Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany Youssef.
Bethany, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was laid off during my maternity leave back in the fall of 2011 after I gave birth to my second child, my daughter Madeline. I had a difficult time finding another job in my industry. While I was out of work I was dabbling in my hobby of buying second-hand furniture and jazzing them up. I’ve always been a thrifty shopper, due to being raised by a single mom and with money being tight I was taught how to stretch a dollar. It’s been ingrained in me to never pay full price for anything if I can help it. I’ve always been artsy and creative coupled with a love for old furniture and antiques.
So on a whim, I decided to list an antique table I revitalized on Craigslist to see if I could sell it. It sold within a week and with a nice profit. I thought that’s interesting. So then I restored another piece of furniture, listed it for sale, and I sold another one. It just kept snowballing from there. Soon I found myself completely immersed in taking a passion of mine and creating a small business. I named my business Madeline Jean Antiques & Restoration, LLC after my daughter. I then lettered my vehicle, designed some business cards, created a Facebook business page and an Instagram profile highlighting my work.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh goodness no! You can put that all in caps! What’s funny is I didn’t decide on this line of work. It found me. During a very dark time in my life without a job, having two kids to support I found my calling. The kids and I briefly became homeless in the Spring of 2014 for two months. An amazing organization called Seacoast Family Promise helped us get back on our feet. It’s amazing how life works like that. At the time I couldn’t understand why all these negative circumstances were happening to me but it leads me to start my own business. Being determined to rise above my circumstances, not be a victim.
I know now I was always meant to do the work I do. I love being creative, I love the challenge of taking an ugly piece of furniture and making it beautiful and useful once again, I feel like I personally can relate to a thrown out piece of furniture if that makes any sense. An underdog of sorts. I know that feeling all too well. It’s very rewarding to work hard on a piece of furniture and see a customer’s face light up when they see the finished product. I get told all the time, “I could never have imagined it could look like that!” That’s what it is all about, making my customers happy. I’m from the Midwest so I love helping and meeting new people, I love to shop and go on the hunt for a diamond in the rough. I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to take an absolute passion of mine and turn it into a business. It’s so true that if you love what you do for work it doesn’t feel like work.
Please tell us about Madeline Jean Antiques & Restoration.
My tagline is RESCUE, REVITALIZE, RESELL. I rescue old unwanted furniture, jazz it up and then resell the furniture at an affordable price to the public. I also offer custom work to customers. Many people come to me with an old family piece of furniture that means something to them but it doesn’t exactly fit into their current color scheme or look in their home. I work with my customers to give their furniture an updated and modern look while keeping the integrity of the piece intact. I’m known for my strong work ethic, my bubbly personality and my perfectionism with it comes to my work. I try to dabble in all aspects of restoring furniture from woodworking, to repurposing items, working with pallet wood, painting with bold colors, painting with neutral colors and giving pieces a more rustic/weathered look, I love experimenting with it comes to painting. I like to keep my work every changing and not get stuck in a certain niche.
I’m most proud that I’m a single mother that started and manages a small business all by myself, from the actual work of restoring furniture, to marketing, photography, placing ads, working with customers, finding the furniture, loading and unloading the furniture (my 13-year-old son helps greatly here) to also balancing a home life with my children. I’m also very proud that I was a contestant on HGTV’s Emmy winning show Flea Market Flip with host Lara Spencer last summer. My episode recently aired this summer (June of 2017). I’m season 9, episode 11 and my episode is titled, “Too Hot To Flip”. Currently, you can catch re-runs of my episode on HGTV and Great American Country. This past summer I was also featured on WMUR’s New Hampshire’s Chronicle and they did a seven-minute video segment highlighting my business. I’m also a brand ambassador for Timberland’s PRO Women.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I was born and raised in a small farming community in Minnesota, about 40 miles north of the Twin Cities. Any memory with mom is my favorite. She passed away 14 years ago of breast cancer so I hold tight to any memory I have with her. We loved going to thrift stores, flea markets, antique and craft shows. She instilled in me my love of antiques.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 603-520-2493
- Email: bethanyyoussef@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethany.youssef
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/madelinejeanantiques
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