Origin Story
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sarah Bee is the daughter of one of Canada’s first female military pilots. Despite her family being full of successful technicians, Sarah was born with her head solidly in the clouds.
Always artistically inclined. She was immediately singled out as a natural creative in kindergarten and told throughout her schooling that she’d certainly work in the arts. It started by her offering to complete her (less artistically inclined) friend’s art projects in school just for the love of it.
At 11 years old Sarah begged for a sewing machine for Christmas and learned to sew her own clothes. She then learned how to make her own clothing patterns by deconstructing old clothes and tailoring them to her own designs.
This sewing hobby then evolved into a lucrative side hustle, taking and fulfilling requests at school for custom back packs made of upholstery fabric. She was on a first name basis with all the women at the local FabricVille by the age of 12.
She learned to play classical and 12 string guitar in junior high then started taking apart electric guitars, sanding them down and repainting the pick guards with acrylic paint. She would also customize friend’s instrument cases, painting colourful murals of ethereal animals and landscapes on them.
Sarah Bee designed and made almost all the costumes for her senior high school play and designed some of the sets too. She also dabbled in photography, video editing, stop motion and drawing throughout the years.
When Sarah applied to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, she was warned how difficult it could be to get in. Knowing friends who had tried several years in a row, she decided to make a bold choice and wrap all admission pieces in oversized white, silk boxes, topped with handmade, Victorian-style gold ribbons and bows. Delivering them in person made quite an impression with the registrar’s office, but it worked like a charm and she was accepted on her first attempt.
NSCAD was left to pursue human rights advocacy at Mount Saint Vincent University. This is where Sarah fell in love with Amnesty International, even being sent to the Annual General Meeting in Kelowna, B.C. one summer on behalf of her Halifax chapter.
It was a combination of compassion fatigue and wanderlust that had Sarah changing course once again, packing up and moving to Calgary, Alberta, a place she’d never even visited before. She arrived with just a carry on and a checked bag and when she walked into that barren apartment, something very special started.
It all began quite unintentionally. The prospect of furnishing an entirely empty apartment with almost no money was truly the conception of the refurbishing process you see today. Sarah would scout out the nearest rich neighbourhoods on garbage day looking for quality pieces or comb through local thrift shops for unique furniture.
Seeking a quick and affordable way to personalize the space, Sarah decided to refinish the furniture with magazine pages, vibrant comic books or movie posters from a local record shop. It wasn’t meant to be permanent, just a way to add a splash of colour and personality to the new space.
By this time Sarah was working in construction, gaining hours for her carpentry apprenticeship.
“One day, while chatting during a break at work, I casually showed a co-worker some pictures of the end table I had made the night before. To my surprise, he asked if I sold them. His question totally took me off guard, and I answered honestly - no, I hadn’t sold any, it had never even crossed my mind that anyone else would be interested in something like this. He suggested that I give it a try, and shortly thereafter, I decided to take his advice and posted my very first ad on Kijiji to see what would happen and that’s when it started to take off.”
To Sarah’s surprise, her refinished furniture quickly sold and each piece seemed to create another referral, another custom request. She soon found herself making pieces on a regular basis to sell as a fun side gig.
Meanwhile she was working her way through different areas of carpentry gaining experience in skills like framing, installing siding, windows, hardwood floors and more. She eventually found a natural talent for finish work and ended up choosing between a job with Theatre Calgary and a custom billiards shop, she chose the later.
Here Sarah learned from the owner of the shop, a talented woodworker who’d been making high end custom pool tables for 30+ years. This growing knowledge started to elevate Sarah’s furniture refurbishing skills.
After experimenting with various finishing options and techniques, Sarah landed on the process you see today which she has slowly perfected over the last decade. She now finishes every piece with epoxy resin. This finish is notoriously difficult to work with yet also revered for its incredibly thick, durable properties and extremely glossy look.
The combination of the thick, shiny finish seemed to complement the vibrant, graphic, and colorful pages beautifully, and once Sarah started offering these new creations, she no longer needed to advertise. Almost everyone who purchased a table ended up referring a friend or family member to buy a piece for themselves or clients would return for more and more pieces.
Sarah now lives in Erin Mills, Mississauga with her husband and two dogs. She enjoys maintaining her vegetable garden, hiking, doing yoga, cooking and continuing to create custom pieces of furniture.
She continues to support human rights and has developed a passion for rescuing and rehabilitating elderly and special needs dogs through OMHS.
If you’re interested in buying an existing piece of furniture, check out the sales page here. If you’d like to commission a custom piece, please reach out to Denise through the contact form below with your ideas.