We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Theresa Lorenti-Salerno a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Theresa, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
I think my optimism comes from within. I would say im somewhat a happy go lucky person. I am openminded, enjoy learning and engaging with people. I believe in”Living your best life” Why wouldnt you? So I stay away from anything that doesnt feed my spirit in a positive way and keep on humming my tune through life.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am the owner and principle designer at CW2T Custom Window Treatments by Theresa. I have always been creative and had a pretty long career as a clothing designer. It was fine and enabled me to raise my son in that position, but I knew I wasnt the office cubicle type and longed for freedom of my creative spirit on a daily basis. So I always had side hustles like I created a handbag line from recyled leather and fur jackets. That went well until I found the wonderful world of draperies and window treatments. I worked for a company for awhile doing it but always knew I had the heart and desire of an entrepreneur. I always looked up to my grandfather who built big beautiful homes for a living. I envied how it was his spirit that drove his business and I wanted to be just like him as a business owner.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I know that college is not for everyone. But I can say that going to college for the arts really honed my skills technically as well as creatively. If your exposed to your field of choice in school it is a great way to really dive in and learn all you can before using it in the real world. I would also say, I have the gift of curiosity coupled with a very bold streak. If I want to try something, I do. Theres no wavering, ever. I just do it, learn it, try it and experience it. I like to say that I have alot of tools in my tool box, that I have collected over the years. My advice is, fear is just an illusion and can be very crippling if you let it lead the way. If something is in your heart, just do it!
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I like this question because it can happen all too often as a business owner. I feel most overwhelmed when I have mulitple projects going on and there are alot of details involved in each. In my line of work everything is in the details. If one thing is missed, or someone drops the ball at some point along the process it can ruin a project. Well, my strategy is resuming lazer focus at all times throughout my work day, always follow up with my partners in the project and save my weekends for me time. There is the occasion that I will take a saturday consultation but generally speaking, it is my needed relaxtion time to be a whole person and do things that I love to do. It seems to help me deal with stress and get me ready for the week ahead.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cw2t.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/custom_draperies_by_theresa
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/customwindowtreatmentsbyTheresa
