Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Carrell.
Hi Melissa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have a BS Interior Design from UTA. I started in the wallpaper industry about 20 years ago under the founders of the business, Gary and Kathy Leland. During Covid their landlord sold their building and they decided to retire after 40+ years, so I bought a portion of the business.
I took to heart the advice I was given by multiple business owners before starting my adventure to value my employees and let them know they are valued in ways other than monetary like being gracious when my employee has to leave early to pick up a sick child from school or cut her hours back when school is not in session and she has limited child care. My part timer is a retired lady who works to stay active and have some discretionary funds, and that sometimes means she changes her work days around so she can go hiking with friends or visit family out of town.
I run a retail store, website and 4 social media platforms with one full time and one part time person. I am not an influencer with professional marketing staff. I am a sole proprietor. I hesitate to say small business as there are many Shopify run small businesses with 40+ people that sell strictly online, so I call Leland’s Wallpaper a local business. I transition now to saying we, because I could not run this business without my two loyal employees. We are fortunate that our city, Arlington, heavily supports local businesses with grants, loans and social media sharing. We are blessed to be in a shopping strip with five other local businesses that refer and support one another.
In the almost five years we have been in our new location, we have grown our local buying radius by close to one hundred and fifty miles. In the last six months, we have had customers drive in from Allen, Heath, Corsicana, Waxahachie, Maypearl, Hillsboro, Leander, Granbury, Stephenville, Graham, Argyle and even Oklahoma.
We have worked hard to bring in new vendors from the design district in Dallas as an offering to the general public who might not otherwise have access. We serve several custom builders in the area and have more than doubled the number of designers we serve. We began in October to offer one on appointment time on Saturdays from 10-2 for the trade and for customers who drive in from out of town or need guidance to select multiple rooms without interruptions. During the week, we make arrangements as needed to meet a customer earlier or stay a little later to accommodate those whose schedules don’t fit the typical hours of operation during the week.
We had the privilege to work with Jen Todryk and her crew for an episode on No Demo Reno where she filmed her shopping trip with us. We have also had the privilege to work with set designers on wallpaper for a couple episodes of Zombie Flippers and Season 2 of Lioness.
The last two years have been tough. As they sometimes say, life gets in the way. There are outside factors that affect a business and its people, and you have to learn to roll with the punches and just keep going. My father, one of my greatest supporters, passed away this year after a 3 year battle with both dementia and cancer. This meant driving for hours once or twice a week to his care home, taking rambling or lonely phone calls at all hours and with my brother’s help advocating and fighting for his best care to live out his days with dignity. My employees have their own family members with health issues. An election year always brings uncertainty to weather, and rising costs dip into margins. But we do our best to treat people with respect, offer our expertise and guidance, and at the end of the day, we know we are blessed to still be here when other local businesses have had to shut their doors.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Tariffs have been confusing for every business. Some vendors have had knee jerk reactions and changed prices across the board two times. Others have applied small tariff surcharges. Some have pulled products off the market because of the volatility of changing percentages.
With all that said, we as the wallpaper experts have had to find substitutions to offer and know how to present the tariff information in a clear way with a calm presence so the customers can feel secure in their choices. We have also heavily promoted our made in the USA products for those who don’t wish to wait for tariffs to be ironed out or simply don’t want to pay any tariffs.
In addition to tariffs, shipping has increased by 9 to 11 percent depending on the carriers, and that means that expedited options have sky rocketed. But we take it in stride, and guide customers through the decision of when to take a risk that ground may still be delivered in time.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Professionally, I write all of the custom copy content (descriptions) for our website. I put “mood boards” together with wallpaper, flooring samples, paint samples and hardware samples for our social medial to help people envision what could be. I look at issues like mental health, caregiving and other topics in the news to see how we as part of the wallpaper industry can help people feel comfortable, safe and encouraged in their homes or offices. Knowing how color affects a person’s mood and how types of pattern change the way a room is experienced allows me to be a blessing to my customers.
Personally, I journal, I sing in my church choir, I love to read, and I enjoy going to the museum, symphony or ballet. I watch documentaries and take some 3-day vacations when I can. I fell in love with art glass and glass blowing on my college graduation trip to London, so I cobble some time out of my calendar when possible to visit local glass blowing shops and just be enriched the beauty of the work and the quiet time spent watching a master at work.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Thank you to: My friend Merri-Jo who championed the idea of me owning a business, helped me get ready for my grand opening and freely gives encouragement and praise. My friends Phillip, Connie, Jeremiah and Kolleen who were huge cheerleaders and believed in me all along the way. Business owners Rusty and Gary from my church who advised me on keeping a cushion in bank and paying anything early I possibly can for those slow weeks that come out of nowhere. My mom and stepdad who loaned me my startup money, helped me move in and get setup for business, and often tell me I am doing a great job and they always knew I could do this. My dad who call after seeing my videos and photos of new displays or projects in the works and tell me how proud he was of me. My sales reps who went to bat for me to open new accounts with the vendors I had already been selling under the previous owners. My employee Kimberly who came back from maternity leave with the previous owners to help me grow this business, treats it as though she is part owner in the way she takes care of our customers, helps me plan for the future and suggests ideas that are outside the box so that we don’t have to be like everyone else.
Pricing:
- Value lines range $80-120 per 11 yard roll
- Mid range lines range $140-210 per 9 or 11 yard roll
- Designer lines range $220-350 per 9 or 11 yard roll
- Boutique and Couture brands range $500-1800 per 9 or 11 yard roll
- Contract/Commercial brands range $56-90 per linear yard
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lelandswallpaper.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lelandswallpaper/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lelandswallpaper
- Twitter: https://x.com/WallpaperStore
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LelandsWallpaperStore-pe3co
Image Credits
All of the images supplied were take with my phone in our store.
