On Monday we were blessed to have a reporter from Bethesdanow.com stop by the shop. We had a great time together chatting about local community and online local reporting. Big ups and thanks to all the local online sources that have keep On the Purple Couch ‘out there’…Here is the story….

This is Small Business Weekly, a recurring feature in which we’ll spotlight a small, independently owned business in Bethesda, Chevy Chase or some place nearby. Got a business you think we should check out? Drop us a line at desk[at]bethesdanow[dot]com.

on the purple couch bethesdanow.com chalk paint annie sloan Bahia Akerele’s On the Purple Couch gets attention because of its most prominent product. But her hope is that it becomes successful because of its hands-on, creative approach.

Akerele opened the part-furniture store, part-workshop space last September at 4228 Howard Ave. among the warehouses of Kensington’s Howard Avenue West Antique District.

She is one of about 350 licensed retailers of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint products in the U.S., which she said brings customers from around the region.

The products are licensed to small, locally-owned stores instead of home improvement giants precisely because learning how to use it requires some one-on-one attention.

The store also sells furniture remade with the paint, jewelry and luxury scented candles.

The unique aspect of the business happens toward the back of the warehouse, where two tables and a color wheel on the wall make up the workshop space. There Akerele leads people interested in upcycling or home decorating in tutorials of how to use the product. Read more here