Find Your True Colors: Furniture Painting With Wendi Mink

By Sarah Hurley

Minkology has long been known for its lively furniture painted in vibrant shades of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, from Antoinette to Paprika, Frida Blue, Barcelona, and Capability Green. But how did Wendi Mink, Minkology store owner and Annie Sloan extraordinaire, discover her passion for transforming well-worn (that is, well-loved) furniture into something totally new with bright colors and a satin finish?

Perhaps to nobody’s surprise, Wendi has a long history with painting furniture. It began several years ago when her family moved back to North Carolina from Virginia, prompting them to sell most of their furniture in anticipation of the move. When they arrived in North Carolina, they found a set of furniture for her daughter’s bedroom at a vintage shop that also happened to sell furniture paint. Wendi was fascinated by the prospect of breathing new life into furniture that appeared old and tired with a few brushstrokes.

The shop offered classes, which excited her then-fourteen-year-old son Erich, who was similarly fascinated with the prospect of furniture painting. Erich and Wendi signed up for a painting class, at which items were presented at random for students to choose from. On their chosen items, students practiced their technique with different painting styles and patterns, and they were able to take the finished products home with them. Erich chose a small trash can to paint—which, I have on good authority, is still in use at the Mink family home today.

At the time, Wendi was also a member of the Kernersville Arts and Crafts Guild, which hosts an annual Christmas pop-up shop. That year, the Guild wanted to paint a kitchen hutch to use as a display piece for the pop-up shop. Thinking it would be a simple enough task, Wendi volunteered for the job.

Unfortunately, Wendi’s first foray into professional furniture painting was not as straightforward as she anticipated. The hutch she was tasked with painting looked like a simple piece, “but in reality, it had a million tiny spindles and intricate carvings” that were difficult to reach, she says. But by then, Wendi and Erich had caught “the beginning of the bug” for furniture painting, and they were determined to complete the piece.

In fact, they did such a good job that several people at the pop-up shop asked if the display piece was for sale. Wendi was shocked and delighted to realize there was such a market for her work.

Soon after becoming a vendor at Vintage Cottage in 2014, Wendi took another class on furniture painting with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint—that we still teach here today after transitioning from Vintage Cottage to Minkology—and learned multiple techniques, well as how to use Annie Sloan’s wax finishes. Soon, Wendi began experimenting with other paint lines on her own, but she always came back to Annie Sloan—because Annie, of course, “is both the original and the best.”

Eleven years later, Wendi is excited to have had the opportunity to invest in a paint line for her very own small local business. Here at Minkology, we sell Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in fifty-four different colors, as well as her waxes, wall paints, stencils, brushes, accessories, and more. We also sell Wise Owl One-Hour Enamel Paint in a range of colors and sizes.

When you walk through Minkology, you’ll see that almost all of our upcycled furniture has been hand-painted by one of our Minkologists. And even better—it’s all for sale. We accept client projects on commission, but we also teach chalk painting workshops on the second Saturday of every month. If you sign up for this beginner’s workshop, we’ll teach you several techniques for using Annie Sloan’s paint and wax finishes.

For more information, feel free to contact us by phone at 336-736-8015, or sign up for one of our workshops online!