Notionz

DECOUPAGE/Upcycle
"Decoupage or découpage is the art of decorating an object by gluing coloured paper on it."
There are more options available now than in the 12th century when the Chinese used the practice to decorate lanterns, windows, boxes and other items.
Upcycling furniture can be fun and very practical, and environmentally friendly.
The solid furniture of yesteryear beats the modern flat-pack furniture that often ends up in landfills.
In these times, whilst paper is still used for decoupage, and  it is  very cost-effective,
The range of available rub on transfers lends itself to less error.
NotioNZ imports 70% of the transfers they sell, some from Canada and some from South Africa.
notionz also has a full range of paper napkins, tissue paper and rice paper that you can adhere with glue.
Transfers are applied by rubbing on furniture and then finishing off with acrylic varnish or clear wax, whilst paper products involve using " Modge Podge", which is both a glue and varnish.
Hours of fun await a keen upcycler. But be warned, practice makes perfect and rushing a job is not an option.
Ann Johnstone, with her husband Larry, owns NotioNZ, a new and upcycled decor shop in Dargaville.
They decided to set up in Dargavile because they wanted to be their landlord and open times that worked for them, not rely on staff and keep it simple and a personal service.
They upcycle 90% of the furniture they sell, Dargaville is not a bustling city, but it is the archway to Northland's Natural Beauty, no parking charge, and is friendly. Opening fewer times allows them time to work on furniture at their farm base.

Ann has been in the retail and hospitality industry since 1992.
Her first baby (as she puts it) was the NZ Fudge Farm which they established on their small dairy farm in Tangiteroria. They went south in 2005 and had a "good life adventure".
Ann and Larry are a good team, Ann is the creative soul and Larry's painting skills, and tidy finish works well to upcycle furniture  A few ingredients are needed, solid furniture, imagination with colour combination and, most importantly, passion.
When I opened the fudge farm on our farm, I had a small craft shop and my passion for crafts I thought would be filled. But due to fudge's popularity, it never happened.
So at 61, I'm finally getting to fill my creative soul