Local business owner enjoys new accommodations

By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com

Cheryl Mullock of Intuitive Interiors in Eston enjoys operating out of their newly built shop at 137 - 2nd Avenue East. Initially, Cheryl had set up a shop in her basement, with plans to build a shop at a later date. In November of 2020, Intuitive Interiors moved into its new surroundings.

“We just moved in before the big snowfall in November and are unable to have a grand opening to date due to Covid,” Cheryl explained. “I found I was going back to help customers in the evenings, and now I can accommodate that with no problem. If people call, I’ll have their paint ready and waiting for them in the morning.”

Cheryl is doing curbside pick-up for the majority of her customers. However, some people still prefer to come into the store for consultations. “I’ll help them pick their colours and help them with the steps of priming and painting. I’m a painter myself; I’ve done lots of it,” Cheryl said but admits she is still learning because products keep changing.

Cheryl has been working with paint and interior design for over twenty years. Twenty years ago, she obtained temporary employment where she learned about the paint business. “I ended up staying, and I learned a lot,” Cheryl said. She continued working there even after the business sold.

“The business had paint and flooring. I was doing flooring quotes and was the top sales girl for kitchen cabinets,” Cheryl said. “It was really fun! I did all the drawing and measuring by hand back then. It was very gratifying to see a box room turn into a dream kitchen.”

When Cheryl opened her own business, she chose to work alongside Home FX in Kindersley. “They have their franchise for Benjamin Moore paint, and it worked out well for them and for us. We order together since our closest depot is in Winnipeg, and it takes a while to get our paint. If you’re in the middle of a painting job, you don’t want to have to run into the city to get paint,” Cheryl explained.

Cheryl’s determination has proved valuable, not only in her business but also in her personal recovery story. Prior to opening her business, she sustained a direct hit while aboard the back of her husband’s motorbike. Their two-week holiday ended with Cheryl undergoing surgery in Montana, performed by the USA Olympic ski team physician. This was followed by a lengthy recovery period back home in Saskatchewan.

Cheryl was told she wouldn’t be able to walk without a cane, but she sought another opinion from a physician in Kelowna, where she received two weeks of therapy. “I went there walking with a cane and flew home with the cane in a suitcase,” she said.

She continued to see a therapist in Swift Current, driving there every other day to work out in his gym. Eventually, Cheryl was happy to tell her therapist that she had returned to work part-time. “He said he didn’t know anyone who had my type of injury that went back to work. He said ten percent was because of him, and ninety percent was because of me,” Cheryl concluded.

Besides working full-time operating Intuitive Interiors, Cheryl likes to work out five times a week. “Sometimes I don’t accomplish it, but that’s my goal,” she said.

Another of Cheryl’s goals is to serve Eston and the surrounding community at Intuitive Interiors, where she is willing to accommodate anyone with their painting and interior needs.

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