The paint shop has been run by the Watkin family for 38 years, starting off first in the old arcade near Littleton Gardens in Bega and then moving to Carp St, opposite Coles Bega.

"We started in a tiny little arcade where Dan Murphy's is now and basically sold paint to retailers, then when the shop moved up here, Sharon and I bought it," John said.

John said he was happy to be selling to new owner, Jacob Muthsam, who was bringing with him an experienced background in painting and decorating and had also been a painter in the region for several years.

John said Jacob was taking the business on in "much the same position as I was in" when he had bought the business in 1999.

"It's almost like a mirror image of when I came into the business, here he is starting out with a young family like I did and it's like history is repeating itself really," he said.

Looking back on his time at the store, John said his highlight had always been meeting people and helping them choose the right paints for their projects.

"The best thing about the job was helping people with their projects, whether they were building a new house, renovating an old home or just doing a little project," John said.

"The other real highlight was actually seeing these projects come to life. We love nothing better than to have people come in and bring photos of their house after they finished decorating."

John said while it was time to close the book on his paint shop days, he intended to keep an active role in the community, stating loud and clear that he had no intentions of retiring any time soon.

"The plan is to have a few months off and we'll still be around to help Jacob, so I'll come in once or twice a week for however long he needs me for," he said.

"I'm still actively involved with the Chamber of Commerce and a few other things around town, so we're staying around and I'll find some new things to do."

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John said he was very happy the shop was being passed into the hands of a new owner who had family ties to the Sapphire Coast.

"It's fantastic that we can happily sell it to someone who's going to run it well, who's from the industry and wants to grow on the local identity that the shop is," John said.

John said he was also glad to see that Jacob would be keeping their "amazing staff" on and largely keeping the business the same.

"Even though the business is changing hands, it will keep functioning the same way and we really hope people will come out and support Jacob the way they have supported us as a family," he said.

"We've really appreciated the support from the community and we just hope that it continues into the future."

New owner Jacob Muthsam said he'd always wanted to own a paint shop and now the dream was coming true.

"Ever since I started my apprenticeship 20 years ago, I've always thought I'd enjoy owning a paint shop and a couple of years ago John and I started having chats about it," Jacob said.

"When the opportunity came up, I really just jumped at it," he added.

Jacob said he and his wife had moved to the Bega Valley seven years ago.

"This region has always been close to our hearts ever since we've been married and we always hoped we'd end up back this way," he said.

When asked what his plans and projects for the business was Jacob said he wanted to maintain much of the same ways it had been run by the Watkin family.

"The business advice I've been given and that I know to be true is you don't change a good thing,

"So the first year or two we will just be continuing on and I'll be making sure I learn what I need to learn from John about running the business successfully and from there we'll take the next steps," he said.

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Jacob said he looked forward to establishing connections with previous and future clients of the store and being able to assist his community in achieving their projects.

"It's going to be great to welcome everyone who used to shop here and seeing how we can continue to help them and offer that same quality of service," he said.

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