Brush & Banter | A Zibra Podcast

How Furniture Flippers Choose Projects for Profit

• Brie Hansen, Annie Bolding, & Lauren Cooper • Season 6 • Episode 14

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 15:13

When you’re flipping furniture, the biggest shift isn’t learning how to paint – it’s learning what’s actually worth your time. This minisode pulls together real-world perspectives from Jen Talley, Lauren Hull, Olga Muzician and Courtney Weisel on how they balance creativity with demand, choose pieces that will sell, and avoid projects that quietly drain profit. From simplifying your style to setting boundaries around what you won’t take on, this is about creating with intention so your work stays both sustainable and rewarding. In this minisode, we’re rewinding the actionable and inspiring soundbites from their Brush & Banter interviews to help you turn your passion into profit. 


In this episode, you’ll hear:

  • Why “simple and timeless” often outsells trendy or overworked pieces
  • How to balance your creative style with what buyers actually want
  • What to look for when sourcing furniture (and what to avoid)
  • The hidden cost of time, and how it impacts your profit per piece
  • When to say no to projects (even when it’s hard) to prevent burnout
  • How diversifying your style can expand your market without losing your identity


Hit rewind on these episodes:


Creative finds from the episodes:


Brushes mentioned (use code BANTER10 for 10% off):

Welcome to Brush & Banter—the podcast where creativity meets real-life hustle. Brought to you by Zibra, we go beyond perfect brushstrokes to explore the messy, magical, and meaningful side of being an artist. We’re here to bring you conversations with working artists, practical tips to grow your creative business, and a built-in painting companion for your next project. 

Brush & Banter is co-hosted by Brie Hansen, President of Zibra; Annie Bolding, Founder of It’s a Disco Day Designs; and Lauren Cooper, Founder of Rosemont Lane Design Studio.

Connect with Zibra: 

SPEAKER_04

Welcome to a special episode of Brush and Panter. I'm Bree Hansen, president of Zebra, and co-host of the show. This week we're hitting rewind of some of our past episodes to pull together the most practical real-world advice for your creative business. In this mini show, we're talking about something every furniture flipper runs into. What actually sells and how to price your piece for profit. Not just what you'd like to create, but what buyers are actually looking for and willing to pay. You'll hear from Jen Tally, Lauren Hall, and Courtney Weasel as we share how they think about timeless styles, balancing creativity with demand, and choosing the right project so you're not overworked and underpaid. We hope this episode gives you a cleaner lens on how to create with intention and sell with confidence.

SPEAKER_03

I don't necessarily feel like I have a signature look. I personally, I could be wrong. Maybe people, you know, recognize my stuff. Um, but I see other people who also flip furniture and they're not necessarily doing a ton of content creation, and I see like, you know, this is what their pieces really look like, whether it be like I always add this specific uh medium to my pieces, or I'm always doing this hardware, or it's always this color because I know that sells. Where for me, I feel like I have always tried to be as wide and as open as possible for what I do create so that my videos aren't super redundant every time. Like the flipping process is pretty redundant, which I've tried to make it that way so that people know like it doesn't have to be so difficult. But with that being said, I don't love to do the same color every single time because nobody wants to see a black dresser painted all the time from start to finish every single week. Whether that be like different pieces of furniture, like I try to mix it up and do a vanity, and then let's do some nightstands and let's then a full piece and then or a full like four-piece set and then a coffee table and then a kitchen table and then an arch cabinet, and then like just trying to really mix it up. Um, I would say that maybe my most signature look would be that I try to still keep it pretty simple and I'm not trying to do a whole bunch of work because at the end of the day, the more time spent, the less profit that is able to be attained from each piece of furniture.

SPEAKER_00

So yeah, I mean, I feel like I do have a signature look. I a lot of my murals have lettering in them, and they're, you know, sometimes they're similar styled lettering. I love painting flowers and leaves and you know, anything nature inspired. Um, but I find it funny that sometimes when I feel like I do something out of my style, somebody will come and tell me, oh, this is so you this looks like I knew it was your work. And I was like, how how? I don't understand because it looks to me completely different from all of my work. So I guess there's something to it. I mean, I like color. Sometimes I have like up to 50 colors in a mural. So I do think like I have a signature style, but I do try to not, you know, get stuck in it. I do try to evolve and add more details. Like I don't want to get stuck in a specific style and then just constantly do the same thing over and over and over again because I get bored. While it still looks kind of similar, it does evolve over time.

