Chic Meets Shabby, Brewster
When Nicole Adel and Vanessa Johnson wanted to open a furniture store in Brewster, the biggest challenge they faced was coming up with a catchy name.
After much deliberation, the two Dutchess County residents and new business owners settled on the unique name ‘Chic Meets Shabby.’ The shop opened last week offering custom painted furniture and home décor that can’t be found anywhere else.
Customers can either bring pieces of furniture to the store and have Adel and Johnson redo it, or the store offers recreated pieces of furniture they find and transform. Chic Meets Shabby also makes custom, rustic signs and creative creations in most cases using Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan.
After looking for a store location for three or four months, the two Wappinger Falls natives settled on Brewster because they didn’t see a store like this in the area. And the pair have heard how one of a kind their shop is from the customers that have stopped by so far.
“We kind of incorporate our style into it unless someone wants something specific for themselves, but we try to do it like we were putting it in our house,” Adel said. “We put our heart and soul into it and try to make it look our best.”
When the pair started out, they would do work for just family and friends, who were always impressed with their work. Now, they do it for everyone at Chic Meets Shabby, a member of the Brewster Chamber of Commerce.
“We started painting furniture for ourselves and kind of got addicted to it,” Adel said. “We’ve always been crafty and done stuff like that so we just decided to jump into it.”
Johnson, who always wanted to redo her own furniture, took a class a few years back to learn more about it and continued from there. Adel also loves going to yard sales and consignment stores and upgrading older pieces of furniture that the average person might not think twice about.
While neither Johnson nor Adel ever expected to open a business one day, it’s no surprise they decided to do it together. The two have known each other since–incredibly–kindergarten.
They were friends when they were five-years-old and there are even home videos of the two back from that time to prove it. While they went to different schools for a short time, they were eventually reunited in high school and have been friends ever since.
“We mesh well, we have our own talents,” Adel said.
