It was a pretty miserable weekday afternoon in Swansea this Wednesday and the grizzly drive to Killay had put me in a less than chipper mood. Parking up, I made my way to the shopping precinct with my hood pulled over my eyes and grumpily headed for the distinctly bright shopfront of Turquoise. But as I opened the blue hand-painted door and entered the new shop, I was transported to somewhere much more romantic than the rainy suburb I had just stepped in from.
"We've been told it's like walking into Paris or somewhere in France. A few people have even said it's like walking into The Ivy- or at least a mini version!," said Venetia Baker, 47, one of two sisters behind a new boutique furniture store serving coffee and cake and hosting art workshops for the local community.
"Everything in here we painted by hand. It's taken blood, sweat and tears! It took us three months to do everything ourselves other than the wallpaper!," said Venetia, who taught herself how to create beautifully upcycled furniture and took the plunge last month to open a space in her hometown where she could sell her creations to local customers. "It's a really nice achievement and we feel like we've created a lovely space as so many people say such nice things about it," she added. You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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