About Tin Shed Designs

By Nicole Alexandra

When I was at school I always wanted to focus on art as a career but I knew the challenges that came with that. So I ended up following another passion which has led me to the corporate lifestyle. For years, I have wanted to get back into painting but never put any focus into it. I had recently returned home from living in Sydney and felt I was at a time in my life that I needed a hobby. Gone were the weekends of brunching and drinking cocktails till the early hours of the morning. I started to notice fluid art videos on social media and became intrigued by them. I would constantly annoy my partner with videos and wishing I could make the time to start painting again. He kept saying why don’t you just do it then, but I made every excuse possible. On my birthday I received a large box from my partner, and what do you know it was full of paint supplies to get me going. I then realised I had no excuse, and here was my opportunity to get back into what I loved.

I started off by experimenting on small bits of cardboard, playing around with different colours and techniques. I loved how every time I would flip a cup, or blow some paint it would be different. It felt like every bit of art work I did had its only story behind it. The more pieces I created the more I realised I enjoyed being covered in paint again.

How did Tin Shed Designs come to life:

We are lucky enough to live on Tawharanui Peninsula, North of Auckland, and are blessed to be living on a farm, right by the beach. We also live in a converted wool shed, which has a lot of challenges as you can imagine. However, the biggest being setting up a studio. It first started in the middle of the living room, which is also where the sheep use to be shaun back in the day.

But after awhile I needed more space and better light. So I decided to set up out the back of the shed in the old animal pens. Don’t worry, it has been renovated since the last sheep was in the shed. There can sometimes be challenges creating my pieces in a shed, and also being near wildlife. One night I had left some pieces to dry over night, only to discover a whole heap of moths had decided to play around in the wet paint. Two of the pieces were unusable but one managed to survive. So when it came to deciding i’m going to do this and create a website and fund my hobby, it was only fitting that the shed was to feature in this new chapter of my life. After a few wines and brain storming with the family Tin Shed Designs came to life.