home & garden
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this month
The Nursery Paint Company
Helen Thomson, founder of The Nursery Paint Company popped over to Kideeko to tell us all about her company!
- How old are you and do you have any children? I am 36, I have 2 children, Fletcher who is 5 and ¾ (3/4 is very important to a 5 year old whose class mates are all 6!) and Purdy who is 2.5
- Where do you live and what is your background? I was brought up in Papua New Guinea which was very special and I am so grateful that I got to experience such an amazing country first hand. After university I worked at Harvey Nichols in London and then Solgar Vitamins before deciding to open my health shop in a small town called Bawtry when I was 26. I still own the shop so I juggle both businesses. I live in a cottage in a small village in North Nottinghamshire on the banks of the Chesterfield Canal, which is a beautiful part of the world
- Why did you feel the need to set up The Nursery Paint Company? We moved into our cottage 6 weeks before I gave birth to Fletcher, it was while decorating his nursery that I thought “these fumes can’t be good for you.” I got hold of some natural paint but it all seemed very confusing, some claimed to be natural but contained VOC’s others claimed to be VOC free but were made from petro chemicals…the confusion and the lack of quality of the paint I bought made me think there has to be something that mums can just turn too without all the confusion.
- What was the hardest part about developing the company? I can honestly say that it has all been lots of fun, some stressful times but from working with the paint manufacturer to developing the colours and the names it has all been very lovely. The hardest thing for us probably is that we haven’t had the budget to advertise everywhere we want to.
- What is different about The Nursery Paint Company paint? Nursery Paint is a natural paint that is VOC free, it also contains colloidal silver which means the paint has anti-bacterial properties. It is safe to use throughout pregnancy and safe to sleep in straight away and will never give off any harmful chemicals.
- What is The Nursery Paint Company paint made from? Our base is made from soya oil which has an amazing viscosity and it gives the most amazing depth of colour.
- Why do you have a Feng Shui expert on board? (BTW we love that!) I’m pleased you like that that! Joy has been fantastic at making us use colours that don’t “jar” as she likes to say. It was all about bringing calm to the room so we wanted to know that the colours that we used were going to be the most calming and that by painting them in your room they created a warm tranquil environment
- How can I pick the correct colour via the internet? Can I buy your paint in any stores? The best way to choose the colours is to order a colour card or a tester pot. The colour cards have the actual paint swatches on them. Our tester pots are in a few stores, but the majority of our business is online.
- It’s the first time I have ever painted a room.How do I know which types of paint to use? We have got a guide on line but the paint is such fantastic quality that you can’t go wrong with our Matt emulsion for the walls and Eggshell for any wood work or furniture.
- Where and how can I contact you? www.nurserypaint.co.uk
- Do you do gift vouchers.... (actually of course I know you do...what a lovely baby shower gift!) We do gift vouchers, which is a little unusual for paint but ideal for a babyshower present or for someone that is decorating the nursery. We had a granny buy one this week for her daughter in law. She didn’t want appear to interfering but wanted her to use “Safe Paint”.