SPEAKER_06

So if you're both talking about like, yes, I kind of have this style, Olga, yours is definitely on the colorful bold end, and Lauren, you're saying, like, you know, the simple and the cost efficient to flip, and that makes sense. But have you guys had like a client who maybe they wanted you to do something completely out of your norm? Are you opposed to going far outside of that reach from like away from your signature look? Or is that something that you're excited about leaning into? Um, something that's outside of your wheelhouse. And I'm curious just to hear about, you know, if you have a story like that or if something, you know, like that has come across your your project plate.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I think for me it depends. I have said no to projects that I felt were too out of my style or out of my wheelhouse. Um, but I do like to take on different projects. This is just uh a couple months ago. I did a project that was just three shades of green basically and some gold accents, and that was different for me because I I typically use a lot of color, but I took it on because I liked the client, it was like a really good project, and I wanted to try something new, so I like that. Right now I'm doing another mural that's also kind of out of my style. There's kind of no color, just black and white, you know, maybe some touches of color, but it's more masculine. I like that style too. So I want to try that. I want to have different versions of art in my portfolio. I don't want to just have one thing because then clients focus too much on that one thing and they think that I only do that one thing, and then I don't want to lose those projects. I want to have a well-rounded portfolio so that people can see that I can do different things.

SPEAKER_06

What are the things that you're evaluating from your you know, intentionality standpoint before you decide like, okay, this is the piece, this one's worth it, this one I'm gonna pursue.

SPEAKER_01

And that's kind of what I was saying earlier. Like in the beginning, I would do everything. So it would be a bookcase on the side of the road that was falling apart. And I'm like, I can paint that, I can make it look better. And you know, I can. Um, but now I'm much more intentional about the quality of the pieces that I work on. So when I look for furniture, I'm always looking for high quality. It doesn't have to be a hundred percent solid wood, like people often think, because many, many, many pieces are not solid wood. There, there's veneer, there's other things that doesn't make it bad. But you want to look for good quality um dovetailed jointery and in dressers. Solid wood is great. Um, but if it does have like veneer, you want the veneer to be a thicker veneer versus a thinner one as it's uh it's easier to refinish. When I look at dressers and things like that, I always open up every single drawer to make sure that they're working well. Um, if they're not, they can be fixed, but but sometimes you know that's not what you want to spend your time on. So it would just be nicer to have a piece that's already in, you know, good vintage shape. You know, I guess I always look for um like timeless classic pieces of furniture, not necessarily something that's super was super on trend at one point. Um my style, if I have one, is beautiful and simple. I like simplicity.

SPEAKER_06

And you know, classic is classic for a reason. Timeless works because it's tried and true. Um so I love that like that mentality also finds its way into your business and your lifestyle. It's like we're just gonna go for the traditional, classical, beautiful, um, because it works.

SPEAKER_04

Has there been a piece recently um that you've passed on or a commission that you've passed on that just didn't align with your vision or something you didn't believe in?

SPEAKER_01

So I can't think of a piece, like one piece in particular that I said no to or didn't take on, but I I have made it a new rule that I I don't do, I no longer do um dining tables and chairs. I also no longer do big hutches that have lots of glass. And that is just because um I've done I've been there, done that. I know the amount of work, I know the amount of space that you need for that. That reminds me also beds, like bedboards, footboards. Oh gosh, yeah, and um they just take up a lot of space. So um I don't I don't have unlimited space. I work right here in my home. Tables obviously take up a lot of space, and chairs are are simply not fun to paint, especially when I hand paint. I exclusively hand paint, you know, with a brush all of my furniture. So one or two chairs is fine. But if if someone wants me to do like a dining set with 12 chairs, it's just it's it's a no. It's hard to say no, especially if a client if a client reaches out, if it's someone that I've worked with before and oh my gosh, I love your work. Can you do this, that? It's it's so hard to say no because it's like I would love to, but I just can't.

SPEAKER_04

It's so important though that you've set that boundary and like you know that you don't want to do those pieces because I feel like those are the types of things that can cause you to get burnt out or get really frustrated and lose that joy. So that's yes, but I know how hard it is to like say no. So that's really good. You've set that boundary.

SPEAKER_06

I think it's hard, you know, but it really does come with just um longevity and experience is learning what to say no to is just as important as learning how to balance a book, you know what I mean? Like it's a it's a skill that's true, does require you to truly reflect and think like, is this serving me anymore? Does this is this worth my time? Is this worth the money? Is it worth the energy going into a project? And I love that you've been able to narrow down like these are the things that I don't serve anymore.

SPEAKER_04

As your business has grown, um, have you shifted beyond just selling furniture? Did your income break down at all between social media or any like brand deals or anything other than just your pieces that you were finished?

SPEAKER_01

There's only a few brands that I work with, uh obviously Zebra because best brushes. Um, and I work with Melange Paints. Um, I pretty much exclusively, well, I shouldn't say exclusively, I I you I work with them and use their paints a lot. I work with um Shacto Interiors, milk paint, and all of that, you know, is like I don't even know what the how you say it, where you just get a commission for your sales or whatever. I can't remember if I've ever, I don't think I've made any money from Instagram. They they went for a while, they would pay for reels, and that was kind of a trial thing. I don't think they're doing that anymore. Um I'm on Facebook. Yeah, I'm on Facebook and they keep wanting me to, you know, get monetized, but every time I do it, it's something didn't work. And I'm I'm frustrated with that. Um, I'm just I'm really trying to get into YouTube and it is hard for me.

