Business Profile: knot too shabby

– Photo by Amelia Favela

By Amelia Favela

“knot too shabby” is a vintage home décor and furniture store located in Glendora and Old Town Monrovia. The not-so-shabby business offers its customers the opportunity to not only buy antique-style items, but to create them as well. In addition to selling hardware, refinished furniture, specialty paints and supplies, home décor, and doing customizations, knot too shabby also makes available special workshops that guide attendees into producing their own one-of-a-kind vintage-looking items.

Founder and owner Michele Rivard had plans of working in interior design since the age of 12. After retiring as an emergency services manager for the Anaheim Fire Department to start a family, Rivard began collecting and refurbishing abandoned items. “I would take furniture I found at yard sales, or on the side of the road, and after my kids went to bed, I would go in my garage and paint for 2-3 hours,” said Rivard. Shortly after, knot too shabby was born. The founder utilized online resources to sell the restored items, and after four years of working out of her garage, Rivard was able to open her first store in Glendora, CA; the second location in Monrovia came four years later in 2015.

Courtesy Photo

Amidst the eclectic items, the underlined themes of knot too shabby are re-purposed, up-cycled, all-natural, hand-made products that are locally produced. Rather than merely having the illusion of being old-fashioned, Rivard makes it a point to seek and sell only items that have been used.

One of the core values of knot too shabby is to encourage customers, who typically range from 25- to 55-year-old women, to tackle the creative task of producing their own one-of-a kind vintage-looking pieces. In order to do this, the business sells specialty paints and supplies, such as Milk pain and Chalk paint. To cater to clients, Rivard offers on-the-phone service for anyone who is unsure on how to use the paint products after purchasing them.

knot too shabby offers workshops throughout the month where attendees can create their own rare items with the help of an on-site instructor. Some of the workshops include: Glitter and Glamour, Beer and Brushes, Milkshakes and Milk Paint, and Paint with A Princess birthday parties, to name a few.

Photo by Amelia Favela

One of the challenges Rivard faces is being a small business with big business expectations. “I don’t have the fluidity to be able to offer returns or exchanges on stuff because I’m constantly reinvesting back into the store … it’s this constant turn around,” said the owner. As a solution, she and her family-like employees make every effort to educate customers about the business policies.

Rivard said the constant goal of knot too shabby is to empower people to have creative minds. ‘They can do this, they can paint, they can be inspired to pick stuff off the side of the road and re-purpose it; we’re here to help.”

Photo by Amelia Favela

For workshop info, store locations, and general information, visit the knot too shabby website at www.knottooshabby.net.

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