Moura family business helping old furniture spark joy for a new generation

by Kathy Dumbleton

“Painting and upcycling is nourishment for my soul” - Lucy Thompson at work.

Moura mum Lucy Thompson has been making old furniture new again through creative thinking.

Her knack for upcycling pre-loved furniture was born from bringing extra income into the family unit.

“I looked at a broken guitar and thought ‘what can I do with that?’

“We were dead broke and I was keen to bring extra money into the family.

“I got out my jigsaw, paint and scraps of timber and added shelves to the guitar, upcycling it into a unique hanging shelf.

“I sold it for $20 and a seed of confidence was born,” Lucy says.

Three years on Lucy has developed her own unique upcycling style and with the help of her handy husband Dave she has made hundreds of furniture pieces look fresh and functional again.

“I love rescuing pieces that would otherwise end up as woodchip, and giving them new life to be used again,” Lucy says.

“I hate waste and the throw away society we live in. Furniture is meant to be used, not sitting in a shed or at the dump.”

Finding her items in all sorts of locations from greenwaste piles and local shire dumps to Facebook pages and friends gifting her their unwanted pieces, Lucy loves the story and the workmanship behind the furniture that she transforms.

“They have history, beautiful joins and are often better quality than modern things,’ she says.

Lucy is kept busy finishing five to 10 furniture items a month, and says she gets a great deal of satisfaction when a job is completed.

“I try to create quirky pieces like a fluffy cowhide chest of drawers, as well as traditional farmhouse pieces,’ Lucy says.

Lucy’s dream is to save and repurpose furniture full time.

“To take things that are broken, discarded and worn and transform them into pieces that are beautiful and filled with purpose again, its beauty out of messes at its best,’ Lucy says.

If you have pre-loved furniture that you would love to see revitalised, visit Lucy’s Facebook page Upcycled Beauty From Messes.