Custom doesn't have to mean expensive, especially when it comes to working directly with the manufacturer.
Of course it can be expensive, and for most of my career it did. I worked strictly for Interior Designers who had lavish ideas of how we could expand on a series of intricate concepts to create an ultimate masterpiece. These pieces did tend to be expensive for the customer, especially once my invoice passed through the hands of the interior designer, then onto the customer.
One thing I realized over the 12 years working strictly for the interior design trade in the Phoenix area was that the majority of people could not afford my work.
But that's what I wanted to change.
I realize that a good majority of the population love fine upholstery, fabrics and custom pieces. Custom headboards and beds, among other bedroom furniture that I would create, was something that would always receive high praise. Nowadays with social media such as Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook, many people can 'like' or 'pin' items they are attracted to, but feel it may be out of the realm of reality to have these items for themselves.
I give everything I can to be a part of someone's dream of owning and creating that special upholstered piece that maybe before they would have only admired from a website, a catalog, a setting from a movie, or TV show. Now it can be theirs and I make it affordable.
By working with me, my customers avoid paying a middleman, high overhead or unnecessary markups. We make everything custom. Exactly as the customer wants it, and it does not mean that there needs to be excessive charges because of this. It takes me the same amount of time to create a custom piece as it does something that I've made a hundred times before. So, for that reason, my customers save money and I love that about what I do.