Thinking outside the box at Couture par Carmen Maillet
Editor’s Note
The “Makers” feature is a weekly look at Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs who are tapping into the creative marketplace. If you know of a local, creative business owner that should be featured email: Jennifer.little@ saltwire.com. To read more “Makers” features, visit: saltwire.com
LAURA CHURCHILL DUKE FOR THE SALTWIRE NETWORK
Carmen Maillet was a professional seamstress for 15 years, specializing in gowns for weddings and proms, but when COVID hit two years ago, there were no more lengthy weddings or proms.
“I lost most of my business because of restrictions,” she says.
Being a creative soul, Maillet felt like she was withering away with nothing to satisfy her creativity. So, she decided to take the plunge to try a different path while using her acquired skills.
“I’m an artistic soul who likes thinking outside the box,” she says.
Having already attempted a successful upholstery of her own furniture and a few pieces for a friend, she decided to redo a few pieces and post them for sale to see what type of response she would get.
“I was astounded by the number of people who immediately contacted me to have their pieces upholstered,” said Maillet.
This experience, she says, revived her and gave her a new lease on life.
Her business, Couture par Carmen Maillet, morphed into rescuing and reupholstering unwanted and abandoned quality furniture and redoing clients’ pieces.
FURNITURE FLIPPER
In essence, Maillet flips furniture.
All this is done, she says, from her home in Mavillette along the French and Acadian shore. To make space for her studio, she says she evicted both cars, then added wallpaper and installed fancy lighting.
With her new business focus, Maillet still gets to do what she loves — be artistic
and work with fabric.
Maillet says most of her fabrics come from a supplier in Minneapolis, Minn. However, she occasionally places special orders from Dubai, U.A.E., at a client’s request.
When a client comes in to have a piece redone, Maillet says they get to choose the exact fabric they want from her extensive collection of topquality samples.
The original plan for her new take on the business, she
says, was to flip this unwanted furniture, but the demand from clients wanting their own pieces done soon took over her shop.
When Maillet does flip furniture, she gets the products from various sources. Sometimes people call and offer her pieces they no longer want, and other times she picks up pieces by the roadside.
OLD CRAFTSMANSHIP
She says she’s also found gorgeous pieces on online yard sales. Some of these pieces were more than 200 years old. The fabric is gone to bits, the hay and horsehair stuffing is sticking out, but the bones are good.
“Oh wow! Nothing beats old craftsmanship. I get excited stripping them down and building them up again,” she says.
Out of all the furniture that Maillet works on, she says these older pieces, 20 to 30 years or older, are the ones she likes to see come through her doors the most.
She says that furniture from that era had sturdy hardwood frames and was built with quality construction. They have good bones.
Maillet says some clients have said to her, “but it’s so old. Is it worth it?”
Her response is always absolutely!
New furniture, she explains, is most often made from thin plywood, boxboard with weak construction. They tend to give out after only a few years. So, it’s worth salvaging and saving these older pieces.
Maillet strongly believes that her many years of experience sewing and creating unique gowns and clothing have helped her grow her upholstery client base.
“Clients often tell me they trust my opinion and appreciate my honesty,” she says. “I often suggest fabrics or ideas they would not have considered or thought of.”
Couture par Carmen Maillet is her full-time job. Being the independent soul she is, she insists on doing everything herself because, as her friends say, she doesn’t trust anyone to have the same attention to detail.
Memphis excluded.
The four-year-old Himalayan cat is her only loyal staff member. He is the expert furniture tester and greeter, says Maillet.
“He is also eagerly awaiting a little brother in April, so I expect Memphis will show him the ropes when he arrives,” she says.
Anyone interested in viewing Maillet’s work or inquiring about a piece for sale or having something reupholstered can find her on Facebook under Couture par Carment Maillet.