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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ddpro-article 1/8Drapery & Design Professional Volume 2010, Issue 5

Drapery & Design

PROFESSIONALVolume 2010, Issue 5

Ser ving the Custom Home Furnishings Industr y s ince 199


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In preparation of this magazine, every effort has been made to offer the most current, correct, andclearly expressed information possible. Nevertheless, inadvertent errors may occur. Drapery &

Design PROFESSIONAL and its representatives disclaim any responsibility due to typographicalerrors and accuracy of the information that may be contained in this magazine. No part of thismagazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Drapery & Design

PROFESSIONAL

a publication o theustom Home Furnishings Academy

rapery & Design PROFESSIONAL is

bimonthly trade publication specically orose who sell, design or create custom win-

w treatments, upholstery, slipcovers andated services. Contributions rom readers

e welcomed. We look or articles that teach

w techniques, inspire readers to tackle newojects and inorm readers o current trends

abrication and design.request submission guidelines, please e-mail

[email protected].

request a media kit, please contact the com-unications director.

CHF Academy

13900-F South Lakes Dr.

Charlotte, NC 28273704-333-4636 phone

704-333-4639 ax

Magazine Advisory Board

Holly Buccarelli, Sue Siakis, Wayne Chai,Khindu Blessing Elke-spif (Kiki),

Kelly Geraghty, ony Hollingsworth,

Charlene Jones, Kate Kissell, Kelly Meuller,Marci Pelot, Angela Schneier, Linda Shearer

Editor-in-Chief Margie Nance

[email protected]

Communications Director/SalesMichele Williams

[email protected]

Layout EditorSteven Nance

[email protected]

Director/CEO

Jeanelle [email protected]

From the Editor-in-Chief

We’d like to put you on our map!Submit your article ideas to [email protected].

W hen I began my drapery workroom in the

early ’90s, I thought as long as I knew how

to sew pattern pieces together, I would

be able to build a successful business. It didn’t take

long to discover how wrong that thinking was.

I learned very quickly that a successful workroom owneris a seamstress, bookkeeper, marketer, salesman, project manager, consultant,business manager and more. With each area of focus, the workroom ownerneeds to put on a new and different hat that matches the task of the moment.Whether it’s meeting a client for the rst time (consultant), or creating an in-voice for the nal job (bookkeeper), each area requires a different hat.

I point this out not because I want to overwhelm you with all the things youneed to know to be successful, but to show you why we at Drapery & Design

Professional bring you such a vast variety of articles each month on manydifferent subjects. It’s always exciting to learn how to make something new, butit’s essential to read topics that relate to all the other hats you must wear.

In this issue we learn how touse circle shape patterns, visita show house in Atlanta, un-derstand more about GoogleDocs, meet Susan Kostelecky,see designs from Laura Lodiniand Sue Sifakis, and so muchmore. As you read each article,think about how the informationcould help you build your busi-ness and which hat you mightwear while reading it. The morereading you do in all areas of your career, the more success-

ful you will become.

Drapery & Design Professional Volume 2010, Issue 5



Table of Contents Volume 2010 Issue 5

Learn7. Sewing in Circles - T. Booser

39. The Banded Scaldino - D. Cash

50. Corner Cornice - A. Davis

Share6. From the Bookshelf - S Devaney-O’Neil

14. Atlanta Spring Show House - B. Jeffries

22. Company Product - Trend

42. How to Run a Business Meeting - A.K. Johnson

46. The Art of Mixing - K. Gregory

54. Shoptalk - S.W. Schurz

Inspire 26. The Power of Yes - J. Maslanka

32. Picture Portfolio - S. Kostelecky

56. Global Inuences on Our Industry - J. Turner

58. Redesign 911 - K.Kissell

64. From the D&D Network

Prosper16. Five keys to Thriving - J. Abbott

23. Collaborate with Clients and Designers Online Part 2 - D. Green

Meet 12. Spotlight on - L. Lodini

20. Vendor Profle - Rowley Co.

30. Meet a D&D Pro - S. Kostelecky

48. Spotlight on - S. Sifakis

66. Meet the Writers

Correction - In the article ‘Uplifting Custom Shades’ in Volume 10, Issue 4, Finestra® and EZ-Rig™ wereincorrectly noted.

About the Cover - Chateau in Loire Valley, France


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ddpro-article 4/82 Drapery & Design Professional Volume 2010, Issue 5

Spotlight On Laura Lodini

L

aura Lodini is own-

er of My Window

Dresser in Lang-horne, PA. Laura’s treat-

ment is Say Yes. This treat-

ment is a cornice built out

of Firmaex with panels

draped over it. The panels

have a smocked header

with hand beading, and the leading edge is a

bias rufe. The tieback embellishment is from

Finestra Decorative Hardware.

