Head out to Ginninderra Village at Gold Creek and one of the first stores you will come across is Staghead Designs. As one of a cluster of creative businesses that make up the dynamic precinct, Staghead leads the way with a collection of beautiful vintage, industrial and French Provincial furniture and homewares. After just a few moments you’ll be inspired to achieve great things in your own living room, and know where to buy the perfect gift.

At Staghead, a lot of the furniture in store is ‘upcycled’. Never heard of it? Well, it’s a form of recycling where the original object is refined, cleaned and painted – ready for a new life as part of your home. The aim is not to make the object look new, but to describe its age without making it seemed old and tired. It’s a fine art that is immediately evident within moments of entering the store.

The key reason for this effect is the use of Annie Sloan Chalk Paints – a product delivers a matt surface that gives the effect of age. As the only stockist of the product in the ACT, owner Adriana is excited about showing Canberrans a new craft that makes everything old new again (well, as new as you want it to be!)

“I’ve been using the paints for about three years, and am always exploring new effects that can be achieved on different surfaces. It’s really fun, and I think when you enter Staghead you can really feel the sense of adventure we have when working on an object.”

Staghead acts as a place to buy beautiful ‘upcycled’ products that have been sourced from farmhouses all over New South Wales and Queensland, as well as from flea markets in London and Paris. However, you’re not limited to buying Adriana’s creations.

“We host at least two workshops each month – showing a few techniques for using the paints and then allowing attendees to explore themselves. It’s such an easy product to use: simply grab your old chair, your paintbrush and your preferred colour of Annie Sloan paint and off you go!”

Staghead is open from 10.00am Tuesday to Sunday at Ginninderra Village. For more information, check out the website or their Facebook page.

To read more about Annie Sloan paints click here.