Call it a "hobby gone wild."
That's how Noreen Peterson describes the business that started in her garage, moved to the basement and now resides in the former ABC Rail building -- Unique Belongings.
With a flair for creativity and a little imagination, the Superior woman is repainting unemployment one piece at a time as she breathes new life into old furnishings and creates original new uses for pieces of furniture.
This weekend, Peterson opens up her workshop at Unique Belongings, next to Xtreme Granite at 2700 Winter Street, for an open house 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.
"People can come in," Peterson said. "They can watch me work. People have a lot of questions."
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Peterson said she has a variety of sources for old furnishings -- Goodwill, Salvation Army, Craigslist and even scouting around town for discarded items that she then paints and finds other creative solutions to make something beautiful to give those furnishing a new life.
"Some of the old things are just fun," Peterson said. "I started putting them out in consignment shops and found people liked them."
In addition to the work she does on her own, she sells some of those older pieces and the new owners can chose the color for the custom work, she said. Other clients are looking for a new look for memorable, meaningful older pieces.
"I have a blast; it's a lot of fun, Peterson said.
From using baskets to replace missing drawers in cabinets and dressers, to creating benches out of old headboards and message boards and chalkboards from old frames and window casings, Peterson's shop, which she thought would be too big initially, is filled with creative pieces designed to create unique compliments for the home.
"Some people don't like what I do, because they love antiques and nothing should ever be painted, but some things are beyond (saving)."
Peterson said enjoys the search for creative solutions to breathe new life into "furnishings with a story."
"There's just some really neat old pieces that are just fun to redo," Peterson said. "And the biggest thing is you get so many compliments."
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For more information, contact Peterson at (218) 393-0750 or visit "Unique Belongings" on Facebook.
