APRIL- MEMBER OF THE MONTH

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Phyllis started my drapery business 7 years ago, mainly part time. Transitioning from apparel, I have a degree in fashion Design from American Intercontinental university and continued education certificates from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. I worked in different areas in the fashion industry in New York but mainly pattern drafting and draping in sample rooms where I worked primarily with designers to bring sketch concepts to sample products.

It is an invaluable organization. Meeting all the wonderful ladies and gents in the business community is nothing short of inspiring, educational, and packed wealth of experience, wisdom, and lasting friendships. 

I enjoy trying to figure out how to tackle a project (especially one of a kind!) and getting it accomplished.

 Pottery or glass sculpturing- I love the art of molding unshaped media into something beautiful. 

 "Do Good and Good will come to you"…Author ‘unknown’.

 I have a 5 language fluently and sometimes I find myself reasoning/thinking/calculating in one and having to translate my thought process. It delays my output.

 My first experience was the holiday party a few years back just before COVID kicked back up again. Everyone was so welcoming as it was my first in person meeting with the group.  

 I Love the people I get to meet, the problems I solve and that my office changes daily.  

 I have worked in my high profile homes in and around the Nashville area, from artists, singers, football players and coaches.  

  My biggest challenge right now is “expanding” my business to the ATL area from being in Nashville for 22 years. I am starting over with growing my clientele and getting to know my target markets. It’s a challenge and I am up for it! 

    CHILL 

 I love to travel, so it would be hard for me to pick but I would say my most favorite recently was Turks and Caicos. My husband and I were married there while on vacation over the Christmas break and it was perfect!  

 When I was in high school in Texas I raised a pig for the FFA and show it. The local grocery store bought her. Her name was Piggy Sue. 

  Skydiving and Bungee Jumping. 

 Like most of us, we wear many hats since we work alone. I tend to try and get a workout in first thing (it doesn’t happen if I don’t), race to appointments, try to get a quote, order or emails done in between, race home to keep working or hit the grocery store for dinner ingredients. After dinner, we typically grab a glass of wine and catch up on our shows or watch a movie and then head to bed to start the race all over again the next day. 

 On a rainy day, I love to stay in bed under the covers. On a sunny day, I love being outside. I could be walking, running, biking, reading a book or napping in my porch swing.  

 I started my business in January of 2005 after a 20-year career with a Fortune 500 Corporation, first in Dayton OH, then Des Moines, IA, and now in the Atlanta area since 2020.

Haston Interiors offers complete design services including 

• Window treatments
• Furniture
• Flooring
• Cabinets
• Art Accessories and more

.....But my favorite room to design is the Bedroom. I love the array of fabrics you can use for custom bedding and coordinating accessories. 

I am relatively new to WCAA Atlanta but have found the members to be a great supportive group of professionals who help each other and freely share their resources with the “newbie”. My membership has been a worthwhile investment. 

My most enjoyable moment of any project  in my business is the reveal and the look on the client’s face when they see the transformation of their space. When they cry, yes, sometimes they do, I feel their emotion too. That makes all the work that was put into it worth every minute. 

“They” say that no matter how old you are, you never stop learning. Another thing I have heard over the years is that if you love what you do, you will be successful. I believe that to be true but, you must put in the work to find the best way to do things and always make your customer feel that they are the most important person at that moment.   

  My favorite thing to do is travel. I have been to 47 states and 12 foreign countries. Thankfully, my husband does as well, and we have had many adventures. The most memorable place has always been the Grand Canyon. The first time I saw it I was 12. My father insisted that we got up very early and be on the rim at sunrise. It was an amazing site and the vastness of it was breathtaking. As the sun inched up over the horizon, the shadows moved, the colors changed, and the whole canyon took on a life of its own. Several years ago, I was able to introduce my husband to it for the first time. It was winter with snow in pockets in the crevices. The color palette was totally different. It was another way for me to see it and now he is hooked.  

