Today we’d like to introduce you to Eliana Roseberry.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Eliana. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Why Not Redesign was created in June 2012.
It all began with the idea of having a mustard yellow buffet! My husband couldn’t see the big picture and thought I had lost my mind, but I wanted a piece of furniture that didn’t match anything in my house and I wanted it to be in my front foyer. I had a huge desire to upcycle furniture for my home without spending a lot of money and because it had to be mustard I purchased a French dresser at a garage sale and decided to paint it myself. I had always been good at re-using items and making them look different and new although they had been at home forever, so why not make a $20 find into something special! The mustard buffet was created and it became the start of many conversations with my friends and everyone who came to my house. This was also the beginning of the chalk paint crazy that would come later on.
Everyone started asking me to paint a piece of furniture for them, some they owned, some I purchased, Painted and resold to them. A friend told me, you know, you’re doing pretty good with this and painted furniture is becoming a thing you should think of selling it on the regular basis. I looked at my hubby and said, yeah why not!
We began finding information about how to create a small business, got our dba and tax ID and so it began. Next was deciding where to be, my first “brick and mortar” was inside The Antique Mall in Lewisville, TX. We rented a 10×7 booth and signed a six-month lease. We brought in a few pieces of painted and unpainted furniture and went on a hunt for small vintage decor at estate sales and garage sales; by the end of the first week, our little space was looking adorable and we even had a few sales which were very encouraging.
Throughout all this, I forgot to mention, both my husband and I had full-time jobs and busy three kids to tend to but the desire to light this fire was greater than both of us.
Anyway, a month or so after being at the antique mall, we overheard a vendor say they were preparing to go to their monthly “date” at the Trade Days in Canton, TX. I had heard of Canton before but never been, we decide to go and check it out. We stopped at Old Mill Marketplace first and somehow ended up at the sales office where we met Vicky, she was the most lively, best salesperson who loved her job type person; she took us around, showed us the place and two hours later, I was signing a one year lease to become an Old Mill vendor too! We came home and I worked tirelessly on prepping for my first trade show which was in a short three weeks from the day we signed our contract! I sold out by mid-day Saturday that week and every month was bigger and better, but it was also tiring and taking me away from my kids and a full-time job for four to five days every month. Three months before the contract was up in Canton, we decided to bring our store closer to home and I found Shop the Barn in Denton, TX, I leased a space there for a little over a year and in between all that, we left the Lewisville location and Canton, but found Main Street Mercantile in Lewisville and Frisco Mercantile in Frisco, TX. Yes, at one point, I had four locations and a full-time job and my three very busy kids. I was tired and having the time of my life realizing this small business adventure was becoming a passion and winning over my heart daily!
In the meantime and thru making many new friends and business acquaintances, my husband found online auctions in which we bid and purchased furniture and vintage decor for our business. The company he worked for closed down the location he worked at and he was given the option to “retire”; so he too took a leap of faith, accepted and decided to become an auctioneer and has his own auction house to date (Why Not Marketplace, yes, we keep it all in the family).
In 2015, my job also came to a haunt and I was laid off. I went from being an AVP for a major Bank to a small business owner and I had a choice, to find employment and continue relying on other to determine my future, or to make this part-time/fun gig a real business! I chose the later after some soul-searching, lots of sleepless nights debating whether I could and telling myself I was already doing it, so why not!
Eventually, I closed down my shops in Canton, Denton, and Lewisville and stayed at Frisco Mercantile only while building up my custom orders business in which I either take in customer’s furniture or sell from my inventory. I am also painting kitchen and bath cabinetry, libraries etc and that side is thriving.
I ventured out and signed a 2nd lease at the tiniest space I’ve sold from but one that brings lots of joy to me at Lyla’s Downtown Plano.
In all, it has not always been easy, every day is a new one and I look forward to creating a new beautiful piece of “my art” and making my customers happy by helping them fall in love with their furniture all over again.
This is not an easy business to be in, nowadays, there is plenty of competition and DIY’ers trying to make it happen for themselves too, but with perseverance and love of what I do, I’m making it every day. My furniture is sold in my shops and the desire to create new, unique pieces evolves with me daily and that fire to make it another day burns hotter in me more than yesterday every single day. After all, Why Not Redesign?
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, there is a lot of competition and people who paint emerge daily. The market is therefore saturated. You have to become unique, reinvent yourself and create a name and a brand for yourself if you are serious about being a business and not just someone who does this as a hobby.
Why Not Redesign – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am known for my smooth finishes and glazing effects. It is sort of my trademark.
I am not one type of finish painter, I can make something look traditional, farmhouse, modern, rustic or give you that Pottery Barn looks if that’s what you want. I study new techniques and research the latest colors and upcoming trends to stay up to date in the industry.
What sets me apart is my motto “if it’s not good enough to be in my house, it’s not ready to be in yours.”
I am very picky and treat every piece as my own. I have been known to finish a piece and strip it back to start all over again if it doesn’t look right to me.
There is no piece more important than the one in front of my eyes.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Recently, I was recognized with a first place award for a cabinetry job I completed in Dallas by General Finishes, one of the biggest, most important and known paint companies in the country.
It awarded me great prizes and recognition among my peers. My entry was chosen among over 2000 others so I’m extremely proud of myself.
I have to add that images of several of my pieces have been used by known furniture paint companies in their social media sites as an advertisement of their paints.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8980 Preston Road, Frisco, TX 75034
1024 E. 15th Street, Plano, TX 75074 - Website: WhyNotRedesign.com
- Phone: 214-603-8946
- Email: whynotredesign@gmail.com
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