Furniture Restoration Store Opens In Adams
 Traci Keele and Patti Francoeur opened Before & After on Summer Street in Adams. |
She refurbished it and gave it as a gift. When she posted her handiwork on Facebook she received an array of comments from people asking her to refurbish their stuff. She started doing one here and there in her basement has now turned it into a business.
Before & After is holding a grand opening on Saturday. Francoeur moved into 52 Summer St. in November and is launching the new business with her daughter, Traci Keele.
"I was doing the work in my basement. I took over my husband's gym," Francoeur said of the start of the business, which grew from there.
Keele was out of work after having a baby and kept urging her mother to expand what was then a hobby into a business.
"I kind of jumped in an said 'you can do this,'" Keele said. "There were so many people who wanted to see things and she was bringing them down to her basement. It was getting hard."
Keele created a business page and started marketing her mother's work. And now they've opened a storefront. Customers can bring their old furniture into the store and work with the two on designing a new look or can pick from an array of items bought at tag sales and flea markets for refurbishment. The customer can pick colors, stains, paint, designs and engravings for the furniture.
Francoeur says she does both the more traditional restoration of an antique piece of furniture as well as bringing new life to older pieces with modern designs.
 A before and after photo of a refurbished end table. |
Recently, Francoeur renovated a table to feature a chalkboard top, a Hello Kitty dresser, and a Lego table for children. And she's engraved and stained furniture for adults. The mother and daughter have worked on an array of items including coat racks, bureaus and cradles.
"There is something here for everybody," she said. "It's not just antiques. It's not just children's toys. It's both."
Keele recently started getting involved the handcrafted work and has been creating unique toy boxes out of older wooden chests. Children and grandchildren have also found their way into the business by helping to sand or paint.
"It's become quite a family business," Keele said.
The new Summer Street location — right next door to the Corner Lunch Cafe — also features jewelry and other crafts made by local vendors. Before and After is selling those items for the local vendors who haven't quite turned their hobby into a business yet.
After six weeks of settling into their new location, the company is launching a grand opening from noon until 3 p.m. on Saturday. They'll be having raffles, children's games, prizes, and food.
"We're happy we're here," Francoeur said.
The store is planned to be open from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday. But the two said they hope to expand hours in the summer. And, they said they take appointments outside of those hours.
Tags: new business, furniture, grand opening, restoration,
