LORI HARRIS, OWNER of A Vintage Gathering, 407 W. Main St., Battle Ground, carries the full line of CeCe Caldwell’s non-toxic, American-made chalk and clay paints, stains and finishes. The vibrant colors are great for furniture projects and can look washed-out, distressed or opaque depending on the application methods and finish.
LORI HARRIS SAYS she loves CeCe Caldwell’s paint color cards, which use real paint to show customers the actual color after the chalk and clay paint dries. Harris, who has been restoring old furniture for more than 13 years, says chalk and clay paint is easy to use, non-toxic and extremely versatile.
A VENDOR AT A Vintage Gathering in downtown Battle Ground has used chalk and clay paint on this chest of drawers and vintage-looking stools. The stools are coated with CeCe Caldwell’s chalk and clay paint and finish. Although they look vintage and rough, they are actually smooth and polished.
CHALKY FINISH PAINT takes the stress out of getting a distressed look like the one shown on this cabinet, available at A Vintage Gathering, at 407 W. Main St., in downtown Battle Ground.
LORI HARRIS, OWNER of A Vintage Gathering in downtown Battle Ground, used two coats of chalk and clay paint plus a coat of the CeCe Caldwell’s darkest stain and a finish to achieve the opaque look on this chest of drawers. For more information about Harris’ business or CeCe Caldwell’s Paints, visit www.avintagegathering.com.
THE CABINET AND table shown here show the range of results available with CeCe Caldwell’s line of chalk and clay paint and stains. Both pieces of furniture, along with the entire line of CeCe Caldwell’s Paints, are available at A Vintage Gathering, 407 W. Main St., Battle Ground. For more information, call (360) 953-3759.
Do you admire the distressed, washed-out look of vintage furniture? Want to recreate that look on your own? Lori Harris, owner of A Vintage Gathering in downtown Battle Ground, has a secret weapon: CeCe Caldwell’s line of chalk and clay paints and stains.
Chalky finish paints – a combination of calcium carbonate, talc and pigment – are becoming popular with the DIY crowd and people who want to upcycle or revamp an old piece of furniture. The paints can be applied like a thin wash or layered for a more opaque look; require no primer or sanding; dry quickly; can mix together to form new color combinations; can be distressed; are nontoxic; and adhere to a variety of surfaces, including wood, plastic, glass, metal, plaster, drywall and masonry.
Available in a full range of colors, these environmentally friendly, non-toxic chalk and clay paints and stains require little prep work and can help you achieve a variety of vintage looks – distressed, washed-out, milky, vivid, opaque and even freshly stained.
“I’ve been painting furniture for about 13 years. We were making our own chalk (and clay) paint from calcium carbonate and latex paint, but I wasn’t happy with the acrylic finish and the smell from the paint was awful,” Harris says.
A couple years ago, Harris started shopping for a line of chalk and clay paints that were non-toxic, easy to use and better for the environment. She found a perfect match in CeCe Caldwell’s Paints. The company’s mineral, chalk and clay paints are made in the United States, are free from toxic ingredients like formaldehyde, ammonia, ethylene glycol and acrylic co-polymers, and are hand-poured into recyclable containers.
Harris brought the entire line to her Battle Ground store, A Vintage Gathering, two years ago and says the products work like a dream.
Walking over to a lovely, light-brown side table, Harris says you wouldn’t recognize the wreck of a table she found on the side of the road. Two coats of the CeCe Caldwell stain in Savannah Praline, along with the company’s Endurance finish, a tough finish recommended for tabletops and other surfaces that take a beating, drastically transformed the table’s appearance.
Throughout A Vintage Gathering, Harris and other vendors have examples of furniture transformed by the CeCe Caldwell’s paints and stains. There are distressed chests of drawers, cabinets with a wash of color, and lamps brushed with one of the CeCe Caldwell’s metallic finishes for a stunning opalescent look.
“You can use it on just about anything,” Harris says. “I often have people bring in a photo of what they want to do and I can guide them on what to buy and how to use it.”
Harris gives her paint customers a list of instructions and links the exact steps on her business website. She also links to the CeCe Caldwell’s site, which has a number of Youtube tutorials for people who are visual learners.
Although the paint doesn’t require too much prep work – basically, the furniture just has to be cleaned with a product like Simple Green or other all-natural cleanser; there is no sanding required – using the wax finish can be tricky for people who aren’t used to it.
Harris can guide customers through the waxing step, but also recommends the CeCe Caldwell’s paint-on finishes, available in satin and flat matte finishes, for folks who want to avoid using the wax. The finishing wax, which comes in a soft-sheen clear wax and a fast-drying waxing cream, is good for bigger pieces, Harris says, and isn’t too tough to figure out once you do it a couple times.
“The biggest mistake people make with the wax is using too much,” she says. “ I tell them to start with two melon-ball sized scoops.”
Harris carries the full line of CeCe Caldwell’s paints and finishes at A Vintage Gathering; and she recently brought in the company’s stains – available in four shades, ranging from a pale brown to a dark black. Harris sells smaller, sample-sized paints in glass pint jars for $10 each or $28 for three, and offers discounts for customers who return the reusable jars. She also sells larger sizes of the paint and can help customers figure out what products – and how much product – they need to achieve a specific look.
A Vintage Gathering, which features upcycled treasures from more than 20 vendors, recently moved into a larger space at 407 W. Main St., Battle Ground, and is open from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
For more information, visit the store’s website at www.avintagegathering.com or call (360) 953-3759. Want to learn more about chalky finish paint? Visit CeCe Caldwell’s Paints at www.cececaldwells.com.
