What Has Changed From Years Past
Day 7 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge is here and I’m writing about what has changed from the past years. The suggested topic is: “What has changed in what you are doing today vs. 1, 3, 5 or maybe even 10 years ago?”
The host demonstrated two events of the past that were big changes so I did a search and found another event that had a big change. On this date in 1950, Mother Teresa established the Missionaries of Charity.
Fast forward to 2016 and Mother Teresa, a nun who dedicated her life to helping the poor in India, was be canonized as a Saint on by Pope Francis. I wrote a blog,
Canonization of Mother Teresa on her glorious day.
So now back to the topic of what has changed in what I have been doing. The answer is easy, NOTHING! Well, maybe that was too quick of an answer so let me explain a bit more.
My hubby and I started
Mar-C’s Interiors shortly after we were married in 1967. It started with alterations, dressmaking and men’s wear but grow into prom gowns and bridal ensembles. Without realizing it, slipcovers, decorative pillows and draperies started coming into the mix. Since my motto has always been, “If you want to explore deeper oceans, you first have to leave sight of the shore”, the words, “I can’t do that” was never in our vocabulary.
Our tiny business started on the dining room table in our upstate New York home and we “expanded” to the basement in the early ’80’s. I loved creating window treatments for clients and since that took so much creative time, we decided to just focus on that aspect so we ended the clothing part of our business.
Fast forward to 1994 when we had to make the decision to move to South Carolina to help care for my mom with Alzheimer’s and it was a quick and no brainer action, we packed up our business and personal things, sold our home and moved.
Not knowing anything about the area for our decorating business, we drove up the road, found a store front and opened our first “store”. Since day one at our new location we have met some of the most wonderful people. They started out as clients and ended as friends, stopping by just to say hi. Since we don’t advertise, we rely on our past clients to refer others to us. Word of mouth, referrals and repeat business is the best kind of advertising and it’s worked for almost 50 years.
So after I stated that NOTHING has changed in what I have been doing for 50 years, after reading this, there actually has been quite a change.
From a business we started on our dining room table which grew into moving into a store front where we carry drapery fabrics, decorative trims and drapery hardware plus have a full in-store workroom where we fabricate the treatments, there has been a change but it’s happened without even realizing it.
We call ourselves a one stop shop, we measure, design, fabricate and install window treatments and bed and bath ensembles. When designing treatments, I like to do computer sketches to give the client an idea of the style.
Mar-C’s Interiors was voted 2016 #1 Decorator/Designer in the Grand Strand for the second year in a row and I am very proud of our 50 year old business with no retirement in sight.
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Funny how time flies by when we’re not looking… lol It’s amazing when we look back in earnest how we can see how things have changed, but if we just going along with things, it can happen right under our noses. Look at how technology has changed all our lives! While I don’t have a cell phone, I’d be totally lost without my computer. Thanks for sharing how your business has grown and changed!
That is so true Jane. When I first starting thinking about this topic, nothing had changed….. until I took a REAL good look at it! I have only been “computerized” about 15 years and how that has changed. I too would be lost without it, even though I still use the old fashion way of keep our records. Thanks for visiting!
Congratulations on your award. What a wonderful achievement.
Thanks Sumudu, both my hubby and I were so honored to receive this award for two years in a row. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Martha,
I like the way you use pictures to illustrate your story.
Speaking of stories, how did you put the curtains up on the second story?
And please don’t say “very carefully” 🙂
Hi Doug, Sorry for the delay in replying, we have been in the eye of Hurricane Matthew. I love using photos in my blogs, makes it a bit more interesting. As for the second story, yes very carefully….. on scaffolding! It was quite a balancing act but all turned out well. Thanks for stopping by.
Amazing journey Martha. Loved the way you put into words. Great achievement. Yes, we need to leave the shore to explore deeper ocean. Your support to each other is incredible. And it never is easy and also there are not shortcut for success. Patience and never-give-up attitude are two important quotients that goes into the equation.
Thanks for the compliments Rajashree. When I first started writing this blog, I didn’t think there was much change but indeed there was! Thanks for visiting my blog.