Earlier this month Director of Athena Stonecare, Becca was interviewed by Maritza Masiello, Founder of The Find Store. Here’s a snippet of the interview, head to their website to read in full.
The Find Store: Hello Becca, thank you for agreeing to have this little interview with us! We feel really strongly about supporting our fellow independent businesses and this is such a great way to share and find out about all the services and talent out there.
TFS: So, for those who aren’t familiar with you and your work, please give us a little description of your business, Athena Stonecare and the work you do.
B: We are specialists in natural stone restoration. This can be anything from transforming a 10-year-old limestone floor in a country house all the way through to making a marble worktop shine again. Natural stone is an investment and we help our clients to make sure it always looks as beautiful as the day it was laid.
TFS: Where are you based?
B: A sleepy little village in Buckinghamshire called Chalfont St. Giles but we work across London and the Home Counties.
TFS: Your restoration jobs look amazing! What has been your most challenging project?
B: Working with natural stone always has its challenges. Because each and every slab is different, it means that we always offer a completely bespoke service. Usually the most challenging jobs are the most rewarding. We had a client in a stunning house in London who’d had a brand-new marble floor laid throughout. Unfortunately, an error in installation left the floor uneven meaning that we spent 2 full weeks using very heavy machinery and diamond abrasive to grind the floor completely flat. We then had to refinish the floor and polish it again to look like new. It was all more complicated by the thousands of pounds of silk wallpaper that we had to protect each day! The results were well worth it though!
TFS: What made you decide to set up your own business?
B: My husband actually set up the company four years before he met me. I spent the first 2 years of our relationship nudging him to let me get involved. I always saw such potential in him, with his passion for the work and just so much knowledge that I knew we could do more. After helping out at a night shift on site, we finally had a really long chat about the future of the business and the next day I handed my notice in! I love that we can work on something together that we have a shared energy for.
TFS: What would you say are the biggest challenges of running your own business?
B: It is such a rollercoaster of emotions! When it is your own business everything is always so much more personal. The big wins are always so much sweeter but then when you have a tough day it can feel like your whole world is crashing down. We are, as humans, often bad at congratulating ourselves and so sometimes you focus too much on the mistakes, the errors and the worries of your work and don’t give yourself the space to celebrate the successes. There’s no boss to pat you on the back, so you’ve got to learn to do it yourself.
To read the full interview head to www.thefindstore.co.uk
Take a look beyond the sample to explore how different types of limestone can be used in your home.
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Each piece of equipment has a specific purpose and enables us to perfectly resurface and polish any natural stone.
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