Owner urges ‘use it or lose it’ after falling out of love and closing down business of seven years

Kym Curtis found success in giving old furniture a new lease of life and launched My House on the Hill in Brackley.

Her furniture upcycling business was established in 2017 and Kym took on the venture full-time in January 2020, after leaving a previous role.

This all began as a hobby for Kym 10 years ago, until it gradually gained momentum and her success began when she set up a Facebook page.

However, despite the positive response from the Northamptonshire community over the past decade, the current financial climate saw Kym’s sales and commissions dry up and she made the sad decision to shut down.

Talking about the closure, which took place a couple of months ago, Kym told the Chronicle & Echo: “People didn’t seem to be spending money anymore and sales started to dip. Items that would usually fly out the door, I’ve still got them now.

“The cost of materials has gone through the roof. The paint I used went up by £5 per tin. I got a lot of my furniture from Facebook Marketplace and things I used to pay £20 for, people wanted £120.

“Somebody would put something up for sale for a really expensive price and others with similar items thought they could do the same. It’s a snowball effect. By the time I’ve spent my time on it, it becomes more expensive and people don’t have the money.”

Kym described the decision to close as “difficult”, particularly as she spent around three years building a client base before taking the leap to go full-time with My House on the Hill.

She will now be returning to traditional part-time employment as an ambulance emergency call taker, as Kym was adamant on doing something fulfilling.

When asked if she will continue to upcycle furniture as a hobby in her spare time, Kym said: “With everything that’s happened, I’ve fallen out of love with it. It’s hard to love what you’re doing if you don’t know if it’s going to sell.”

The former business owner also explained the confidence knock with commissions, as people would refuse to pay the price they were quoted – which reflected the hard work Kym needed to put in to upcycle the items to a high standard.

“It was tainted,” said Kym. “I’m going back to working part-time and this will be a breather.”

Kym looks back fondly on being nominated in the ‘Service Small Business’ category at the East Midlands Small Business Awards – as well as being trusted with family heirloom pieces of furniture passed down through generations.

Talking about her biggest challenge during the seven years in business, Kym said: “Pricing things appropriately. Materials and furniture went up so much, and it’s been really hard to make a decent living.

“I was doing things for less money, and to make money rather than what I was worth. I was good at what I did and I was underselling myself. I decided I couldn’t do it anymore.

“People would reach out to me about a piece of furniture and I’d explain it was going to take three days of work, which was £300. They said they couldn’t afford it. There aren’t many people who work for £100 a day.”

Not only did Kym have a green impact by stopping furniture from going into landfill, but every purchase “meant the world” to her as an independent business owner.

Kym prides herself on the quality of the furniture she sold and offering bespoke items to people’s tastes, which nobody else would have had.