THUNDER BAY — Dulux Paint is celebrating 25 years of business in Thunder Bay this week and it all started in 1989 when newlyweds Charlene and Shawn Vansomeren moved into their first home encountering their first renovation project.
“I purchased paint from a local department store — on sale — and I patted myself on the back, proud of the deal I got — just $10 a gallon,” she said. “Not knowing anything about paint at the time, I soon learned that a good deal isn’t always a good deal as the paint took three coats to cover the wall. When it was time to refresh the room again, I washed the walls and to my dismay, all the paint chalked and washed off. All of my hard work had been in vain.”
Vansomeren said she headed to the local Color Your World store and was provided with everything needed to do things right this time.
“We were so impressed with the service, the quality of the products and prices that we became regular customers,” she said.
Ten years later the Vansomerens learned the store was up for sale.
“We jumped at the opportunity because we wanted to share the same positive experience and quality products with others,” she said. “And so it began. We liked the paint so much we bought the store.”
Vansomeren said the paint industry has gone through many technological as well as environmental improvements over the years.
“Water-based paint products were still relatively new 25 years ago, and oil-based products were still somewhat popular,” she said. “Today, with quality and environmental concerns at the forefront, the majority of our products are now low to zero (volatile organic compounds), with durability, scrubability and affordability being priorities.”
She pointed out that technology has provided them with many helpful visual tools such as their colour visualizer which takes the guesswork out of choosing colours.
“By simply taking a picture of your room, and downloading it to the colour visualizer, you can view what your room/project would look like in any of our colours,” she said, adding with style and colour trends, everything is cyclical and what is old becomes new.
“Wallpaper is back. It’s very popular right now for an accent or feature wall that can tie all room components together.”
Dulux Paints offers the largest in-stock selection of wallpaper in the city, and hundreds of books to choose from.
Aside from many changes in the industry, Vansomeren said they have been bought and sold in the global world of paint several times resulting in a few name changes over the years.
“The name Dulux has now been licensed in perpetuity, so our name will remain the same going forward,” she said.
The business has evolved into Dulux Paints Decorating Centre because of the full line of services it offers. This includes carpeting and flooring products. It’s also a centre for blinds and installation.
“We are thrilled to have been nominated 21 times as Thunder Bay’s favourite paint store over the years, and we proudly support many local service groups, events and fundraisers, by giving back to the community wherever possible,” she said.
Vansomeren says the past 25 years have gone by quickly and neither have plans to retire at anytime soon.
“We truly enjoy the many people we have met along the way as well as helping with your projects,” she said.
The Chronicle-Journal / Local Journalism Initiative
