BY MAUREEN WERTHER
Vicki Ure has been an interior decorator for 25 years, originally occupying space in Malta Commons, but thirteen years ago she moved to the mall in Clifton Park.
Her professional reputation and the popularity of her Victoria’s Corner shop increased rapidly, prompting expansion to a second studio at 20 Learned St. in Albany in March 2015.
Last July, she opened a third studio in Glens Falls.
The Glens Falls Shirt Factory, 71 Lawrence St., Glens Falls, is home to the latest expansion of Victoria’s Corner.
In 2003, Ure left the mall and worked out of her home for about seven years in order to raise her family and care for her mother.
In 2013, She decided to open Victoria’s Corner at 252 Milton Ave. in Ballston Spa. It proved to be an ideal location for Ure, especially since her services have expanded to include reviving and re-purposing old and heirloom furnishings and accessories. Ballston Spa is a popular destination for antiques and antiques lovers.
Ure offers a complete menu of design and interior decorating services at all of her locations, including custom window treatments, upholstery and slipcovers, as well as refurbishing, reviving, and reinventing old furniture, lamps, dishware, and other decorative accessories.
While the Ballston Spa studio has a warm, cozy and chic cluttered atmosphere, the new studio in Glens Falls occupies more than 2,000 square feet on the first floor of the Shirt Factory. With seven huge factory-sized windows, hardwood floors, and brick walls, the studio is light and airy.
Ure boasts that they even have a fully functional kitchen, where they bake cookies and bread to offer to customers and students attending classes.
The Glens Falls location boasts an inventory of over 2,000 yards of fabric for upholstery and window treatments, as well as a fabric clearance room, where customers can receive additional discounts. Customers can also choose from a large and unique selection of cushions and throw pillows as accent pieces.
Ure has a couple of hundred pieces of furniture on hand at any given time, some of which she has been commissioned to revive for clients. Other pieces are available for customers to purchase and refurbish themselves, or hire the services of Ure and her staff.
Unlike more traditional methods of reviving and refurbishing, Ure now carries the complete line of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®–“an organic, water-based product, with extremely low VOC levels and no smell,” she said–to transform furniture, lamps, glass, fabric, metal ware, kitchen cabinetry, bathroom vanities, and much more.
Ure said when she first learned about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®, she was intrigued, and she immediately signed up for classes to learn the proper techniques. Now she uses it to revive old furniture, and she also began to offer classes to customers so they could do their own redesigning and redecorating in their homes.
Ure said she has heard from her customers that it is so much fun that they find it almost addictive. In addition, Ure’s entire staff is trained in the techniques and applications. “It’s mandatory that they attend classes and training,” noted Ure.
She said another reason for the popularity of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® and the classes is the ability to take something that may have been out of place in a customer’s décor and turn it into something different and new. By breathing new life into an old family heirloom, customers can hold onto something that may have a sentimental attachment, while changing the look of it entirely.
“We encourage our clients to think outside the box,” said Ure. “A buffet doesn’t have to remain a buffet and an old hutch can be turned into a ‘glam’ jewelry or accessory closet,” she said.
When she’s not hunting down great furniture and accessories or providing in-home service for clients, Ure divides her time among all three locations.
“I couldn’t do this without my amazing staff,” she said. “They are a wonderful team and so much more than employees.”
For information visit Victoria’s Corner’s website at www.victoriascornerny.com.