About Us
Montgomery Wallcoverings, based in Alexandria, Virginia, coordinates the design, production, and sale of wallpaper borders for multicultural consumers. Our borders feature African art, contemporary Black art, and African-American images. We offer a range of designs that celebrate African and African-American culture. The company is family run.
... and a note from our founder
My name is Danielle Montgomery. I started Montgomery Wallcoverings with my husband's support because, 7 years ago, I couldn’t find wallpaper to decorate my daughter’s room. I got mad because I could not find one border with a black child on it. It just did not make sense to me. It took me back to being a teenager who never saw a black girl on a magazine cover, wondering what was wrong with me – with us. Were we not pretty enough or good enough to be on magazine covers… or newspapers… or book covers… or on television?
I wanted a black ballerina border because my daughter loved to dance. I vowed that she would not grow up without seeing a black child on her walls. That audience has morphed from my daughter, to all of my children, to all brown children, and finally to brown people and culturally sophisticated people in general. We produced the ballerina border in 2005. The first roll went on my daughters’ walls.
Two of the rooms that you see pictured on the website are from my own house (Ballerinas and Masai). I will never produce a border that I wouldn't put on my own walls. And I mean it.
A Little More About Me
I am a librarian with a background in magazine production. I hold an M.L.S. (Master’s of Library Studies) from Florida State University and a B.S. in Journalism/Magazine Production from Florida A&M University.
I thought that I was crazy for trying to start a business that produced wallpaper, but it ended up being a very easy transition. I spent years in college doing design, layout and production for magazines and newspapers (in addition to reporting, writing, and editing). I go through the same process with the wallpapers. The only difference now is that my end product is on vinyl-coated, prepasted paper instead of 8.5”x11” glossy.
Being a librarian has been invaluable in all of this. I do not come with a trust fund or wealthy family and friends. My husband and I have four young children. We can’t afford to hire attorneys and consultants willy nilly. Almost everything that I’ve done so far has come from books (incorporating, writing the business plan, etc.). I do as much as I can on my own and sacrifice to pay for things that I can’t, like room sets, photography or website design.
Being a librarian has also helped me from a customer service standpoint. I am able to hold a conversation with almost anyone. I know not to judge people. I have helped millionaires who looked like homeless people. I’ve helped “normal” looking people who were severely mentally ill. So I go into conversations with the same respect that I expect myself. The art of the reference interview has taught me to listen and actively respond to customer needs. If you give people what they want, they will leave happy. The trick is finding out what they need. That is my goal as a librarian. It has always been my goal as a business owner.
How Did You Get Started?
A lot of people ask me how I got the money to start the business. I started out working with a girlfriend of mine, Angel Jones. We met through my husband's cousin. She is a wonderful artist, and had the same vision that I did -- letting Black people see themselves and their culture on their own walls. Two of our borders feature Angel's art, our top selling Abstract Masks and the tropical Parrot.
Of course, we used our own money first. Once, when things got tough and we needed money to get to a wallcoverings convention, family members came through. My husband's cousin sold dinners (fried fish and baked chicken). Angel and I invested some of the money in doughnuts, and held a doughnut sale/fundraiser. The doughnut sale failed miserably, and we ended up giving a van full of Krispy Kreme doughnuts to my children's school. (Boy, did we made some faculty and staff happy that day. If you ever hear one of us mention "the doughnut days," you'll know what we're talking about. It was not a good time, to say the least.) We ended up making it to the convention, thanks to proceeds from the dinner sale, more family donations ($5 to $100), and money that my husband and I had set aside to make some repairs to our house.
When it came time to introduce the products, Angel and I had already gone separate ways. She decided to market and sell her art. I decided to go forward with the border concept. (Yes, we hit a rough patch, but we are still friends. She has helped me tremendously with art and marketing ideas. We support eachother to this day. P.S. - Don't ruin friendships with business or money.) Once they saw that I was serious, my mother and another female family member loaned me $7,000 to introduce the borders at a convention in Baltimore, MD. I used data from the convention to prove that there was a customer base for our products, and eventually secured a $35,000 small business loan. I used the money to pay for art, create borders, set up the website, and start selling.
You won't see this in any of the articles, but my husband agreed to put our house up to secure that $35,000 loan. For that and more, I call him my silent partner. I would never have been able to get that startup money without him. He never said one discouraging word. He didn't put one obstacle in my way. And I will always be thankful for that.