We were lucky to catch up with Norma O’Bryan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Norma, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

Who is my hero…My Dad. When I was little my father always taught me to be strong, independent and that I could do anything if I worked hard and put my mind to it.
He was my role model for how to live life!
He taught me how to act, my work ethic, how to overcome obstacles and difficulties. He taught me how to do this with love and grace.
He is the most influential person I have ever met.
He backed everything that I dreamed I could do. He not only did this for me, but he would show the same love and support to everyone that he met. He could change your bad day into a good one just by talking to him. He could make you see the positive and the light in even the darkest scenarios.
I have honestly learned everything from him in one way or another. I try and live my life so he would be proud.

Norma, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Who are we? We are a Custom Shop at Home Drapery Company. Discount Draperies came about in 2009. It was a dream of mine. Our business specializes in Custom Drapery. It is all we do! We make anything with fabric- Drapery panels, valances, cornices, pillows, accessories, roman shades.

My name is Norma O’Bryan-I have 23 years of window covering background and knowledge. I have always loved fabric, interior design and coordinating a space to tie everything together.

All of our window treatments are handmade. This makes your treatments stand out with custom one-of-a-kind details and attention to each piece. We like to get creative and add bands, trims, extra special attention to your design.

We offer a shop at home experience- We bring the fabrics and hardware to the clients home so they can see the colors/patterns and styles in their home. It helps to see everything in your home to make sure the colors are perfect with your space.

I am really proud of my computer renderings. I think this helps to separate us from other companies. When I come out to the initial design consultation, I take pictures of your room. I then go back to my office and provide the client with a computer rendering showing the fabric and style they selected. This is an amazing tool to help visualize the finished product and take any guess work out of your project.

We offer professional installation and one of our designers is at the install to make sure everything is perfect and how you envisioned it to be.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source for new clients has been referrals from my existing clients. We don’t advertise very much. I have found that my customers tend to pass on our name and share on their subdivision pages. It is the best compliment when you get a call from someone that saw your work, follows you or a friend used us and passes on our name.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Covid definitely made us all pivot in our careers. I am in a business where every meeting is in someone else’s home. I had to be creative on ways to continue working. We would do zoom consultations. I would drop books at customer’s doors. They would send my photos to see the space. It was challenging but we made it work.
It was an eye opener as to what happens when the world has to slow down. It made for our best 2 years though. I think everyone staying inside looked at what they could re-design, update and make changes to the interiors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.discountdraperiesonline.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discountdraperies
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discountdraperiesofallon/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/discount-draperies-o-fallon
• Other: Houzz- https://www.houzz.com/pro/discountdraperies/

Image Credits
Third Eye Photography
Square One Photography
Eichelberger Photography