What inspired this treatment? The inspiration for

my treatment came from the wedding dresses fea-tured on the TLC reality show “Say Yes to the Dress.” I became a fan of the show because I love the embel-lishments that are found on wedding dresses. I be-gan studying the dresses on the show’s website and Ibecame inspired by designers Pnina Tornai and AnneBarge — Pnina for her embellishments, and Anne forher elegant style.

The cornice represents a tted bodice; the banding onthe top, a tiara; and the swag panels draped from thecornice, the gown’s skirt.

Would you do anything differently if creating

this treatment again? No, I’m pleased with the wayit all turned out.

Were any parts of the fabrication especiallychallenging? This was the rst time I drafted an en-tire pattern from a rendering. I have always used pat-terns as the designer intended or made modications.Margie Nance gave me a lesson in pattern draftingusing a 10ths ruler and draping the pattern out on agrid. We worked with a pattern of lining and started tosculpt the design. The process reminded me of a con-ference class I attended years ago entitled “Left Brain,Right Brain” and presented by Margie Nance and BethHodges. They fabricated a treatment from a drawing

in a D. Guilmard publication of historical treatments.Margie’s approach was hands-on and visual. Beth hadto work everything out on paper rst. Both methodsproduced beautiful treatments.

Did you use any fabrication methods that werenew to you? The bias rufes cut from circles werenew to me. Terri Booser suggested I try this method,and I loved it.

Where do you nd inspiration for creative, cus-tom window treatments? Most of my inspirationcomes from fashion, historical interiors and architec-

ture.

Is there a new technique that you would like toexplore? I want to learn how to embellish with biasstrips, trapunto, and experiment with machine em-broidery.

What piece of equipment is essential to yourworkroom? My sewing machine, my döx boiler ironand my worktable.

What do you offer to gain a client’s loyalty? Iwould say attention to detail and the fact that I putmy heart and soul into every job. I have observed

that many people tend to accept mediocrity in relationto custom services. I’ve had many clients who havehad experiences with custom work that they were notthrilled with but accepted anyway. It would really up-set me if a client thought my work was merely accept-able, as opposed to unique and exceptionally crafted.

What are your business goals for the next veyears? Become more protable, investigate in be-coming a wholesale only workroom, get published(Check one off!).

What are your personal goals for the next veyears? I’d like to get better at time management and

become more tech savvy. Face 50 with a smile. Quiltmore.

What are your other interests or hobbies? I’mobsessed with my new Bernina 640. Love, love, loveto quilt.

Which companies sponsored your treatment?Cocoon Fine Silks, Finestra Decorative Hardware,Hanes, M’Fay, Rowley Company, Woven Materials.

Professionals Associations: D&D Professional Member,Central New Jersey WCAACertications and Career Professional Programs:

Advanced Window Coverings Career Professional





Michele Williams

Communicaons Director

CHF Academy

Cost/Benet Analysis of a

class at CHF Academy

How often have you told yourself “I can’t afford to take

a class”, or “I can’t afford that piece of equipment”?

Sometimes this can be true, but perhaps we need to

take a closer look at the dollars and cents.

The cost of attending a class at the Custom Home Furnishingsacademy is less than $200 a day for hands-on training. Thelength of classes at CHFA vary from two to eight days. For

example, for the entire Upholstery eight-day class the cost of education is $1,592. This class will pre-pare you to offer an entirely new service to your customer where you can easily recoup that $1,592.

Recently in our Pricing Without Emotion class, all students determined what their hourly rates neededto be to reach their yearly goals of satisfying their expenses, salary and prot. Let’s see how takinga class ts into this equation.

$398 Cost of two-day class at CHFA$700 Travel, hotel, food (assuming airfare, single-occupancy room, dinners out for three nights)$1,098 Total

The average workroom probably works about 1,400 billable hours a year. If you divide the $1,098 by1,400 hours, you only need to make an additional $0.78 per billable hour to cover the basic invest-ment in education.

At the same time, you could potentially increase your income by $5 per hour — or more — becauseyou’ve learned new skills and you’ve been taught to do the job more efciently using professionaltechniques. That is a net potential increase in your hourly income of $4.22 per hour … or $5,908 ayear!

Aside from the nancial gain you would realize in net income, you will also network with other pro-fessionals from around the country, and sometimes from around the world. These relationships willpay back dividends for years in terms of sharing information and resources. You learn that you aren’talone in your questions and your challenges. The value of friends? Priceless!



