Continued from page 35
SEPTEMBER 2016
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
Sue Rich, Proprietor of Just Peachy
Dream Job: Archeologist
Sometimes Sue Rich’s work can be a
little distressing, but that’s OK, it’s by
design.
The owner of the Weatherford
Downtown emporium, called Just
Peachy often uses distressing techniques in creating her rustic, farmhouse furniture, antiques and home
decor.
“When I was a little kid, I wanted
to be an archeologist,” Rich said.
“When I got older I wanted to an
interior designer.” She became a
realtor, something she enjoyed, but
there was always a concept that she
had in the back of her mind. That’s
the distressed furniture technique and
style behind Just Peachy.
Did Rich ever imagine that the
public would embrace her concept
the way they have?
“I hoped that they would,” she
said.
She’s tapped in to a days-gone-by
look that is quite voguish.
“I think everybody is wanting to
go back to their heritage,” Rich said.
“It reminds them of their grandparents, things they saw in their grandparents’ homes… . With an artistic
eye and uncompromising taste, we
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work hard to provide rare, one-of-akind items for your home. We have a
passion for all things old and it is our
mission to present our pieces in new
ways. Our home decor antiques and
furnishings are sure to add life to any
space.”
Industrial Chic or Industrial
Farmhouse style has been called
timeless and neutral, simple and
clean. Its signatures are aged materials and utilitarian design. Recycling,
upcycling, renovating and repurposing are the drivers behind the style.
A big part of Rich’s work involves
ferreting out old things to restore
— tables and chairs, cabinets and
dressers, doors and mirrors, stoves,
just about anything old that can be
reclaimed and made functional again.
A wooden door becomes a one-off
chair, a jeweler’s work bench a wine
cabinet.
“[The work bench belonged to]
the guy who took care of the clock
here in Weatherford for all those
years,” she said about the work
bench. “We recreated that, repaired
it, and turned it into a wine cabinet.
It sold in five minutes. We like finding pieces that have history here in
Weatherford and we try to find out as
much as we can about them so that
we can keep that history alive to the
person who buys it.”
As might be imagined, Rich’s
search for potential treasures takes
her far afield, to auctions, flea
markets and estate sales, anywhere a
piece of the past might be reclaimed
and returned to use. She enjoys this
aspect of the work — saving what
some consider outmoded from the
scrap pile.
Increasingly, Rich said, when it
comes to home decor people are
wanting differentiation, to express
themselves within their home
surroundings in unique and personal
ways. They don’t want the run-of-themill decor and furnishings that others
have.
“We specialize in Industrial
Farmhouse decor, a lot of distressed
furniture, stuff you can’t find
anywhere else,” Rich added.
“Everybody’s gone to putting windmills [etc.] in their houses. They don’t
have as many walls, because we all
want the open-type home now; so
we don’t have a lot of interior walls.
They’re wanting [things like] windmill blades and tails — more objects
than paintings and things like that.
We do a lot of rustic, metal-type
pieces.”
Concerning furnishings, she said
people are “disillusioned” with newer
furniture which looks good but does