Painted furniture business moves to former wildlife park

Many people will remember Norfolk Wildlife Park (later The Animal Ark) in Nowhere Lane, Great Witchingham. Established in the early 1960s, it was a beautiful place to meet all kinds of animals and birds, both wild and domestic, in fantastic natural surroundings.
 
The park closed in 2011 but has recently been sold and the new owners hope to retain much of it as a nature reserve. They have also leased the park’s former tearoom and shop to an enterprising local couple, who will be using it as a base for their painted furniture business.
 

 
Until now, Clive and Fran Osborne have run Country Modern from their home in nearby Sparham, but have been looking for larger premises for some time. The couple take vintage, antique, pre-loved and unloved furniture and “bring it back to life with passion and paint”.
 
“We needed a larger workshop with more space and lots of natural light,” explained Fran. “The old tearoom and shop has lots of windows and is large, light and airy, which is perfect. It will allow us to work for longer and in more comfort, as well as providing additional display space with disabled access and a large car park.”
 
The Osbornes need to do some renovations to the building before it is ready as it had been left unused for almost three years. However, they are planning to open their new workshop and shop officially on Saturday 5 April.
 
“We used to drive past the park and empty building almost every day and think what a great place it would be to work,“ said Clive. “Now we have the opportunity to do just that and we’re certain that our customers will love visiting us here. We’re very excited about it.”
 
Country Modern was founded by Fran and Clive Osborne, a husband and wife team with a background in property development, home-staging and furniture painting, re-purposing, renovation and restoration. Fran has a background in art and design and more than 20 years of teaching, while Clive has many years’ experience in the IT industry.
 
Self-confessed perfectionists, their love of modern country home styling, and an eye for design and detail and creative skills, have resulted in a passion for creating striking, quality furniture that is unique and individual.
 
Together, they have continued to build Country Modern from what started more than 25 years ago as a hobby with a few pots of paint in a garden shed into a vibrant, thriving small business offering a bespoke furniture service.
 
Country Modern
Tel: 01603 554224 or 07789 502946
Email: contactus@countrymodern.co.uk
www.countrymodern.co.uk

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