WCAA Charlotte Chapter: February 2012

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Introducing our Member of the Month----AMANDA SMITH Owner of Sew Unordinary

Like many others in this business, Amanda Smith did not start out as a fabricator of window treatments. She went to college at UNCC and earned a degree in middle grades education, taught school for seven years, returned to school for a master’s degree in library science at UNCG, then spent three years as a media specialist. She became a stay-at-home mom in 1998 when her twin boys were born. When her marriage ended two years later, she knew she was going to have to go back to work when the boys went to school. But she wanted to be at home with her kids as much as possible. That led to the question of what kind of work she could do from home.

While visiting a friend one afternoon, she noticed her friend had new window treatments in the family room. In was an “ah ha” moment, Amanda thought, “If I can make cocktail dresses, I can surely learn to make window treatments.” Amanda comes from a family that sews. Her mother, an accomplished sewer and quilter, taught Amanda the art at age 12. Her father owned a successful auto upholstery business for 25 years. Both of her grandmothers and all of her aunts sewed. With her family’s support, she set up a small workroom in an extra bedroom and completed her first job in July 2001. Almost 11 years later, the business has grown into a full-time occupation that she loves.

What started out as a small, retail business has grown into a mostly to-the-trade, full-service workroom offering several lines of fabrics, hardware, shutters, blinds, woven woods and fabrication of panels, valances, bedding and decorative accessories. While she enjoys all aspects design, she is happiest and most content when she is sewing all the beautiful fabrics and trims in her workroom.

Amanda was blessed to meet a wonderful man, Sheldon Smith, whom she married in June 2004. They live in Cornelius with their 13-year-old twin boys, Reece and Davis, and their Bernese Mountain Dog, Sophie.