Proper — Local services in Rockford Township

I visited Primitive and Proper three times in the past few weeks. In the first visit, I spent about $60 on paint, and the second visit, I bought two paint brushes, the more expensive one being almost $40. The owner and/or her son were very friendly and helpful during both of those visits. I had watched numerous videos from Annie Sloan herself, so I was pretty confident with the proper techniques for painting, waxing, and clean up. Unfortunately, the expensive brush I bought began to shed after only a couple minutes of painting. It was so bad that I had to stop every few strokes and remove the bristles embedded in the first layer of paint. After one coat, I gave up. Receipt in hand, my third trip to Primitive and Proper was not as pleasant. After I explained what happened with the brush, I was met with accusations of not cleaning it properly (Why would I even bother to clean I brush I would never use again?), not using it correctly, and not knowing that “all new brushes shed.” In short, the owners would not consider the possibility that they sold a defective item—not the product or brand—just that one item. For $38+, a paint brush should hold together, at least for a little while. It’s such a shame to see small business owners disregard their customers. Offering a refund, or at least a store credit, would have been a small cost to the owners that paid them back multiple times. I was planning to spend much more there on Christmas gifts, but now I won’t even recommend the store to family and friends. It’s easy to offer good service when everything goes well, but when your product is faulty, blaming the customer and profiting from that sale is just bad form. Buyer,...

My assistant Jenn and I stopped by in the middle of the most dreary day to look around! I loved everything in this place, and the staff was so friendly and engaging. It was such a great way to pass a rainy afternoon! Plus, Jenn had some sort of hyper connection with this old bear and it really was an interesting discussion we had! And then she went back and bought the bear! I could not recommend this place more, whether you are looking for something cute and new, or a priceless antique! We will definitely...

Old is gold with these guys. They have some awesome finds of antiques, collectibles and repurposed furniture from years gone by. The owners/staff are VERY friendly and sometimes even bake cookies for the customers (BONUS!!) I don't know where they find their goodies at, but they rotate stock...