Who we are

We’re Eric & Amy Elkin, a husband & wife team in Mechanicsville, VA. We turn old furniture into art. Eric sources & repairs the chairs, while Amy designs & paints them. Amy studied art at VCU, and pursued a career in advertising as an Art Director & Creative Director for decades. While Creative Arm Chairs is a new venture for her, furniture making runs in her blood. Amy’s grandfather & uncle were both wood workers who  crafted beautiful furniture for their profession. Eric has owned a couple of different businesses and has a knack for finding things that deserve to be revitalized — ranging from cars to houses to furniture. Craftsmanship & entrepreneurship runs in Eric’s DNA since his family once owned a historic shoe repair company, Connie’s Shoe Repair, in Richmond.

After having a successful career in advertising, Amy decided it was time to do something new. During a fireside brainstorm one night, they talked about what else Creative Arm could offer besides advertising. Amy fondly recalled a time when they had revitalized an old upholstered bed that had been passed down to them. The bed frame was beautiful, but the fabric wasn’t their style. Amy took her Mother-in-law’s advice to try to paint the fabric as she had seen on a DIY channel. Formerly a busy, red & green plaid headboard was now a soft canary yellow with a subtle textured pin stripe. Amy recalled how the effect of painting fabric created a canvas-like surface and a light bulb went off to create Creative Arm CHAIRS where they could turn old chairs into art. 

Painting on fabric can be tricky so not all chairs work. The texture of the upholstery needs to be considered, along with the design of the chair. We're still experimenting and learning as we go, but we have been pleased with the results and are having a lot of fun! 

Our first batch of chairs are now for sale, and we’re are also taking custom orders. If you have a specific theme and color palette in mind, we’d love to work with you to create something custom. Just send us some reference pics of what you’re thinking and we can collaborate on a design. Send Amy an email today at: amy@creativearm.com

We're excited about our new venture, and hope to meet you soon!