Teresa Preece loves collecting other people’s discarded items and turning them into treasure. That’s what got her into painting vintage and antique furniture after a chalk painting class in Bridgeport, West Virginia. “After the class, I started painting older furniture I already had, and fell in love with the whole process,” She says. Fast forward to now, and she has opened The Wood Shed Company in The Collective Retail and Artisan Shops in downtown Williamson, WV.
She’d visited The Collective after their opening, and loved everything that they were offering, but she didn’t think about going in herself until a friend of hers suggested it. After contacting Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Randall Sanger, Teresa was one step closer to turning her talents into a small business. “I sent Randall pictures of the furniture that I had ready, and pretty much moved in that next weekend,” She says. “I neve dreamed they would sell so fast.”
For Teresa, this is a dream come true. “I have friends that I’ve worked with, and we would go to out of the way places looking for furniture to paint, and we always talked about opening a place. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years,” She says. “The Collective is even better than having a place of my own. They have been so supportive and helpful, and there are so many great people!”
In the future, Teresa hopes to see her company continue to grow. “I’d like to add painting classes,” She says. “I’d also like to learn more about getting my furniture on social media, or maybe a website. I struggle with social media,” She says laughingly.
The Wood Shed Company is also a distributor of Wise Owl paint products which includes paints, primers, glazes, varnish, furniture salve, and wax.
The Wood Shed Company has both a Facebook page and a Facebook group where you can see what Teresa’s selling right now. Be sure to stop by The Collective on 2nd Avenue in downtown Williamson to check out all of the great pieces in stock.
