Second Chances
Channelling Creativity with Warmwood Home Studio
By Kelsey Raynard
Thrifting and upcycling are excellent ways to curb overconsumption. However, finding secondhand items and transforming them into something new is also an excellent way to tap into your inner creativity. This month, we are proud to feature Warmwood Home Studio, whose newfound love for furniture flips provided a much-needed personal creative outlet.
Afshaar Shariff, owner of Warmwood Home Studio, always considered herself a creative person. However, after moving to Canada, she was unable to find a job using her degree in industrial design, and was in need of a creative outlet. “I always watched furniture flipping videos on Instagram and social media; it was something I wanted to try to do back in India, but you couldn’t find good pieces of furniture,” Shariff explains. “In Thunder Bay, there are a lot of these pieces, whether in thrift stores or on Facebook Marketplace.” After experimenting with furniture flipping while furnishing her first home here in Canada, Shariff was hooked. “My first piece I ever put on Marketplace sold in two hours. What a rush! People loved what I did, so I continued doing it.”
Now, Shariff is sharing her upcycled secondhand furniture with folks all over the city. When asked about the rationale behind the name of her business, Shariff says she wanted to capture the spirit of the furniture she works with. “With all these wood pieces, I feel like they have a story behind them and they have a sense of warmth. They’ve already lived for so many years; I almost think of them as individuals! That’s the story I want to pass onto their new owner,” she says.
With her design background, Shariff says she has a good sense of what is trending and what will work in a furniture flip, especially for local audiences. “My customers love the quality and timelessness of older pieces, and this is something they don’t find with today’s furniture,” she says. “Buying flipped furniture, for them, is a chance to own high-quality pieces at a more affordable price, and I think they love buying sustainably.”
This month, Warmwood Home Studio has two gorgeous pieces for sale. First up is a classic, refinished mid-century modern walnut unit (measuring 52” x 18'” x 30.6”), with a contemporary alpine green frame, complemented by brass-capped legs and antique-style hardware (priced at $425). Next up is a solid wood dresser (measuring 44” x 20” x 32”), modernized in a light wood and muted blue finish with custom wooden accents added on the drawer fronts and complemented by champagne, brushed-finish knobs (priced at $320).
If you want to score one of these local furniture flips, or to keep an eye out for future pieces, follow @warmwoodhomestudio on Instagram or look for Afshaar Shariff selling on Facebook Marketplace.
