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BIO
TERESA THOMPSON
by Lisa Martin
Home schooling mom’s passion—and proficiency with a paintbrush—
evolve into a thriving upscale lighting and decorative accessory
business
While necessity may be the mother of invention, few of us would
consider desperation an effective creative catalyst. Yet that was
precisely the case with Teresa Thompson, a forty-something Missouri
native and longtime resident of Dallas. In 2000, this home schooling
mother-of-two found herself in the midst of a family crisis. Felled
by a sudden (and significant) illness, her husband, Bill, abruptly
ceased being the breadwinner.
“Things were getting pretty desperate,” Teresa recalls. “I knew I
had to do something.”
Little could she have imagined that the “something” —a high-end
lighting and decorative accessories manufacturing business that she
aptly named Just Too Cute—would grow 3000%
in the next two years! Today, retailers around the country carry her
heirloom-quality pieces.
But it was during those first few entrepreneurial months that she
realized to what extent savvy shopkeepers embrace quality products
of innovative design.
Teresa Thompson chose to specialize in ceramics because it was an
art form she loved and in which she excelled. From there, her
imagination proved an able guide. After arming herself with several
sample lamps, this self-taught artist toted her wares to chichi
children’s and home furnishing’s boutiques throughout North Texas.
The response was no less than astonishing.
“I was overwhelmed at how excited these retailers were about what I
was trying to do,” Teresa notes, still relishing that early
encouragement. In some instances, she incorporated the suggestions
of storeowners into her products. Even today, she tinkers with her
core collection, continually expanding her line with new looks that
translate the latest trends.
Among her bestsellers are the Aladdin lamp, upholstered tuffets with
froggie feet as well as classic candlestick lamps. Recent
introductions include an adorable floor lamp fashioned from ceramic
teapots (a design she spent four months perfecting!), Ballerina
Bunny lighting fixtures and the superb Cinderella’s Slipper
chandelier.
Along the way, Teresa realized she’d become a bona fide
trend-tracker, learning how to gauge what customers truly want for
their homes, most especially for their daughter’s rooms.
“People always think that trends start with interior designers but
that’s not necessarily how it is,” she explains. “I’m always asking
shop owners about what their customers are looking for but can’t
find. Then I’ll interpret what they want in order to fill that
niche.”
What’s hot right now are whimsical animal motifs in vibrant pastels.
“Bunnies are really strong and so are frogs,” she says. “And pastels
are always wonderful. They’re so perfect in any little girl’s room
and they just seem to speak to me.”
The superior quality of construction as well as the fine finishes
insures that the owner—however young—will prize a Just Too Cute
product for decades.
Teresa is quick to give much of the credit for her company’s success
to her employees, a dozen full- and part-timers, many of whom were
once children she helped home school alongside her own two sons.
“Our team is so dedicated to making everything top-notch,” she says.
“They appreciate the demands of the high-end market and push
themselves to constantly make everything better and better.”
And while business continues to flourish, Teresa Thompson is hardly
resting on past successes. Rather, she’s continually experimenting
with new products, new looks and new materials in order
to keep creating the most innovative, delightful lighting and
decorative accessories in today’s upscale children’s market.
“We will keep growing but never at the expense of our quality or
integrity,” she says. “At the same time, when I look back at where
we started—when it was just me and I was putting together lamps in
my garage at all hours of the night—I’m overwhelmed at how far we’ve
come.”
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