This is Small Business Weekly, a recurring feature in which we’ll spotlight a small, independently owned business in Bethesda, Chevy Chase or some place nearby. Got a business you think we should check out? Drop us a line at desk[at]bethesdanow[dot]com.
Bahia Akerele’s On the Purple Couch gets attention because of its most prominent product. But her hope is that it becomes successful because of its hands-on, creative approach.
Akerele opened the part-furniture store, part-workshop space last September at 4228 Howard Ave. among the warehouses of Kensington’s Howard Avenue West Antique District.
She is one of about 350 licensed retailers of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint products in the U.S., which she said brings customers from around the region. People see her business listed on the website, which naturally leads to online ordering.
The products are licensed to small, locally-owned stores instead of home improvement giants precisely because learning how to use it requires some one-on-one attention.
The store also sells furniture remade with the paint, jewelry and luxury scented candles.
The unique aspect of the business happens toward the back of the warehouse, where two tables and a color wheel on the wall make up the workshop space. There Akerele leads people interested in upcycling or home decorating in tutorials of how to use the product.
She began moving the business from a boutique space in Silver Spring in August when she realized her home and clothes store was relying heavily on sales of the paint and paint-related products.
“It really took over the business and I was running two businesses in one — the clothes and the home,” Akerele said. “I thought, ‘I’m new enough to switch up my game quickly and figure out what is a better niche.’ This product was just really good. It would allow me to manage my mom life, family life and still do some entrepreneurial stuff.”
The paint’s main selling point is that it’s versatile enough to paint furniture without stripping, priming or sanding. It generally requires a coat or two of paint and some waxing on the back end. As Akerele demonstrates in her workshops, it works for creating a number of styles.
“I can develop and create a place where people can come and learn about Chalk Paint, learn how to redo and reform their pieces,” Akerele said.
The garage-shaped store space gave her room to be creative, something she wants her customers to feel too.
There is a purple couch and a shade of purple Akerele created herself covers one of the walls. On the work tables, she shows how to paint and style old drawers, desks, chairs and other items. Classes run from $75 for a special Mother’s Day workshop to $180.
She has someone come in and help on Sundays, but for now, Akerele runs the business almost by herself.
“It’s only the mom in this mom and pop,” Akerele said.
Most workshops will have about seven people and the business has so far brought in mostly women. A few of Akerele’s clients are from restaurants or other small businesses looking to spruce up their own spaces.
It’s that interactive experience Akerele said sets On the Purple Couch apart in a crowded market of products and styles.
“It’s almost like an underground movement that’s blossoming up in the DIY world,” Akerele said.
