We meet: Annie Sloan of Chalkpaint

If you love colour, creativity, and renovating old things to make them new, you will adore Annie Sloan of Chalkpaint.

Annie, an Australian-born artist, ex-rockstar, and mother of 3 grown-up boys, lives and works in Oxford, England with her husband David who runs the business with her. She lived in New Zealand as a child and still has close relatives here, whom she went out for dinner with the night before our event.

The event was postponed due to the Good Morning TV show going on longer thanks to the FIFA World Cup, and was well worth the wait – it was such a pleasure to see Annie in action and hear her story. She created the paint range on colours she’d use as an artist, rather than the garish colours around at the time, and sell them in interior design stores rather than the overly masculine hardware stores where paint was traditionally sold.

Annie credits her huge success to hitting the market at the time that people wanted to DIY renovate rooms and furniture cheaply themselves. The financial crisis has seen a worldwide shift in how people redecorate and re-use items, and they can give old things a new lease on life with her Chalkpaint.

The paint doesn’t contain chalk at all as some think, but it has a chalky look and finish. It can be sanded and oiled and re-painted and distressed in the shabby chic and French Country style.

Below: Annie Sloan demonstrated her paint style and then we got to use it on some picture frames ourselves. Thanks for having us, Le Monde Home in Parnell.

Annie trained as a painter, but turned to decorative work and understanding colour after university. In 1987 she wrote the phenomenally successful book ‘The Complete Book of Decorative Paint Techniques’ which was followed by over 20 other books on traditional paints, colours and techniques and has led to total sales of well over 2 million books worldwide in 11 languages. Her latest books are the highly successful ‘Creating the French Look’ published in April 2008 and ‘Quick & Easy Paint Transformations’ published in April 2010.

In 2000 she set up her shop in Oxford to showcase her Chalk Paint®, run courses, and offer interior design services using her knowledge about colour.