Hi, I’m Mehgan. I live in Virginia with my husband and our gaggle of weiner dogs, and I run a small business refinishing and restoring furniture.
My appreciation for craftsmanship and restoration began early in my life. My family moved into a 100 year old home in small-town Minnesota when I was in second grade, and for the next decade my parents poured countless hours into improving it in ways that honored its age and character rather than erasing it. Summers were spent outdoors building a garage, replacing siding, pouring a driveway, growing a massive garden, and re-building our massive front porch. Winters were reserved for indoor projects, tackling one room at a time to refinish and restore. By the time we moved eleven years later, every space but the kitchen had been completed.
Growing up immersed in that environment, I became comfortable with the controlled chaos of a construction zone, but I also learned the value of patience and preservation. I watched my parents strip layers of old paint from trim and carefully refinish it rather than replacing it with something newer and easier. That mindset stuck with me. By the time my dad decided to take on finishing the attic when I was sixteen, I wanted to do more than just help. I wanted to learn how to actually use the tools myself.
Around that time, I started building my own very rudimentary furniture. My first project was a pair of wooden horses for my sister and me to ride on, made from scrap two by fours, a piece of plywood for the seat, nailed on stirrups, and twine untwisted to form the mane and tail. They were simple and imperfect, but they were ours. As I got older, having watched my dad take on nearly any project, I carried that same confidence into adulthood. He always said the worst thing you could do was break it, because then you had to hire someone anyway.
That philosophy has followed me ever since. I have never been afraid to take something apart in order to understand it, fix it, or make it better. That approach is what ultimately led me here. I love finding furniture and giving it new life, whether it is a piece from higher-end brands like Bassett or Henredon, or a solid mahogany nightstand discovered on Facebook Marketplace.
You can also follow me on…
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ALittleSparkofCreativity
