Gratitude: Chesterfield designer perseveres through hard times

For Angela Lee, the memory from last year is still fresh -- too fresh some days.

She was painting her store, Wilson Lee Interiors, preparing to open it in a month.

She was alone, the radio keeping her company.

It was Sept. 15, 2008.

The news came on and Lee's slight trepidation that any business owner feels before opening their doors was transformed into abject fear.

"It was just me and the radio and I kept thinking that I have made one of the worst mistakes in my life," she said.

The news that day was bad. The day before, Lehman Brothers had filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch had been forced to sell itself in a deal brokered by the government. On the 15th, the Dow Jones lost 504 points, the biggest single-day drop since 2001. The week would include government bailouts and the near-collapse of the financial system.

On that Monday in September, while bankers and Treasury officials were scurrying to find a way to stave off the financial meltdown, Lee said she kept painting, not sure of what else to do.

"I was shocked. I didn't know what I was going to do," she said.

For Lee, 40, the store was her first foray into retail -- a new start in a new city.

Wilson Lee sells furniture, art, bedding, linens, accessories and gifts as well as design services for customers.

The interior designer from Atlanta had been shuttling between her new home and family in Chesterfield County and her clients in Georgia.

Several months earlier, Lee had decided to bring her business closer to home and her family.

She found a space in The Shoppes at Belgrade, a shopping center on Huguenot Road in Chesterfield. The next step was to get the store ready.

With the world being transformed by the financial meltdown, Wilson Lee opened Oct. 15.

"I was scared to death. It was terrifying. I knew I'd made the worst mistake of my life," she recalled this month while sitting at her design table at the rear of Wilson Lee.

With the economy crashing, consumers were staying away, unsure of what would happen next.

She considered throwing in the towel a few times.

"There were days when I was tempted not to come back," she said. "I wouldn't have, if my name wasn't on the front of the store."

But she hung on. Business is improving, and she's getting new clients. But Lee said it's still tough. She depended on some of her old Atlanta clients to get her through the most difficult times, but her local clientele is building.

Looking back, Lee said the experience was humbling, but she's glad she made it through.

"Overall, the last year has made me a better business person," she said.

Plus, Lee said, she hasn't lost her passion for her work, and the creative process remains invigorating.

"I've always enjoyed designing," she said. "It's a blessing to be able to go out every day and do what you love. And I'm thankful for that. I'm grateful."

One of the important lessons is not one she learned herself, it's one she passed on to her two children.

"They understand how tough it can be, but I wanted them to know that just because something is difficult, you don't give it up," she said.

But despite coming through the most difficult times, it's too soon to look back at the time fondly. That's for another time.

"I'm glad to be where I am," she says, sitting a few feet from where she was painting that September day. "But if I knew better, I wouldn't have done it."

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or .