Best of Arlington 2020

DIY Classes

Stylish Patina owner Kelly Millspaugh Thompson. Photo by Joseph Tran

The concept of “making old things new again” was instilled in Kelly Millspaugh Thompson’s mindset early on—her childhood home was a Falls Church fixer-upper filled with antique furniture. She started sprucing up her own vintage pieces in college and kept at it as a hobby while working as a management consultant in the years after she graduated. Eventually, though, word got out and friends started encouraging her to sell her goods—and share her secrets. So she started a blog and in 2010 launched a retail business, Stylish Patina, in Falls Church. Today the shop doubles as a DIY classroom, offering crafty courses such as furniture painting, sign making and flower arranging. A recently licensed real estate agent, Thompson this year hopes to partner with other local creative types to offer workshops in areas like jewelry making, whole-food cooking, photography and calligraphy. –Rachael Keeney

stylishpatina.com