SARAH MACAULAY.
Decorative artist, Sarah turned a love of art and recycling into a business of helping people connect with their creativity and find their joy. Her furniture renovation, chalk painting and art classes teach people how to transform heirloom and thrift store finds into beautiful pieces that are also suitable for modern living.
MY SIGNATURE STYLE
English cottage, highly decorative with a touch of boho.
I LOVE HELPING PEOPLE CONNECT WITH THEIR CREATIVITY
That defining moment in my life happened in 2017 when my father passed away, I was feeling very stuck in my career and overwhelmed with family responsibilities. I came to the awareness that I had lost touch with my passion for fine art and being creative. My Dad was very into art and would often take me to the art galleries. I studied fine arts and art history at uni but had put my passion to one side for many years to earn a living and be a wife and mum. I was lucky enough to find a mentor during this period who helped me get ‘unstuck’ and encouraged me to do the things that bring me joy. I picked up my paintbrushes again and started learning furniture painting techniques from some great teachers, and the business quickly evolved from that point.
wHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?
My parents passed on their post-war era attitude of 'make do and mend' and taught me to enjoy upcycling and appreciate the pre-loved and imperfect. I think that’s why I like to reuse and recycle where possible and love to find new ways to add colour and charm to my home. I get a lot of satisfaction out of transforming kerbside and thrift store finds into beautiful pieces that are also suitable for modern living.
DESCRIBE YOUR WORKSHOPS
I now have a small but very tranquil studio in my backyard in Seaforth where I teach furniture renovation, chalk painting and craft workshops, work on art projects and film online demonstrations and classes. I love helping people connect with their creativity and learn a practical new skill and I get a huge buzz out of seeing other people's painted transformations.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
I am inspired by strong, creative women! I meet a lot of interesting people in this line of work and many of them have inspired me. Many of my workshop customers have become good friends over time. One of them recently took on the challenge of working in outback Katherine for a year helping disadvantaged women in the community and another spent lockdown delivering wool to members of her Knitters’ Guild on her motorbike. One more is an art therapist who brings lots of creativity and unique ideas to our workshops.
I love op shops and flea markets. My current favourite is the Lindara markets (Killara Uniting Church) as they have great bargains (and proceeds go to various community charities). I am also addicted to English magazines: Period Living for gorgeous vintage homes and Reclaim for upcycling inspiration. I have also met many fabulous creative people online whose work inspires me.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST?
I love the opportunity of turning old junk into something useful and stylish. Most of all I love it when my customers ‘catch the bug’ and start painting everything in their homes and see the potential of renovating the heirlooms in their family that are a bit old and daggy!
Some of my customers tell me that it’s very restful and calming to come to the studio – a chance to put away mobile phones and chat over a cup of tea and a bit of crafting. I really love being able to hold that space and it makes me happy if someone else has gotten some joy from being creative too.
WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT ASPECT?
Juggling my day job, creative commitments and family life.
PROUD MOMENT?
I was thrilled to be approached by Aussie Décor Transfers in 2021 to join their global team as a content creator. This involves demonstrating their products via Facebook live streams, participating in group challenges and representing the brand on social media. I have learnt so much and made some great connections, plus I enjoy trying out their products – they make some unique furniture transfers, stencils, découpage papers, mica powders and more. One of the high points of 2022 was meeting some of the team on my visit to the UK and being able to get to know them in real life! I will be teaching for them later this year.
WHAT’S NEXT?
In the last few months, I have been refining my business so that I have more time to explore new areas of creativity. I’m enjoying playing with mixed media projects and fabrics. It’s an evolving journey and I like not quite knowing where it will take me!
I am always keen to keep learning too and connect with other creative people. I’m looking forward to teaching for Aussie Décor Transfers later in the year.
Contact Sarah via Facebook or @sarahmacaulaystudio