Meet the Team: Portland Designer Melanie LeFur

Get to know your local Stoneside Portland team.

If you’re in the know, you know that we’ve decided to show off a little — of our team, that is. We love our Stoneside family, and we want the world to get to know our people.

(If you haven’t seen what we’re up to, check out our first ‘Meet the Team’ piece or Stoneside’s Spotlights](/resources/stoneside-spotlights), where you’ll find the latest features.)

This time, we headed south from Seattle to Portland, Oregon, where our team gets to enjoy all the perks of the PNW.

What first led you to Stoneside, and what’s your experience been like? We want to know all the details!

Melanie:

I've been at Stoneside for 10 years now. When I started, Stoneside was very new, and I didn't know what I was doing at all. I had really only had my toe in design and other jobs that I had done. I had mostly been in sales.

But I was always attracted to design. My sister's an interior designer, and I helped her when she launched her store in Cincinnati about 20 years ago. I just didn't know if I had the knack for it.

It was all very brand new to me, but it just goes to show that you can get into it not having any experience. As long as you have kind of an eye for design, I think you can be quite successful.

They took a chance on me and I took a chance on them even though they were brand new.

Wow, so you’ve been a part of this from the very beginning. What was that like? How have things changed?

Melanie:

Everybody just did everything. We were all just kind of wearing a lot of hats.

There were just so few of us. We used to get together every year for a conference that was really fun.

We grew very slowly — on purpose. That way we could really manage it all, not put the cart before the horse and instead try to grow in a controlled way. We were doing all of our manufacturing in Denver when I joined the company. Rick, the vice president of manufacturing, had been in the business his whole life. It was a family business that he was in even before Stoneside was doing drapery and window coverings. So he's extremely knowledgeable.

We could just pick up the phone and call Rick anytime if we had a question — we got to absorb a lot of his knowledge. Now he's spread a lot thinner, but we were very lucky that it was so small that we could just jump on the phone with Mickey (our CEO) anytime or, you know, Jez, my manager, was always very available.

As we started growing, we had to move our manufacturing to Indiana. That was a big adjustment period.

That sounds like quite the project! Big changes like that can definitely be a challenge. Was there anything else that stood out to you when you think of back then versus now?

Melanie:

When we first started, we had contract installers, not full-time installers in most of our markets… That was a HUGE change.

Once we moved manufacturing, we started hiring in house installers and getting them better vans and everything.

All that came about right around the same time, so it was a big adjustment because we went through some installers that were not very good. They just got pickier and pickier. Now the installers joke that it's like working for the FBI because they have to have so many interviews, they get a background check, a financial background check…I mean, they go through the wringer to get hired.

Our installers are the best of the best — I think a huge part of our success is our in-house installation teams.

Wow, that’s an amazing shift. Do you think it has been for the better?

Melanie:

It was one of the best moves we ever made.

It changed my life. It made everything so much better because when we couldn't control the installer’s calendars, they would put their own priorities ahead of our customers. It was just very frustrating. And now that we have our own full-time installers that's all gone.

That’s incredible. We often hear about how great our installers are. I bet that makes a huge difference for customers.

Melanie:

Sometimes people don't even realize what a big difference it is. I know that contract installers are working with multiple product lines, so they just don't know any of them that well — they know all of them a little bit.

They just can't possibly be as good as somebody that only works with OUR product line and knows it backward and forward.

We have a lot of installers that you know stay for years and years. Both of my installers I think have been here longer than five years which is pretty remarkable.

So you know the installers on your team personally?

Melanie:

Very, very well. I mean, I have them over to my house, we go to dinner, we get together always on the holidays and stuff. I love my installers!

We love that so much! It sounds like you really enjoy that aspect of the team. What else do you enjoy? Do you have a favorite part of your job?

Melanie:

My favorite part of the job is the fact that I'm out every day. I just get out of the house. I realized during COVID I am not fit for working from home — I just can't! I need to get out.

I'm in different places every single day. And I love that because you never know what's on the other side of that door.

Then they open it up and let you in, you get to meet the customers and then put them at ease…

Do you find that it’s challenging for some people? I mean they’re letting someone in their home who isn’t a close friend or member of their family.

Melanie:

They're nervous.

They don't want somebody being pushy — thankfully that's not our style at all.

We're all about “Let me help you. Let me educate you on the things that you're interested in.” Then we find out what's really important to them, and then hone in on that so they really feel heard.

It's just a different approach.

Clients tell me all the time that the other designers they met with just came in, started measuring right away, didn't really want to talk to them — just put some stuff in front of them.

It was like: choose from this. They didn't really ask a whole lot of questions, just lay out what they think they should get. Stoneside’s approach is very customer focused — it’s more about asking questions than talking.

That’s such a better process. It’s not easy letting strangers into your home, so I’m sure that’s appreciated.

Melanie:

Exactly! I’m actually (surprisingly) kind of an introvert by nature. I completely understand that hesitation. I'm very empathic, and I understand what they're feeling. And I sense it.

I think it’s comforting because I can get them talking about what they want, instead of them listening to me talk about what I know. Our manager, Jez used to always say: “If you're talking more than 40% of the time, you're doing it wrong.”

