By Bill Althaus The Examiner Noy Goodman has been working in the upholstery business for 41 years. The past 15 have been the most exciting and rewarding. After working in a basement upholstery shop in Independence, Noy and her daughter, Lori Bowen, talked about opening their own shop on the Independence Square. That was 15 years ago, and it was the beginning of a family affair that includes Goodman, Bowen, Bowen’s three daughters -- Bianca Chasten, Brittany Stancil and Baylee Bowen -- and their loveable “guard bulldogs” Bruce, Betty and Loki. When you walk into the Designers Avenue Upholstery Shop, 902 N. Liberty St.; you can see their professional work and feel the love that makes it a gathering place for friends and past customers. “We opened this shop Jan. 7, 2007,” said Bowen, who was politely interrupted by her daughter Bianca. “Mom, how do you remember that exact date?” Bianca asked. Her mother smiled and simply said, “Because it was such an important date for our family. Mom was working in a basement, and I wanted to work with her, and get her out of that basement. We talked about opening a storefront.” She paused for a moment and laughed out loud. “You may not believe this, but it’s true, we googled ‘how to start a business,’ and the rest is history. It was the best decision we’ve ever made.” The shop is filled with hundreds of fabric options, as “adopted” family members Brooke Honeycutt and Angel Rouchka join Goodman, Bowen and her three daughters in a work environment reminiscent of days gone by. “We’re old school,” Bowen said. “When people come in and say, ‘This shopreminds me of the days before machines took over everything,’ I see that as the ultimate compliment. What we do can change our customers’lives.”Bianca gets a bit misty eyed as she talks about a life-changing moment for herself and a customer. “We reupholstered a grandma’s chair for a family, and they said, ‘You brought it back to life.’ We have customers who come in and cry when theysee what we have done to special pieces of furniture.” “We reupholstered a recliner that belonged to a family’s grandfather, and they started to cry when they saw it -- and, of course, we started to cry, too.” As Goodman listens to these stories, she briefly puts down her tools and joins the conversation. “This is my life,” Goodman said. “This is my best life. I am with my family and the wonderfulworkers who are also part of our family, and I am doing the thing I love. I am blessed.” “We have my daughter, my granddaughter and I have four great grandchildren back in our playroom, so there is always something going on here.” “We’re booked until January,” Bowen said. “We also do a lot of upholstery work for Trail Boss Conversions out in Bates City. We’re busy and we’re happy - so I guess we’re doing something right.”
