The Romantic Victorian Home Collection by Mary Chronis

My husband Doug and I live in north Mississippi. We are not "relocated" to the south, our families have lived in either Tennessee or Mississippi as far back as we know about. If you have never been to this area of the country then you must come sometime. It so beautiful, we would never want to live anywhere else.

We purchased our home about 9 years ago and although I thought it was decorated very nicely, I decided that I wanted a more romantic style of decor. So a few years ago I started "the project". We are so fortunate to live in an area that offers a vast amount of resources if you love shabby chic, casual, cottage, Victorian or country decor. The town of Ripley is just up the road and is home to the "First Monday Flea Market" which takes place every month. This little town has grown to be a treasure hunter's paradise! Small flea markets and antique shops are the mainstay.

After a couple of years of our home being almost overtaken by ladders, paint cans, fabric swatches, decorating magazines, misplaced furniture and general clutter, my husband said "just when is this project going to be finished?". The answer that came before I even had time to think of a response was that this was not a "project", but a hobby and I hoped to never finish!

Welcome to our web site and thank you for taking the time to get to know us!

After I had my first baby, I knew I wanted to be a stay at home mom. However, it was not that easy--we had to live on one income and it was a lot of sacrifice. I prayed for inspiration on how I could stay with my baby and still make a modest living. Then one day I discovered internet sales--I learned and started selling a few things from our old house. That lead me to my love for antiques and vintage collectibles. Restoring old things, hunting for treasures in the oddest of places and restoring old lamps have become my passion. Later on, my admiration for Victorian art became an obsession. The detailing, the craftsmanship, the colors---I was like a child again! I finally found my niche--and I watch as my son grows--every smile, small step, first word--I have experienced them all. Thanks to you, my friends for making it possible for me to believe that dreams do come true. And I share my modest treasures with you in our humble website, built with such incredible thoughtfulness by my good friend Sherrie Crum. I hope you'll find my Victorian Designs as interesting and beautiful as I do.

Dear Friends,
Thank you for visiting our website! My name is Mary Chronis and I am the designer behind the Romantic Victorian Home Collection. I started my venture from humble beginnings with the help of my dear friend Maricella Hernandez, without whom, I couldn't have made my visions a reality. I must say that all of the pieces you see aren't just a product of inspiration and several hours of daydreaming but rather a result of hardwork, patience, diligence and tenacity. I keep you in mind, when creating my designs. Just the thought of a smile, a gush of excitement, or a joyful tear from a loved one who is on the receiving end of a special gift makes all the long hours worth while. The planning and engineering that goes into each of my pieces is incredibly immense thus, you will find that almost all of the items aren't just decorative, but functional, elaborate, yet easy to maintain. Delicate, yet with care, are sturdy enough to last you and your family years of enjoyment. For a more authentic period feel, I created my signature custom "Aged" colors. These colors are for you to enjoy and experience the essence of eras gone by. From the dusky, subdued colors of the early 1800s to the rich and vibrant shades of the 1900s and of course, the gentle romantic pastels of quaint Victorian cottages. You will also find that as time goes by, the special colors on my pieces will mature and become gently time worn, for a patina that seem centuries old. To make decorating easier, I've engineered each line to match and co-exist with one another. The lace, the velvets, the silks--everything you see, you will discover that the complete line can blend in one room. If you find the catalog and the website colors soothing, this is because the colors on each item are blended and mastered to please the eye. It is also my vision to restore the lost art of intricate hand detailing using today's contemporary technology to enable us to produce exquisite pieces at incredibly reasonable prices. All of this and more, are elements that go into my designs. You are not just acquiring another product, but an Original Piece of Art.

That's when I decided that I needed an outlet for what I truly enjoy and want to do. I decided to start my web site Roses and Rust Boutique as an outlet to sell the items I make. I found out very quickly that it takes so long to do some of my projects that I couldn't keep my site stocked. The most disappointing thing to me when I was searching for pieces as I was redecorating my home was to spend hours visiting web sites that looked as if they would have wonderful choices and then find that they had very few.

This is when I decided to add the Catalog items. But I still wanted to offer more hand-made pieces than I had time to do. Then I met Mary Chronis......what a blessing that was! Mary was a dentist by profession, but extremely talented in designing and crafting the most beautiful and unique pieces that I had ever seen. Mary had a little boy and was wanting to not only pursue her love for design, but start a new career which would allow her to spend more time with her child.

When Mary and I got together we had lots of love and motivation for our business together, but I had so much to learn. Having worked as a supervisor in a garment factory for over 16 years, the only computer experience I had was just payroll type responsibilities. I built the web site and had it up and running, but still had lots to learn. But as it turned out I absolutely LOVED working on the site. Every new thing was a challenge.......as the business grew we decided to start advertising. Here again a new challenge! Then with the advertising came requests for a catalog from the many wonderful people who saw our ads but didn't have computer access to view the site. So, okay, we didn't know anything about doing a catalog. But it was something we really felt we needed to do and wanted to do, so.......another new challenge!!

Our business has grown so much over the last couple of years and has more than exceeded our wildest expectations. We now sell both retail and wholesale and have customers from all over the world. We fully realize that our customers want items that are beautiful, unique, high quality and priced at the best pricing possible and we will continue to meet these standards. This business has been a dream for me for all my life. I often say that I believe everyone should have the opportunity to do something they truly love to make a living. It's amazing how hard you are willing to work at something if it's a passion for you and not 'just a job'. Hey.............you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

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