Meet Desiree & Christopher McLean

We had the good fortune of connecting with Desiree & Christopher McLean and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Desiree & Christopher, how does your business help the community?
We are in the business of taking worn down or broken pieces of furniture, refinishing and restoring them back to like new condition. Often times the furniture we buy is unwanted and close to going in the landfill. With our refinishing and restoration we can give a vintage piece a new life so it can serve a purpose for another 60 or more years. The mid-century modern furniture we typically work with is such high quality wood and craftsmanship that it can be returned to its original beauty and become a heirloom piece once again. I like to think we are saving the environment one little piece of furniture at a time. Our saying at Serpentine Lines is ‘Buy Vintage or Die.’ It’s a funny way to say buy vintage to save the planet. Buy vintage to prevent more in the landfill.

What should our readers know about your business?
Our business kind of started on accident. We bought a mid-century style home in 2018. With all of our extra cash tied up in renovations, we couldn’t afford refinished or newly made mid-century style furniture to fit our new home. So we started to scour garage sales, the thrift stores, and often times the free furniture on the curb. We found many period pieces that needed a LOT of love to be beautiful once more. So Desiree started refinishing them. Once we filled up our home, we couldn’t stop. Then Chris joined the business and together we kept buying “old” furniture and making it beautiful again. In the process we found our passion. Desiree was always a creative person but never considered herself an ‘artist’ like Chris until she started refinishing furniture. She found her form of art through the process of refinishing. Now it’s something we do together. It’s not always easy running a small business. We struggle and doubt ourselves like all business owners do. For us this business has allowed us in many different ways to live a lifestyle we love, and after Desiree developed Long Covid, this became the business that we needed. The flexibility of our business allows us to be there for our kids whenever they need us, to take breaks during bad symptom days, and to try to live a slower lifestyle. The slow part doesn’t always pan out when you’re a small business owner, but we try. We have not only grown our knowledge and skills in the workshop but we have also grown in our relationship together. For us running our business together has proven to be incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. As time goes on this happy accident of a business is one of the only reasons we have been able to carry on. Chronic illness is incredibly difficult and unpredictable. We will be forever grateful for the opportunities we have, and the hard work that has lead us to where we are now.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We live in Greeley, in Northern Colorado. Just a hop skip and lot of cows away from Denver. Greeley sometimes gets a bad rap but this town is full of creative people, and businesses. The University brings in an amazing mixture of people from all walks of life. I have found Greeley to be incredibly community driven. There’s murals and art installations all throughout the town. There’s always community happening downtown with the many festivals, amazing restaurants, and art fairs all through the year. There are about a thousand parks and miles upon miles of walkable paths and trails along the Pouder river. Greeley also has the most Libraries I’ve ever seen in one town, including the LINC library. We always stop at the award winning breweries, yes plural award winning breweries in Greeley. On any one night you could see a live show at the Moxie Theater. See a movie at the Kress & speak easy. Grab some tacos and tequila at Luna’s or an amazing coffee from Margie’s. We love to join UNC for concerts under the stars, or visit the Greeley Stampede in the summer. Greeley has so many options for community and entertainment that it’s hard to choose sometimes. We love Greeley for the town, but most of all for the people.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our business wouldn’t exist without the support of our friends and the vintage obsessed community we love! Running a small business is hard. Especially when you also have a chronic illness. Our friends have not only supported us endlessly but have also furnished their homes and businesses with our furniture. They have shared our work, showcased us, and recommended us time and time again. We are eternally grateful for the community we have found in Colorado.

Website: SerpentineLines.com

Instagram: @_Serpentine_Lines_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19TowmKJtL/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Other: We also sell through the new online marketplace for all your vintage needs in Denver and northern Colorado Refound Goods. RefoundGoods.com

Image Credits
Kim Adamson at Adamson Imagery