THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 10, 1996 TAG: 9606080199
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 49 lines
Susan Pilato and Donna Irwin are talking about how they met, about how they had this big idea, this dream, about having their own slipcover design business.
They're saying they never thought smalltime dreamers like themselves would be cited for their success by the Chamber of Commerce. But what keeps coming through in all the details is how hard they must be working to make their business happen and how much flat-out fun they seem to have doing it.
Maybe that's what makes UnderCover tick.
``We're just trying to have fun,'' Pilato said. ``It's a fun business. It's not brain surgery. It's just slipcovers. We try very hard to get the customer to have as much fun as we're having.''
For Pilato and Irwin, this is about as fun as it gets. They've just received the Small Business of the Year Quality Award for Norfolk, and they're getting ready to move into a larger building, prominently located at the corner of Bute and Duke streets in downtown Norfolk.
All this started five years ago when the two met at Chasen's Business Interiors. Their idea was to start their own business doing slipcovers for director's chairs and sell them to catalogers such as Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn.
Good idea. Wrong market. Those big names found larger scale manufacturers to churn out slipcovers. UnderCover then went after the regional market and succeeded.
Now, it's not just director's chairs. They'll design and make a cover for just about any piece of furniture the customer has: sofas, chairs, tables, even draperies.
``Everything but recliners,'' Irwin says. A famous example and proof of that ``Everything but . . . '' creed is the kitty litter box that some customers had made a cabana for. UnderCover finished it off with a custom-designed cover.
At their new location, which they plan to open by July 1, UnderCover will expand its offerings. They'll also have ``some really cool, funky accessories,'' Pilato says. MEMO: [Related stories on pages 10 and 11.] ILLUSTRATION: MOTOYA NAKAMURA
The Virginian-Pilot
Susan Pilato and Donna Irwin
KEYWORDS: SMALL BUSINESS by CNB