Lynda is the founder of Touchwood Vintage Designs. She uses wonderful papers and the finest fusion mineral paint to give a new life to vintage furniture, upcycling it and creating unique pieces. She also holds workshops to encourage people to discover her amazing art.
In May 2019, she gave a demonstration at Grand Designs Live, painting a chest of drawers using coal black fusion mineral paint, and decoupaging it with designer paper. It was autographed by Kevin McCloud and she auctioned it off, kindly donating the proceeds of £260 to Emmaus Lambeth and Surrey.
When she visited our community after donating the pieces in the photos below, we took the opportunity to ask her more about her story.
“It all started five years ago. After I was made redundant I didn’t know what to do with my life but knew I didn’t want to go back into the office world. A very good friend of mine, Angie, suggested I try painting some furniture, which I didn’t think was for me, but I went home, started looking at images of upcycled furniture and was so inspired by what people can do! I bought my first piece of furniture from a charity shop then bought some paper and some paint and decided to give it a go to see what happened. I was really impressed with the result and sold the finished piece for £50. It’s just a beautiful job. I love what I do!
Sometimes I’m stuck with a piece and it could be in my workshop for a few months before I start doing something with it, it just depends on its design, on the size and shape of the piece of furniture, and obviously on the way I feel! It’s one of those things where you really need to take your time and think how it can look; sometimes the idea comes naturally and sometimes if it’s a quirky piece I take a few months to think about what I’m going to do with it.
Just because something is old and brown, doesn’t mean that it can’t be saved, redesigned and restored. Everybody should have a piece of upcycled furniture in their home, something colourful. Everything can be reused: I know about some people that turned a wardrobe into a cocktail cabinet!
I do workshops once a month where I teach people all the tips and tricks of the trade, starting right from the basics to the final touches and they walk away with an amazing piece of furniture they can take home. It’s really good fun; everybody loves it and I love teaching people! Even kids or teenagers can do it. Imagination is the first thing you need. And it’s good for the soul!
I had no self-confidence, no job, and finding this creativity and knowing that I’m good at something gave me self-worth, gave me back my life and my security, and it’s always nice when people love your pieces, it’s really rewarding.”
Lynda’s mantra is “design is endless, it’s about where your imagination takes you”.
Thank you to Lynda for sharing her story with us and for her generous donations. You can find more about her workshops and book them here.