Dear Friends and Industry Peers,

I want to extend a personal invitation to you to join the Workroom Association of America LLC. I hope that the programs we develop will be beneficial to the growth and prosperity of your business for years to come. Over the many years that I have been in this business, there were countless times that I wished for specific things to help me prosper. In forming this trade association, I have put together a list of all those things and am working to bring them to the workroom trade. They include but are not limited to:

1. Industry expert consultation program
2. Fabric program for samples and displays
3. FFree drug/dental/vision discount card to all workroom owners and employees
4. Health insurance featuring group and individual policies
5. Credit and background checking service for wholesale accounts*
6. Collection services for wholesale accounts*
7. On-the-job training program
8. Website support
9. Editorial support, including press release and brochure development services
10. Commercial project support, providing the resources needed to access large commercial jobs
11. Consumer promotions, including a daily blog to showcase workrooms
12. Publications, including books, booklets, how-to articles, and DVD's that will form a complete library of information
13. Credit card processing
14. Low cost promotional products
15. Low cost samples and group discounts on industry products including hard coverings
16. Access to multiple suppliers through common accounts

*benefits exclusive to Workroom Association of America members

During the last few months I have had the privilege of talking with many leaders in our industry. Specifically, I have talked with upper management of fabric distributors. My message to them was this. "Workrooms directly affect fabric distributors, and fabric distributors directly affect workrooms, but for some reason we're not talking." Each and every person that I talked with said the exact same thing. "We know that the workroom industry affects us, tell us how to talk with workrooms. There is no national workroom association to communicate with."

Well, now there is. I hope that you will join me in changing the industry. There is strength in numbers. More members mean a stronger voice and better benefits. The Workroom Association of America's pledge to you, fellow member, is to promote the custom workroom industry to suppliers, retailers, and consumers. The Workroom Association of America will be diligent in providing benefits that help workrooms to prosper. My hope for every member is abundant success as we embark on this new chapter in the soft furnishings industry. I know that together we can make a difference.

Mary Ann Plumlee, Founder
Workroom Association of America LLC