Regular customers may have noticed some minor disruption over the last few months while we improved our Kettering store, ZanArt Gallery and Framing. It had been a few years since the walls had a fresh coat of paint, and after so many customers the carpet was worn and tired. We were also busier than ever and needed more work space, along with new tools for the jobs we now do in store.
So we brought in a decorator to repaint the shop and make some other improvements, and arranged for a new carpet.
Our decorator, David, worked around us and our customers. He filled the holes in the walls, repainted the walls and ceilings and improved the window displays by adding strong chain across part of the window, so we can hang frames there and show more of our stock.
Once the painting was complete, Concept Flooring fitted the carpet. We chose a dark charcoal, more modern than the old blue. Here is the old carpet, with our stock, displays and equipment moved to one half of the shop ready for the fitters the next morning.
Three of our staff arrived at about 8am on a Sunday to finish moving things, including our heavy counter. The fitters arrived at about 9am and started lifting the old carpet straight away. You can see the bare floorboards beneath, and the first of the new carpet going down.
When one half was done, we moved everything back so the other half could be finished. It was a long process, but everyone worked efficiently and the shop was back in working order by 5pm the same day. The new carpet already looked much better, even with our old mats in place.
We ordered new heavy-duty mats to match the carpet. Once they arrived, customers began to notice the changes and to comment on how fresh the shop looked.
With the carpet down we could carry on with the rest, including a new workstation and a better counter. David built the table in place and clad it in a clean, modern dark oak. We had the counter covered to match, a big improvement on the old dark wood, which was starting to look worn.
When the workstation was finished we bought and fitted an air compressor. It speeds up the cleaning of big frames with an air gun and lets us add flexible tabs to frames in store. Soon we will have a staple gun to use with it which, along with a few other tools, will be used to stretch canvases, among other things. Keep an eye out in store for more services.
