| | COPYRIGHT 2006 The Modesto Bee Byline: Christina Salerno
Sep. 25--Fran Faulkner wanted to convey two things with the name of her business: She has a flair for design. And, yes, there is a woman behind the upholstery shop. In 1981, she opened Fran's Creative Upholstery in an industrial park in Manteca. She started the business with nothing more than a commercial sewing machine, for which she paid $1,000. The salesman warned her that she would never make a profit from it unless she was good. Before the year was over, she had already purchased a second machine. Faulkner upholstered automobiles during her first few months in business, but began to work on furniture as word spread about her shop. Faulkner's oldest daughter, Carol Johnson, left her job so she could help out with her mother's growing business. Faulkner's husband, Bill Faulkner, joined his wife and daughter two years later. Fran's Creative Upholstery now occupies a warehouse on Moffat Boulevard in Manteca, stacked to the ceiling with overstuffed chairs, mixed pieces of furniture and rolls of fabric. Faulkner moved to the space in 1987, after outgrowing her previous location. The business is run by Faulkner and two of her daughters, including Johnson, who has worked beside her mother for 25 years. Faulkner's other daughter, Penny Jones, recently joined the shop in anticipation of her mother's retirement. Bill Faulkner is already retired, but still helps out with administrative tasks. The business upholsters boats, automobiles, furniture, antiques, convertible tops, truck seats and just about anything else that needs to be covered. The shop stays busy year-round, Johnson said. Automobiles and boats dominate the upholstery work during the first half of the year, as people prepare for road trips or summers on the lake. During the latter half of the year, customers switch to reupholstering their furniture -- mostly dining room chairs and sofas -- to get ready for the holidays. Reupholstering furniture allows customers to select "what they want and where they want it," Johnson said. It typically takes about three weeks to complete a job and costs about the same as purchasing a "mid-priced" piece of furniture, she said. Ripon resident Yvonne Vincent has had several pieces of furniture reupholstered at the shop, including a chaise lounge, patio furniture, scallop-backed chairs and an antique stool which belonged to her husband's great-great-grandmother from the Azores. 'Inspector 12' always shows up "They just do quality work. It's a special place. Fran remembers everything and can go right to the fabric that I need. They are a good family," Vincent said. It is the family's reputation which motivated Jones to leave her job with the city of Manteca and return to the shop to work with her mother and sister. Jones and Johnson plan to carry on the business after their mother retires. "I wanted to continue what my mom started," Jones said. "It is something she built with her name and her reputation." Faulkner's daughters affectionately call her "Inspector 12" because nothing leaves the shop until she examines the piece and gives it "Fran's stamp of approval." "She's passionate about the way something looks, and she has an eye for detail," Jones said. Faulkner, 64, grew up in a rural part of Kentucky, where she learned how to sew from other homemakers. "If something breaks, you fix it. That was the way it was," Faulkner said. She honed her skills in the 1970s by taking sewing and upholstery classes. Sewing was always part of their family life; Jones remembers her mother reupholstering her 1969 Mustang for her when she was in high school. Jones now has children of her own, and they come into the shop for help with creating school projects or sewing outfits for their toys. The business has become a "centerpiece of creativity" for generations of the family, Jones said. "This business is about building more than things for people, its about building our family," Jones said. Bee staff writer Christina Salerno can be reached at 238-4574 or csalerno@modbee.com |