ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702240004
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
A Wytheville-based mother-daughter business that restores woodwork and refurbishes kitchen cabinets has not only survived its first year but also has expanded its wares.
"Two women going into business, we weren't received favorably," Sherry Melton said.
One of the banks where they sought working capital to start their enterprise initially told Melton and her daughter that getting a loan would be no problem.
But when daughter Lorri Atwell was about to leave for South Dakota to buy the wood care franchise and be trained in using its products, officials at the bank changed their minds. "We were turned down for no good reason," said Melton.
``For a very small amount of money,'' Melton added. ``I was told, `You could walk in here with your signature and buy a car,''' and the amount of money involved was comparable.
Atwell left for South Dakota anyway while her mother scrambled to find another bank to finance their new company, Kitchen Tune-Ups.
``We were turned down Thursday. We called the other bank on Friday, and I was flying out Sunday,'' Atwell recalled. ``I was told while I was in South Dakota that everything went through. But things were kind of tight, and it was kind of aggravating.''
That, they agree, with what might be described as wicked grins, is why they are not above a little crowing over the successes of their first year.
Their business offers an alternative to replacing kitchen cabinets and other woodwork, not by refinishing them, but by restoring them with a cleaning process using stains and oils.
In the past year, they have refurbished kitchen cabinets in Wythe County, Blacksburg and Christiansburg, where rental property often needs work, as well as in Roanoke. Their assignments have taken them as far west as Chilhowie, as far east as Franklin County, and as far north as Bluefield and Princeton, W.Va.
Atwell said the two also have done a lot of work at hotels and restaurants.
Because they have a limited advertising budget, they find that home shows like those in Blacksburg and Salem are good places to demonstrate their products to the public. At one of those shows they met a representative of Quality Cabinets out of Texas who was seeking a Southwest Virginia distributor.
They were already using Quality brand doors for some of their refacing work. It turned out to be the same company, and they had no objections to taking on the second franchise.
``How often is that going to happen?'' Melton said. ``This really did kind of surprise us, to add this line.''
``We were excited because before, there was a whole market of people that we were unable to help, including myself,'' Atwell said. She and her husband needed to add new cabinets rather than restore existing ones.
Now they sell Quality and Woodstar cabinets in a variety of woods, styles and moldings as well as counter-tops, varieties of marble and other products from turntables to plate holders. They can custom-design kitchens and, since their product comes directly from the manufacturer, Atwell said, prices are generally lower.
Their office is their van. "We carry our doors with us," Atwell said, so potential buyers can see immediately what matches their homes' interiors.
``We go to locations because we don't really have a location,'' Melton said.
Word about their business has spread. When they introduce themselves, people sometimes ask if theirs is the mother-daughter enterprise they've heard about.
``Yes,'' Melton usually says before her daughter can comment. ``I'm the daughter.''
For information about their work, call 228-4056.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF. Sherry Melton (right) and daughterby CNBLorri Atwell already have expanded their business, Kitchen Tune-Up.
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