Meet Zeynep Shahid | Furniture Flipping Artist, Owner of Nuvelties Furniture and Home Decor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zeynep Shahid and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zeynep, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Taking risks is all about challenging myself and so moving forward in life. When I say challenging myself I mean learning new skills constantly. I had no idea about furniture painting up until 3 years ago. However, I always had this artistic side ever since I was a kid and I knew I had to start from somewhere because it was in the back of my mind whatever I did! I had to give it a try to not to say “I wish I tried!” and regret sometime in the future. That’s when I decided to leave my career as a pharmacist and take the risk to throw myself into painting world. The business picked up quickly when I realized people are looking for that particular show-stopper piece in their house to display. From the feedbacks I get, I believe it was the right decision I made by taking the risk.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Creating the brand Nuvelties was my childhood dream that I never shared with anyone up until three years ago. It wasn’t as easy as people think that we, furniture flippers, just slap the paint on a piece and put it for sale! There is so much more goes into that such as starting with finding the right piece for a client and hauling it. What people need to understand is, prep is the crucial step that you can not rush otherwise it will show at the end with poor quality of work! Patience is the key. Then comes the fun part which is painting. What I am trying to say is there are many steps involved, that I wasn’t aware of before starting. I am a self-learner and watched hours of videos from seasoned flippers and read many blogs. But in the end it all comes down to trial and error. I had many projects I had to redo until I made them look perfect! With time, I found my style by using many colors in layers and creating these one of a kind pieces, that some might call “whimsical” or “not for everyone”. Then it became a challenge to sell my pieces locally where farmhouse decor is very popular. That’s when I started my Etsy shop, another learning experience! And I saw the possibilites of reaching people all around the nation whom I never met but appreciate my work! This is my dream come true!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We love Dallas arboretum! Since I love colors, it is the perfect place to appreciate and enjoy each season. Relaxing at the same time. When it comes to eating, my family loves Turkish food! So we love to indulge ourselves gyro sandwiches from Bosphorus Mediterranean Grill in Plano.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I always say this is a one-woman show I put on every day in my garage in Texas heat. There is a secret though! I could not do this without my husband’s support! He is my furniture mover, shipper, handyman, basically my rock! When I came with the idea of painting and selling furniture, his response was “follow your dreams!”. I think that says it all about him!

Instagram: www.instagram.com/nuvelties

Facebook: www.facebook.com/nuveltiesfurniture

Other: I have a booth located in Lone Star Mercantile in Allen, 75013. Nuvelties booth # A103.

Image Credits
Zeynep Shahid