Meet the Canterbury Family
We’re the family behind Canterbury Creative.
Canterbury Creative is a small, family-run business built around creativity, practical experience, and a whole lot of real life. What started as a creative outlet has grown into a place where furniture painters, makers, DIYers, and small-business creatives can find beautiful products, useful guidance, and the kind of help that comes from actually doing the work.
More than a craft-supply store
We carry the products we love for furniture refinishing, decorative painting, mixed media, and creative projects—things like Redesign with Prima transfers, decoupage papers, stamps, moulds, Wise Owl, Dixie Belle, Fusion Mineral Paint, tools, finishes, and all the little things that make a project come together.
But Canterbury Creative is not just about selling supplies. We want you to know what to use, why to use it, and how to make it work for your project. That is why we put so much time into tutorials, product guides, project ideas, comparisons, and troubleshooting. If you are standing in front of a piece of furniture wondering what on earth to do next, you are exactly who we built this for.
The heart of Canterbury Creative
Heather and Kim are the heart of Canterbury Creative. Heather brings the creative vision, product knowledge, attention to detail, and a tendency to turn one idea into seventeen more before lunch. Kim has devoted herself to learning this business from top to bottom, getting to know the products, the customers, and everything it takes to keep a family-run shop moving. Together, they are the team behind so much of what you see here.
Mike brings an extra layer of hands-on know-how. Before Canterbury Creative grew into what it is today, Heather and Mike spent more than 18 years traveling the country for commercial construction work. Mike's decades of experience in carpentry, repair, prep, tools, and finishes round out the team—especially when a furniture makeover needs fixing before it needs painting.
That's what makes Canterbury Creative different. We can help you choose the beautiful paint color or transfer, but we also understand the project underneath it and want to help you make something that lasts.
A family business in the truest sense
Kim is family in every way that matters. Her dedication means even more when life takes us away from home for Sophia’s medical care. She helps keep Canterbury Creative going, and we truly could not do this without her.
Our daughters Lexi and Sophia are a huge part of our why. Lexi brings her own creativity and personality to the family, while Sophia’s medical journey has changed the direction of our lives and businesses in ways we never expected. We also have grown children who remain part of the larger Canterbury family story.
Our favorite family getaway: Cedar Point!
Cedar Point is the Canterbury family's favorite place to go together. Between the roller coasters, sunshine, and plenty of laughs, it's a place where we can make memories and simply enjoy being together. Here's one of those days we wanted to share with you!
Why we’re changing gears
For years, work meant travel, job sites, long days, and a lot of time living out of suitcases. Life has changed. Family needs us closer to home, and we have become much more intentional about where we spend our time.
That means less time on the road, more time with family, and more focus on growing Canterbury Creative into the kind of business we want it to be: useful, personal, creative, and genuinely helpful.
We want this to feel like the shop where you can find the beautiful thing you came looking for, learn how to use it, and get help when the project decides to humble you halfway through. Because projects do that.
Come create with us
Whether you are refinishing your first nightstand, painting kitchen cabinets, working on a mixed-media piece, decorating furniture with transfers or decoupage, or simply looking for your next project, we are glad you found us.
And because apparently family, business, medical appointments, and general Canterbury chaos were not keeping us busy enough, we’re also writing Late Night Reflections. It’s about halfway finished, mostly written during those mythical moments we call “free time.” The book is our way of sharing the story behind Sophia’s journey and why we want other families to feel less alone.
Read more about our experience →
Read Sophia’s story →
Learn about the Vascular Compression Alliance →
Visit the VCA Foundation website ↗
Read about Late Night Reflections →