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Meet Annie Looysen of Simply Chic Furniture & Interiors

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Looysen.

Annie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
As a child, I spent weekends at the Flea Market (around here it’s known as the Swap Meet) learning from my Dad how to negotiate and find value and purpose in items nobody wanted. Appreciation for finely crafted wood furniture and antiques is an inherited trait that has been passed down through the generations on my mother’s side. My Mom passed this great appreciation down to me and has shared countless stories about her and my grandmother re-finishing many pieces of furniture over the years.

When I was young, my Mom and I would frequently purchase pieces from the unfinished furniture store and stain them together, which turns out, would serve me well later in life. After high school, I attended college and earned my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. My pursuit of college was to have the freedom to do something that I have a great interest and passion for. I ventured into the professional world and I found that being stuck behind a desk all day was not my style. I love to work with my hands and create something tangible.

I painted my first table back in 2011, a year after my husband and I got married. We needed a table to set a birdcage on for a pair of finches we had just welcomed into our home. I was able to find an old table that needed some work (we were on a tight budget) and wanted to make it my own. I had never painted before so I did a bunch of research, including a lot of time spent watching YouTube videos. I bought all my supplies and surprisingly enough, it was fun and it turned out great.

Unfortunately, the birds made an awful mess and were quite loud in our 800 square foot granny house, so we decided to re-home them. This meant that we no longer had a use for this cute little table, so I found a small chair to match and decided to sell the pair as a set. I put the set up for sale on Craigslist and it sold within 3 days to a lady who traveled 45 minutes and had just received a layoff notice from her work. I had the set priced fairly high, but she said that she saw the set online and “had to have it.” After this sale, I thought… “I could really have something here!”

Almost 2 years ago, I was working in a career I had always wanted, at my Alma mater. I was just not happy sitting behind a desk all day, it was like torture, my job was not creative in any way and I thought, is this what I spent all this time going to college for?

This was also about the same time my Dad was very ill, he passed away at the end of 2015 and it made me put my whole life into perspective and made me think deeply about whether I was happy with my career choice

All this time I was working on furniture part time while I worked almost full time at my other job and would come home and sell furniture on my lunch break. I decided right after my Dad died that he would want me to be happy so I got brave and put in my 2 weeks’ notice. This transition felt incredible, but also terrifying because this meant I was solely responsible for my income. I was so fortunate at this time to have so many customers requesting custom painting jobs, so much that I had a hard time keeping up with demand.

Fast forward 8 months and my husband was laid off from his job. I thought, OK God, you have a plan here. He totally did, I was the busiest I had ever been in that month my husband was between jobs. He was able to help me with projects, deliver furniture to customers, and made my workshop more efficient. My husband received an offer for a new job almost immediately after losing his old one, and just a few short months after that, I opened my first store in Nipomo, CA. The rest of the story you’ll read about later in this article.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I don’t believe that starting any business is a smooth process, there will always be bumps and obstacles in your way, it’s all about how you push through the rough times and turn the negatives into positives.

The biggest struggles have been dealing with slow times and lulls in the market. Every industry has peaked and offseasons, it’s all about figuring out when those times are, and how to redirect the customer’s focus on your business to lessen the negative impact on your bottom line.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Simply Chic Furniture & Interiors – what should we know?
My business started as a hobby, painting furniture in my spare time to make a little extra money to hopefully use as a down payment for a house. This little hobby over time started to pick up steam, and I started making a name for myself in the community. After about 7 years of painting furniture in my garage and selling that furniture out of my home that was ultimately purchased with that furniture money, I decided to act on my long-time desire to own and operate a store.

I found a small space right next to a busy Mexican restaurant and made it my own. My small store contained furniture that I painted or refinished, and small antiques (anything from crocks, to old windows, to household primitives) sourced from wherever I could find them. I pick things that I like and I hope my customers will like as well. It turned out that what I like is what my customers are looking for, and things were selling pretty well in my small space.

