“Each holiday, we take the regular items out and whatever that holiday is, we do it big.” The hutches are some of the more popular items of furniture. Prim Rose Primitives adapts their space and inventory to coincide with holidays and seasons, constantly updating the merchandise and enticing customers to return to the store, whether it be for a heart-shaped pillow for Valentine’s Day, or a stuffed witch ornament for Halloween. Last year we got booked out for more than a year.”
“At the end of January, we start taking orders for a little bit of slow time. Custom furniture orders are accepted, provided they are placed outside of the holiday season.
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“Painted furniture is really big right now, and we help the do-it-yourselfers learn how to refurbish,” says Rella. Some of the more notable non-handcrafted products in stock are furniture paint and varnish – very convenient when customers ask how they can repaint their furniture to make it look similar to Rella and Brett’s eye-catching works. We sell our dining tables the first day they come in, and people keep checking back and asking for more.”Īdds Patti, “Sometimes the pieces get sold online or on Facebook before we get them into the shop.” “We sell a lot of dining tables and a lot of hutches,” says Rella. The shop sells a variety of Christmas-themed signs to choose from. “We’ve had people come in and see a hutch and they want to buy it exactly how it’s displayed, with the signs and pillows still in the shelves,” says Brett. The results are a perfect combination of all family members’ artistic sensibilities. “We like to make everything, and then we just got so busy that we couldn’t keep up.” Additional products were added to the inventory that that fit the sensibilities of Prim Rose Primitives’ furnishings and crafts with a creative twist. “In order to keep the store full, we had to start the retail part of it,” says Rella. Two years later, they decided to make the leap to full-on retail store, opening their doors in October 2013. “We started out in crafts, and then we started doing the refurbishing of hutches,” says Brett.
With 18 years of creating furniture and crafts under their belts, Rella and Brett came to Centralia in 2011, acquiring dealer space in the now-closed Abundance Vintage shop. It’s a different feeling.” Prim Rose Primitives’ unique style is on display even before customers walk through the door. When you make and sell your own stuff, it makes a difference. “Brett works with me every day, people know us. ”We like the family feel of it,” says Rella. Rella’s niece Daydree Fawley creates the decorative signs and assists Rella and Brett during the peak hours and seasons, including this year’s open house.
Patti Crump, Rella’s mother, helps out with sewing and embroidery, with an entire section devoted to her crafted pillows. Rella’s husband Brett designs the tables, hutches, and other pieces of furniture, and Rella refinishes the furniture and creates many of the crafts and decorations on the shelves. When it comes to store operations and management, Prim Rose Primitives is a family affair. We are very happy with the turnout and a little nervous at the same time.” The response to the open house was so positive that a second one has been planned for December 2nd and 3rd. “Our open house this weekend not only broke records in attendance, but we ended up selling nearly all our furniture and most of our retail inventory. The following Monday, co-owner Rella Harrington shares the results. (from left:) Brett Harrington, Rella Harrington, and Patti Crump. Prim Rose Primitives is a true family-owned business. A couple of enthusiastic shoppers arrived 15 minutes before the designated start time, to which the owners happily opened the doors to give them a head start. Judging by the activity around the cash register, many residents are already aware of Prim Rose Primitives’ unique handcrafted items, and wanted to grab some before they ran out of stock. The shop was holding its fourth annual Christmas Open House, where the holiday-themed crafts, accessories, and furnishings were on display throughout the space. Primitive Christmas Decor, for that homey holiday look! By far our most popular theme, we have snowmen, santas, ornaments, decorative plates, figurines, wall decor, and more, all with that colonial, homespun, grungy charm of primitive decorating.On a rainy Saturday morning, a steady stream of people made a beeline for Prim Rose Primitives in downtown Centralia.