sea and you’ve chosen lots of greys? I say, don’t feel obliged to up paintbrushes and start spreading the Marsala.

Yours, Annie

Alex Russell Flint's Japanese Mural

Painter in Residence, Alex Russell Flint, is a realist oil painter known for his paintings of the female form. It's a real pleasure to see him experiment with Chalk Paint® to reproduce this stunning Japanese mural on his bedroom wall.

Alex took a classic Hiroshige print, Netting Wild Geese on the Hill at Okoshi, as inspiration for this stunning mural. An original woodblock print of the image hangs above his bed on the adjoining wall.

He painted the mural with a range of colours from the Chalk Paint® palette, some straight out of the tin and some mixed together. I love the way he used my paint like an artist's paint, mixing the colours together as he went.

In the rest of the bedroom, Alex echoed colours from the mural to create a cohesive look. He diluted Chalk Paint® in Aubusson Blue to make a wash for the remaining bedroom walls. For the floors, he created a wash with Old White. He painted the chest of drawers next to the bed in Coco and finished them with my Clear Soft Wax.

What do you think? Have you ever used Chalk Paint® to create a mural?

Keep your eyes peeled for the next project from Alex, as I show you the rest of this room.

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pics from Alex's residency and follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and his website:http://www.alexrussellflint.com

And remember to follow #PaintersInResidence on Instagram and Facebook, as well as my Painters in Residence board on Pinterest.