After a few months in my small store, a larger unit opened up next to me, it was ideal, the two spaces already shared a joining door that could be removed to create one large space. As soon as I heard of the space next to me coming available, I called my landlord and she was able to get a contract over to me immediately. It took a few months of tedious HVAC work, purchasing new merchandise and setting up the new space, but finally, I had what I wanted and what the local community wanted as well.

On May 5, 2018, Simply Chic Furniture and Interiors opened up with a fresh new image that was well received by the community. We not only sell refinished furniture and antiques, but we also carry many new household items such as signs, vases, floral arrangements, wreaths, table runners, pillows and coffee mugs. We also carry many different artisan crafted items such as natural candles, hand turned candlesticks, scented bath balms and shower steamers, handcrafted jewelry, one-of-a-kind handbags, magnets, tea towels, pillows, hand-painted signs and custom wood cutting boards.

Of everything I sell, I’m most known for my furniture painting and refinishing, however, I’m quickly being known as Annie in Olde Towne Nipomo with the adorable furniture and gift store. I work hard to make my store a fun and positive space for people to come in with friends and family, shop around and have a good laugh. The store is filled with wonderful smells from our bath balms, shower steamers, candles and floral arrangements. There is now space to roam and beautifully vibrant colors that grab the attention of all passerby.

We want to create something that Nipomo and the surrounding area doesn’t have and I feel that we’ve accomplished that, but we’ll never stop striving to bring in new and unique pieces that people can purchase and admire in their own homes. Our store is ever changing and I bring in new pieces every week!

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I could not do this business by myself. I am very lucky to have the support of my husband Chris who helps with all the heavy-lifting and provides his own expertise in design styles and paint color options for the pieces I re-finish. He will joyfully transport furniture whenever I ask for his help and loves going picking with me. He also has a gift for seeing an empty space and arranging furniture and other merchandise that is aesthetically pleasing. He has done a wonderful job making displays for my new store which gives my store an authentic and handcrafted feel.

My Mom has been a huge support since day one, seeing that she is quite the furniture collector herself and is always on the ready when I need a picking buddy as well. She has also been a HUGE help since I started my store, she frequently comes in and greets customers and runs the register, customers love her! My Dad was also a huge supporter of my work, and even though he’s no longer with us, knowing how much he loved what I do makes my job so much more fulfilling.

I have a really wonderful memory of getting a full truckload of furniture and driving past my parent’s house (we lived down the street in the 800 sqft granny house) and my Mom and Dad were both outside coincidentally when we were driving by. When we showed them what I had bought, they were just as excited about all of it as I was. This common appreciation for furniture has brought us all closer over the years and has created a new dynamic to my relationship with my family that I may not have had I not started refinishing furniture.

My sister Cathy has been helping me on Saturdays when I need a day off. She has a wealth of retail experience and I can show her something one time and she gets it! I wouldn’t have been ready for my grand opening if it wasn’t for her! I had a small medical emergency that set me back and she was there to help get the store ready to open, I couldn’t have done it without her. My sister Becky shops for all birthdays and holidays for her friends at my store and comments on all of my social media posts. She helps me so much and she doesn’t live close by but makes certain to help me in any way she can.

My brother Tony has a love for vintage items, specifically mid-century and art deco, so he loves to shop in my store and will sometimes go with my husband to deliver custom furniture near and far. To all of my customers throughout the years who have purchased furniture from me or put their faith in me to paint a piece from their home, I appreciate all of your support.

You all have believed in a girl with a dream and a serious dedication to making it a reality. Without all of my supportive customers, I wouldn’t be in the position to deliver new and exciting merchandise and services to those in this area and abroad. Last but certainly not least I want to mention my corgis Rosie and Wrangler who is always by my side when I am working on furniture projects. They entertain me and always remind me when I need to take a break and throw the ball for them. I am always posting stories of them on my Instagram feed so be sure to check those out!

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Dana Hartman Hodgkinson of Blessed Beyond Belief Photography, Dale Weber of Dale Weber Photography

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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