St. Pete residents have an appreciation for preserving the past while living a modern lifestyle,” says Amy Williams, co-owner of Revist Furnishings. “They are environmentally conscious and understand the importance of supporting local small businesses. This combination is really supportive of our philosophy and our passion.”
Determination, creativity, and hard-work ethic
That enthusiasm is evident to anyone who steps inside their beautiful shop on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. Williams and her partner and co-owner, Taylor Waldmann, have the background and love of craft that create a true dream team in the vintage world. “I have a fine art degree, and Taylor developed his carpentry doing custom home remodeling for almost 20 years,” Williams says. “Those skills in art, design, and construction are applied to collecting, restoring, and building furniture.”
“The recent pandemic gave me time to reflect on my career as a high school art teacher,” she says. “The question was: Is it as rewarding as it was when I first started 12 years ago? And can I do it for another 20 years? If the answer was no, the next question was: Could I combine my part-time gig of selling vintage furnishings, and with Taylor’s already established custom furniture-making business, and make it a full-time business that could support the two of us? We decided to bank on our determination, creativity, hard-work ethic, and stubbornness. With many long late-night discussions, we felt we could offer something unique by combining the two: custom and vintage, with the approach of offering responsible, sustained home furnishings.”
Old made new
How does custom work fit into the vintage field? “Our custom furniture is always about giving a client a well-made piece that is going to last generations, using sustainably sourced wood,” Williams says. “Our pieces are made from lumber that was previously a different piece of furniture (old wood is often a higher quality), or it is new rough-cut lumber that is milled from trees that would have been destroyed from development or storms.” (Old-growth trees produce higher-quality wood.)
“So much of the furniture made today is made of inferior materials,” she says, “with building techniques that do not stand up to daily use. It will end up in the landfill in a couple of years. Older furniture has already lasted a generation or two and is still standing stronger. I recently had a customer tell me she can’t buy nice furniture right now because she has kids. I responded, ‘This furniture has already outlasted a family or two and still looks beautiful. Don’t underestimate vintage furniture!”
A cut above the rest
“We are the only furniture store in the area that offers both vintage and custom-built furniture and can combine the two,” she says. “We offer our customers this: If you have inherited a piece that is not quite your style, or maybe it does not function or fit in your space, we can make it into something that will work for you. We can break it back down into lumber and create something that functions for your lifestyle while keeping the sentimental value of the original piece.”
Revisit offers unique decor and furnishings, and any piece of furniture can be customized. Visit Revisit Furnishings at 2803 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N: www.revisitfurnishings.com; (727) 851-6261.
