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When Cheron Long-Landes came to Canada a few years ago, she had a firm plan in place – to start her own business, and to start over.
“I realized that this is a country of opportunity and if I really put my heart in it, I would probably make something of it,” says Cheron, president and owner of Cheron Dearle Designs, a home furnishings company.
Born in South Africa, Cheron was trained in clothing design in London, England. She moved to Germany in the mid 1980s, and for 20 years she worked in her husband’s belt manufacture business.
Then life suddenly changed. She got divorced and she had to make a decision about the future.
“To move to a different town in Germany and start all over again was just as great a change in my mind as moving to Canada,” says Cheron.
Her sister had lived in Canada since the 1980s, and Cheron wanted to be with her. So she applied for immigration. “And I just thought okay, if it works, it works. And it did.”
She landed in Canada in June of 2003, and she hit the ground running. Just two months later, her business was registered. But Cheron’s path wasn’t a straight one.
Trained in fashion design, Cheron had been planning to put a clothing line on the market. “But when I got here and I saw how much was actually made in the Far East, I got cold feet, to be perfectly honest.”
After being here for a few months, Cheron recognized the growing trend in home décor. So she decided to turn her love of textiles into a home-furnishings business, offering Canadian-made bedding, throws, cushions, drapes and table linens.
“I can’t look at a piece of fabric without thinking what I would do with it, how I would use it, and just envisioning how it’s going to be,” says Cheron.
She began to build up her business, and remembers fondly her first trade show in September of 2004 in Toronto. Cheron says she was very nervous, but her sister was there, helping her every day. She followed that up with another trade show in January 2005.
As her business grew, she faced only one major challenge. As a newcomer to Canada, Cheron couldn’t get a credit card, and suppliers would only deliver COD. She was able to get around that with a secured loan, and now has personal and business credit cards.
“There is nothing that really knocked me down and made me start all over again. It was just the financial challenge, and basically getting to know people,” says Cheron.
A member of Toastmasters and an enthusiastic networker, Cheron has built up a stable set of clients. She now does contract work as a designer for different companies, as well as custom work. For in-home consultations, she will select the fabrics, discuss the design with her clients and will personally oversee the manufacturing.
She prides herself on seeing things that maybe the client might not, and making the most of fabric. Cheron remembers helping a friend with a duvet cover. There was a little material left over, so she made two pillows. “Instead of just wasting it, I got some fabric for the back. She was thrilled.”
Keeping up-to-date with the latest trends in home furnishings is also important to Cheron, who travels to trade shows all over the world -- from New York City, to Mumbai, India.
“I think it’s very important to get that input of what’s happening in the big wide world.”
Her main vision is to sell her own collection to retail stores. As she works toward that goal, Cheron is investigating importing really extravagant table linens for weddings and special events.
As for how she is enjoying living in Canada, she admits it took a while to get used to a new culture.
“Yes it took, me a while to settle in, but it was actually in August of last year I really felt yes, this is right, this is good,” says Cheron. “I’m very happy here.” |
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