Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Paint & DIY stuff from the small big guy as an alternative to the big guys
I first went to Chris Stevens (Trade Discount Centre) Paint & DIY stores on Holloway Road about 20 years ago. I just popped in there to get some paint and met the man himself. I use the store both as a way of avoiding the big boys and to get good prices. OK, you don't get the Full Farrow & Ball choice experience but there's a wide choice of Macpherson paints at £9.00 per 2.5 litre. Can't be bad, can it.
Waiting to pay, I had a bit of a joke with a small older guy standing near the tills with a mug of tea. He turned out to be the owner, Chris Stevens. Salt of the earth jovial chap; 78 but looks more like 65.
Clearly not a thought of retiring. He's just bought the old MG garage up on Colney Hatch Lane to convert into a new branch. Paid a cool £5 million, he said. "Wow", I commented, "The DIY business has done you proud". But apparently that's not where all his money has come from. Way back when he designed the can for Macpherson paints. Rather than take the payment they offered, he suggested they give him a penny a can. "Multi-millionaire overnight", Chris commented.
Chris is a small guy against the Homebase-B&Q-Wickes Goliath. With a heart like David (and a staure to match), I'm happy to give this local(ish) business my support.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Maddy on
-
The absolutely brilliant thing about Chris Stevens is that you can take them any paint chart, including F&B, or even (in my case) a dab of oil colour on a scrap of paper, and they will mix up the colour for you at much less than the price of paint elsewhere. And if it's not right, they'll remix it until it is.
Watch out when parking there though, as it is alternate sides of the street morning and afternoon, and there are sneaky cameras to catch you out. The guys that work there will help you carry things out to the car.
-
Permalink Reply by Hugh on
-
It'll be a while yet. I think they are still building. I got eh impression form a conversation I overheard that the building works might be at quite an early stage.
-
Permalink Reply by Marian Leatherby on
-
Chris Stevens is brilliant for paint and tools, but beware of their very cheap bathroom things. Mine all turned out to be seconds.
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