 There have been so many memorable experiences with WCAA Atlanta that I don’t think I can narrow it down. Having been a member for a very long time, I have seen the chapter go through success and challenges. What I would say overall makes the chapter so memorable is the lasting friendships and support that come out of working together side by side to build our businesses. 

 I think what I am most proud of is that I am still in business after 21 years. And what is so cool is the trajectory my business has taken. I started as a small, home-based workroom. Began working with designers, started teaching at the Custom Home Furnishings Academy, became an owner of the Academy with a partner group, sold, began coaching, started a podcast and authored a book. All these experiences in our industry have allowed me to make a lasting impact on other businesses and their ability to be financially stable and viable. And their success is the best part of all that I have done and continue to do.  

 I would love to be able to sketch and watercolor on the spot – and have it be beautiful. Kind of like the beautiful designs Leslie Fehling creates.  

 I think some of the best advice I have gotten is to consider what I do best and then focus on making that stronger. I don’t have to be or offer all that everyone else wants.  

 On a rainy day one of my most favorite things to do is to sit on my porch on the sofa, wrap up in a light blanket with my two little dogs, Abigail and Khloe, and grab a great book. Reading is my escape and on vacation I am known to read a fiction novel a day. 

 I’ve been in business for 23 years and am now in school at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga finishing my interior design degree. I plan to continue operating my custom workroom but adding interior design services. 

 What I would say to someone considering WCAA is that the knowledge you will gain and the people you will get to know make it so worth it. I have been a member for 2 years, but because of Covid, then shoulder surgery, then school this last year, I have missed a lot of meetings. However, it’s been very nice being able to connect by email or text with other members for advice, technical help, or referrals. Being a one-person workroom can be very isolating at times, but being a member of WCAA has changed that. 

 What I enjoy most about what I do is using my design and fabricating skills to create custom, personalized soft furnishings for my clients and see them get excited about the finished product. I also enjoy the flexibility this career has given me, in that I have been able to work from home and raise my girls and be a part of all of their activities through the years. 

 If I could pick a new skill in an instant, it would definitely be cabinetmaking. I would be building custom cabinets all over my house and studio if I could do it! 

 I would choose a quote instead and my favorite quote is, “ Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” - Pablo Picasso. 

 I get up about 5:30am - drink coffee - drink more coffee - sit in my chair on the computer for a couple of hours reading emails, catching up on bookkeeping, placing fabric, hardware, and supply orders, and doing any homework for school then feed the cat, the horses, the chickens, and all the goats, and then myself head down to my basement studio and work all day on the jobs I have going, unless it’s a school day, in which case I leave at 6:30am for Chattanooga, go to class until 4:30pm; and then head home and get a little sewing or computer work done. 

Alicia, Owner and Creative Director of DRAPES & DECOR has over 20 years of experience working in the interior design and window covering industry. Alicia is certified ICCP (International Color Consulting Professional) and has also earned her professional certification in window coverings from CHF Academy. She is an active member of WCAA and currently a member of the Atlanta Chapter Board.

 Yes! This professional trade association has done more for my business than anything else! From the moment I joined 9 years ago I was warmly welcomed by all the members who enabled me to learn so much from them. I greatly enjoy our monthly meetings as they consistently contribute to my education in the interior design field but there is also a great camaraderie around the group. 

 Variety is my best friend. I sell, design, manage projects, fabricate at times and love jumping from one activity to another. Never a dull moment! But most of all I love when I bring a happy smile to a client’s face when the project is completed. 

 Offer Feng Shui design to our clients. I am currently studying for an international certification and would love to incorporate the new knowledge and principals to our designs and services. 

 GRATEFUL – sometimes we forget this is the most important attitude in life. 

 Europe. I grew up, lived and traveled all over this continent and I always feel right at home there. I love the close proximity of all the countries, rich cultures, fabulous cuisine and chill attitude. Somehow, in all the busyness of life, Europeans always have time for an espresso with a friend at a corner café.