So the real question becomes: “How can I afford not to take this class or purchase that piece of equip-ment?” Here is what one student has to say about her investment in education:

“I recently took the Pricing class with Michele Williams in Charlotte. It was a great classand as I sit here today doing a quote, thank God for her. I charge for everything I donow, right down to how long it takes me to quote and commute to the client’s home. Ismile all day long at my sewing machine or while standing at my table hand hemming,because I charged for the work I am doing. I even like my clients more these days! (LOL)

I have recouped my tuition many times over. Wow – what a small price to invest in one’sbusiness and self-worth.” — Catt Coulbourne, Lily Hill Designs

From Lef to Right: Jana Gebhardt, Jennier DeRosa, Carmen Martinez, Grant Trick, Catt Coulbourne,

Karen Brooks, Julia Mitchell, Michele Williams



Ann K. Johnson has owned her home-based wholesale/retail workroom since1992. She is the author of two books ondrawing swag patterns: The Professional Workroom Handbook of Swags, Volumes1 & 2. Ann is a representative for Evan

Marsh Designs, creators of dreamDraperand Quick Quote and a specialty instructorat the CHF Academy.

Debbie Green is the owner of DandelionInteriors and founder of Minutes Matter. Herphilosophy is “Systematize your businessby doing the same thing the same way.” She conducts seminars at D&WC confer-ences and International Window CoveringExpos. She is also a Certied QuickBooks

Pro Advisor.

Annie Davis of Elkhorn, NE, is the ownerof Artisan Designs. This year she celebratesher tenth year as a workroom owner, and isalso a member of WFCP and WAA. You cannd Annie on the D&D PRO Forum underthe screen name of “anniedavis.”

Meet Te Writers

Susan W. Schurz is Brand ExperienceManager for Rowley Company. Prior to

joining Rowley, Susan owned Tavern Hill, aprofessional drapery workroom founded in1988. She is an instructor for CHF Acad-emy and a popular industry speaker. Susanhas been featured in many books, maga-zines and CHF Academy workroom videos.She’s a member of the WCAA and a WFCPExpert.

Jenna Abbott is the sole proprietor of Sew

Elegant by Jenna, a to-the-trade workroomfounded in 2001 and located in SacramentoCalifornia. She is a founding member of theNorthern California Chapter of the WCAA,the Executive Director of the National WCAAand a proud alumnus of the Custom HomeFurnishings Academy in Charlotte, NC.

Judi Turner started her business while inGermany from 1991-1992. It began witha client base of expatriates who wantedthe American style of window treatmentsfor their German homes. Upon relocat-ing stateside, Judy chose to remain in thehome décor eld and now, 17 years later,

works with clients in several states and 3countries.

Kate Kissell is the owner of Picadilly Inte-riors, a custom soft furnishings workroomthat also offers redesign and staging inState College, PA. She has a degree in ArtEducation and a passion to share all thatshe has learned. She recently began of-fering home decorating classes out of herworkroom. She is a member of SDP, WCAAand an advisory board member for the D&DPRO magazine.

Kristine Gregory is principal of Bedeck-ers Interior Effects Inc. Kristine is an Al-lied Member of American Society of InteriorDesigners, past president of the RichmondChapter of WCAA and a WFCP Specialist.She is the only designer in the Richmondarea who is an expert in both the psychol-ogy of color and personal organization. Visither website at www.bedeckers.com.

Sarah Devaney-O’Neil is the owner of Storibook Designs Inc., a custom homefurnishings and design business provid-ing design and advice for both residentialand commercial clients. She has 20+ yearsof leadership experience, including salestraining and upper management positionsfor two large home furnishings retailers.

Donna Cash operates a workroom in Flow-ery Branch, GA. She’s a 20-year veteran of

the window coverings industry and has anassociates degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta. She’s a WFCP Associate, memberof WCAA, Drapery Pro and the DesignersWorkroom Council in Georgia. Donna is alsoa certied yoga instructor.

Judy Maslanka has played the role of fabricator, designer, installer, and projectmanager throughout her many years inthe industry. Her company, ‘63’ Keeler,is located in Lisle, IL, and named after herChicago childhood address. Judy is a guestinstructor at a community college and theCharity Coordinator for the WCAA Chicago-land Chapter.

Terri Booser has 20 years of experiencein the window treatment industry. She isowner of An Interior Stitch, a wholesalewindow treatment workroom in Wattsburg,PA, and is a Career Professional Instructorat the CHF Academy. She is dedicated tohelping other workrooms raise their level of efciency, condence and professionalismthrough education.

Beuancha Jeffries of Snellville, Ga. is theowner of Sew Cozy Interiors, a custom fur-nishings workroom catering to retail cus-tomers and designers. She is a graduate of Devry Institute with a AA Degree in Elec-tronics. She has a passion for hand crafts

and is a member of WCAA and the D&DProfessional network.

6 Drapery & Design Professional Volume 2010, Issue 5

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