SPEAKER_06

What about it do you find difficult?

SPEAKER_01

The editing, the video editing. It's just not my thing. I don't enjoy it, I don't like it, I don't get it. I do have some videos on there now. I've taken a break and I am gonna get back to it, but I just feel like they're very rough and very amateur, and just because I've it's it's new for me. So I'm I'm hoping to grow that.

SPEAKER_04

What kind of made you decide that you definitely want to go back to that and get back to that space as opposed to just kind of waiting longer and getting things figured out? Why are you so anxious to get back into it?

SPEAKER_02

I mean, it's just kind of like in my blood. Like honestly, I miss I miss being able to create um, you know, nine to five, basically what I was doing before. Um, and it's just I think that I can't really live without creating, you know. And um in in in some form or another, you know, even when when I have one-on-one time with the kids and we're doing little art projects, you know, like that's like a release for me, you know. But it's just something that uh, you know, I've I've I've put my heart into for the past several years and I want to continue to. It's gonna look a lot different, and I'm okay with that, you know, for the first time in a while. But it definitely was a struggle to like get to that place of being like, okay, it's not what I thought, and it's not what I'm used to, but like you know, my my creative energy and my my vision doesn't have to, you know, dwindle just because of the change, you know, it it evolved.

SPEAKER_04

So exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_05

That's what I'm kind of curious about as well. I mean, when I was scrolling through and looking at your pieces, it seems like there's so much like technicality that goes into them and like thought behind it, but when you're re-entering this new phase, how are you approaching that? Like, are you inspired by a piece and you know exactly in your mind like what you want to do and how you want to do it? Or are you coming with this new fresh sense of just like wanting to kind of go in blind and and let the piece speak to you in the moment? Like, how how is your mind right now? Like, what side is it? Because it looks so technical from my perspective.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. Well, I can it's I mean, I think with the limitations I have right now on my space and and and until I find my my workspace and I have you know absolute creative freedom with time, and you know, um I I think I'm gonna have to um be selective and what pieces I bring in and you know the techniques I use. So um, and I I literally was thinking through this this past week, just like I am totally okay with creating anything even on a small level to to continue my artistic flow, you know, and and to continue um perfecting my craft, you know. Um, and yeah, I mean I guess I'm viewing it like whatever I'm sure I'm gonna find a piece and like probably have a vision for here's the thing, I will do whatever crazy thing needs to happen somehow, wherever. Like it will it will happen. You know, if I find a piece and I get a vision, it's just like I can't not finish until I have the vision in my hands, you know, presenting it. And that's kind of how I've always been, which is I mean, it's been it's been a crazy creative journey, but like I just have pushed myself to a limit of if I if I dream it, I really do want to create it. It might be a smaller scale at the moment, but like finding acceptance and however it unfolds when it happens, you know. Like I was just looking at pieces today on on the marketplace, and you know, there's there's plenty of things I can do, there's plenty of things I can paint, and you know, like I have a garage, I just have to be really careful not to destroy it, you know.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, it can be a bit of a messy business that we're in, huh? Yeah, hard to do with babies in your body.

SPEAKER_04

What tip would you give someone that's trying to get back into the creative space after maybe like a creative burnout or just a break due to life events? How would you say that they could kind of change their mindset and get back in?

SPEAKER_02

Honestly, like going through my work the past like several, several years from when I started, like just like looking at looking at the progress I have made, you know, being able to recognize um the accomplishments you have made and you know, it everything ebbs and flows, but like being able to see like where you started and where where you're where you're at now, I think that's a really helpful thing to just like like okay, like I have been doing it, you know. I I do I do have this thing, I do have this creative drive and and uh talent, you know, and it's like it can continue, you know, and whatever how that looks, it I mean, that's up to you really, you know. But I think having a time of reflection is a really good idea.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you for listening to the Brush and Banter Podcast, brought to you by Zebra. We're so grateful you're a part of the creative community. Gearing up for your next project? Head to enjoyZebra.com to grab your new favorite brushes, designed for comfort, precision, and serious creative flow. Be sure to follow Zebra Painting on Instagram for painting tips, artist features, and more. If you enjoyed our banter, subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts, and don't forget to leave a five star rating and review. Now, go make something beautiful. We'll be here when you need a little banter.

Contributor

Brie Hansen

Host
Contributor

Annie Bolding

Co-host
Contributor

Lauren Cooper

Co-host