THEY should be doing the majority of the talking, even though you're the one there that's supposed to be educating them. You can't possibly recommend something until they give you a lot of information about how each room, how they want it to feel, how much sun exposure they're getting.

Is it hot? What are their needs? Do they need it dark? Do they want it bright?

You know, there's just a million questions that we ask, and that puts people at ease because when they're talking they feel much more comfortable, and we can figure out what they might need the most.

Absolutely. That takes a lot of skill, and emotional intelligence. We’re a bit curious — have there been any projects that have stuck out to you?

Melanie:

There have been a couple of homes I've done that were just spectacular. Way up on the hill in Portland, I had a lady who had an almost 360 degree view of the city on her property. I wasn’t able to get pictures, but it was just a beautiful home.

I've been back there two or three times to do more shades for her — she's had us back several times.

Then I worked with a guy who was the manager for Van Halen for years. He had all these autographed, huge blown up photos of Van Halen and other bands. He managed some other people too. You just never know who you're gonna meet!

That’s WILD! What an incredible experience. I bet that was unexpected! Melanie, since you’re so experienced here in Portland, what would you say is the most popular window treatment?

Melanie:

Tada! (Melanie gestures at the cellular shades behind her.)

They call me the cell shade queen! Cellular shades are the most popular by far. It's so ironic because when I joined Stoneside I actually didn't think I liked them. I had seen him around but they just didn't really appeal to me until I realized that they're adjustable from both sides.

We have all these beautiful trees in Portland, and a lot of us who live in the city or in homes are really close together. There's a lot of foot traffic so it's really nice to just be able to take the top of your shade and drop it down. You get extra light and are able to see trees in the top of your window but still have your privacy. Plus, they're super insulating so people just love them.

Right? Cellular shades are such a huge contender in the market today. They’re so convenient and loaded with benefits. Okay Cell Shade Queen, spill your favorite thing about Portland.

Melanie:

The first thing I love about Portland is just… it's so lush and beautiful. We have so many trees!

I lived in Palm Springs for years. The only seasons there are hot and hotter. And there's no vegetation! After six years of living there, I thought: I've got to get out of here.

I'm originally from Northern California. This climate just appeals to me more and I don't really mind the rain. It’s the reason why everything is so beautiful here! It rains eight months out of the year. And the weather's always changing. It's cloudy today, it might be pouring down rain 10 minutes from now, and then 30 minutes from now the sun will be out and there won't be a cloud in the sky. It just constantly changes.

At this point, Melanie showed us her true Portland spirit, getting visibly excited about her home city.

Melanie:

It's very alive here in Portland.

People are always outside whether the weather's nice or not. It doesn't stop them from biking and walking their dogs.

I always see people out, so it just feels normal to be outside a lot. That's part of why I love the job too — it gets me out of the house and there are so many beautiful things to see here.

Do you have a dog, then?

Melanie:

I have a dog, two cats, and three teenagers.

This was a great job to have when I was raising my children. They were four, six, and eight when I started working for Stoneside.

I'm a single mom. So I was able to do that, and they were so great about just working with me on scheduling and things like that. That way I could make it work with my children's babysitters. Of course, now, they're all teenagers, and they don't need that.

It was really a great company to work for as my children were growing up.

We can imagine! It seems like the perfect work family to support your own family. Do you think that’s why you’ve stayed so long?

Melanie:

I'd never stayed at a job for more than four years before this. The reason why I've stayed this long is because if I need to talk to Mickey, to talk to Rick — anyone in leadership — I could. I keep it to a minimum obviously — I know they are so busy. But…

I still feel like they're family.

We've been over there to visit them in Denver so many times. I was a team lead for years, and they would fly us in to strategize for the upcoming year.

I just love that in Stoneside, everybody's very accessible.

Yes! Everyone is so integrated as a part of the whole. We feel the same, and we think it stems from having such solid leadership within the company.

Melanie:

Right. Yeah. Mickey has come and asked my opinion about things and I know he's done that with plenty of other designers and team leads. He's always very open to suggestions.

And he's made a lot of changes based on feedback that we have given him. That makes you feel really important, like a really integral part of the team.

Mickey is such a positive guy. It's almost impossible to be in a bad mood around Mickey because he's just always UP. He's an eternal optimist. And it has served him, the company, and the team very well.

Melanie is, like all of our team members, a part of more than just a company. She’s a part of the Stoneside family.

Stoneside’s partnership with our team members has always been a strong one — and so valued. Melanie is a wonderful example of what that looks like.

She sees her colleagues the same way — not just the designers. When we asked about her team, Melanie didn’t just answer 2 (the number of designers on the Portland team). She said 4 — 2 designers and 2 installers.

When installers got brought into the family fold, they made a tremendous difference in Melanie’s life here at Stoneside, and she has never forgotten it.

Melanie, like all of our team, knows that when a company builds itself for more than a bottom line, it can make a bigger impact within the company, and without.

And for us, that impact starts with our designers.

Are you ready to chat with yours? Reach out to us to schedule your free consultation, and join the family here at Stoneside.

P.S. When Melanie is away from the office, you can find her perusing her local West Elm and sipping a cup of Pete’s Coffee’s Major Dickenson’s Blend. Cheers to you, Melanie. Enjoy getting out of the house. ;)