Fresh Shop :: Turquoise Shed Vintage

At My Vintage Addiction, we’re constantly on the lookout for fresh, new vintage shops. Turquoise Shed gives new life to once-loved items, creating a unique & colorful collection of vintage furniture sure to brighten up any corner of your home. Of course, we asked the shopkeepers for all of their deep, dark secrets.

Who is behind the scenes at Turquoise Shed? Is this a one-man-band or a group thang?
Turquoise Shed has two worker bees: Carly Martin and Melissa VanToever. We had trouble finding the pieces we wanted for our own home and on our budgets so we took matters into our own hands. We loved it so much that we decided to start a business and with a little bit of assistance from trial and error (and our upholsterer Earl!!) we are starting to get rolling!!

You’re a brand-spankin’-new shop on Etsy. Do you have a storefront location and what made you decide to open shop?
Yes, we have a storefront and a small showroom where we can sell pieces that we’ve redesigned and display our collection of vintage, recycled and custom fabrics. Our redesigned pieces also serve as inspiration for clients who have come to us to have their own pieces re-designed.

You give new life to furniture & objects tossed aside. How do you choose your pieces?
We pick pieces based on the quality of it. Vintage pieces tend to have been made to last and that’s something you don’t always find with new furniture. We also look for nice lines. Mostly, we just get a special feeling about a piece of furniture that we know is begging to be spruced up and given a second chance! Occasionally, one of us sees potential that the other may not but we trust each others’ vision and it usually works out…

What’s your favorite item currently for sale in the shop?
[Melissa] I have been resisting finding a spot in my house for the blue cabinet that we have for sale on Etsy right now…something about the relaxing shade of blue and the sparkly glass panels and knobs remind me of the beaches here on the east coast in the summer….

[Carly] My favorite item is also the blue cabinet. It’s hard to find media storage when you have kids who like to press buttons and this would tick off all my boxes: high enough, glass doors to house media devices and sparkly knobs!

Read all about Carly & Melissa’s adventures in shopkeeping at their blog. For more Turquoise Shed, follow them on Twitter & join the Facebook group. Visit them at their in-store location at 4-102 Queen St., Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island (Canada).