Guadalupe turned out to be a God-Send. Though she only had a first grade education she had a real talent for sewing and most of all quality and integrity. My pretty fluent Spanish helped us both learn the tools of the trade together, round table cloths, duvets, bed skirts, valances etc.

One of our first workroom jobs was to fashion a duvet cover out of a fitted king sheet for an elderly lady. Lupe took great care over several days to match and piece in the corners and reposition the lace as the customer requested. When the lady came to pick it up she screamed. I ran to see what was wrong. The customer was trembling. “How could you have put in a brown zipper?” she cried.
I commented that the zipper was beige but totally concealed and did not show. The lady continued to fixate on the brown zipper. I asked her to find any other complaints besides the zipper. She made some comments and I began folding the duvet for her to take at no charge. I explained that the workmanship was the closest to perfection that I could imagine. She could try to find someone else to change the zipper. She left grumbling. I felt horrible.

When I went upstairs to the workroom Guadalupe with a smile asked how the lady liked the duvet. I responded to Guadalupe that she had done an excellent job but that the lady was not happy with the beige zipper. I expected Lupe to be cynical about the incident but instead she smiled and said to me, “What a wonderful life that lady must have that all she has to complain about is the color of a zipper”. It was then I knew that that Guadalupe had a heart of gold and that I was going to learn a lot from her!

Jessica battled the condition bravely. One day Jessica called me at the store begging my help. She explained that she had gone to a new doctor and one of the nurses saw how thin Jessica was (an effect of the Cystic Fibrosis) and thought the teen was anorexic. The nurse without inquiring apparently had called Child Protective services and they were visiting the home several times a day to make sure Jessica was being fed! Jessica was frantic and was concerned for how stressed her Mom was. After hours of phone calls and including a call to my state assemblyman, the CPS visits were called off. What amazed me after this incident was that all Jessica could think of was how to thank Chameleon. She began coming in to do data entry for me.

Jessica Midsize Sofa (Chameleon Fine Furniture Custom Slipcovered Style) - Named after Jessica Chavez

Jessica wanted to be a fashion model and as you can see from her pictures could have easily been one! My husband would tease her when she would come in about how skimpily she was dressed and that she would catch cold. She often just smiled and said she would be in the hospital anyways so she wanted to live life to the fullest when she was feeling good. She was a talented artist and she and I discussed designing a more “fashionable sofa” than our classic more traditional styles. We now have the “Jessica” named after her and it indeed is stylish.

Lavender Soap - we carry it at Chameleon along with this cute Rustic Rooster Soap Holder

One day as I was taking Jessica home after she did some entries for us she asked me how I could fall asleep with so many business pressures. I responded that I counted my blessings. Then feeling that might have been a lame response to someone with such a critical condition I told Jessica a story. When I was living and going to school in Israel back in the 70’s, I bought a sandwich every day at the neighborhood deli from a beautiful, smiling-eyed woman. One day she handed me my purchase and I saw the numbers tattooed on her forearm. I had never actually seen a concentration camp number before. I was shocked. She couldn’t believe that I could be speaking Hebrew and not have seen a number before. Over tea on her break she told me about the camp, what she endured and how the Americans liberated the camp. She said, “They handed me a bar of soap. I had not gotten to bathe for years. It was like a bar of gold to me. I cherished it. Now I live in Israel and I have everything I need. I am so thankful.”

I told Jessica that after hearing her story I never looked at soap in the same way. Every morning when I step into the shower I see something to be thankful for… even the little bar of soap. Jessica agreed and started asking questions about the Holocaust. She went to the library and checked out, The Diary of Anne Frank. The next week when Jessica came to Chameleon she commented how wonderful the story was and that she no longer had trouble falling asleep.

What was especially significant to all of us was each time a customer would purchase a scrap from Jessica’s Trunk we would tell her story. Then I would go back into the workroom and tell Guadalupe of the customer and that the customer sends her blessings to Jessica. Guadalupe was so appreciative of every thought and prayer.

Even though Jessica passed away almost 5 years ago, customers still ask about her and Guadalupe knows that Jessica is not forgotten.

When Jessica passed away in July Liz presented Guadalupe with the beautiful painting…

Jessica surrounded by storm clouds yet sun and light and 65 tiny roses positioned throughout the painting. What was really amazing was that Liz painted tiny roses streaming from a locket that was swooped to Jessica’s left side. We all asked Liz, “How did you know?” since Liz had never seen Jessica in person nor was this in any of the photos. Jessica had a “port” to receive her treatments in her upper chest on the left side. She would always have to find a way to conceal it.
Liz had painted it without knowing anything about the significance of the positioning.

May 5th Sam called. I answered out in the front of the store. Sam asked to speak to his Mom because “they were invited for lunch.” I told Liz to go back and get Guadalupe as quickly as possible and to be sure to say “no emergencia”. Guadalupe came out to the phone and I continued with a customer nearby. All of a sudden we heard a “Dios mio” and saw Guadalupe become faint. The call had come. We bundled her up, tears of joy and of fear, and told her to call anytime of night or day.
I was especially stressed because May 6th would have been Jessica’s 23rd birthday and it would be especially horrible to have a tragedy happen on that day. We all waited. Then at 5:00 am on the 6th Guadalupe called me to say the transplant did not happen and they had returned from Stanford. I went to their house. Sam was in really good spirits despite the exhausting 24 hours without food. He explained he was delighted because he realized that he was high on the list and was thankful they did not proceed because the donor lungs were not 100%.

But then Sam asked me, “Camay, how come you were so calm when I called? I thought you would be excited and nervous about the transplant.” I had to fess up that when he called I thought he said “invited for lunch” not that “they have lungs!” We all laughed and decided the next time he would say it in Spanish…”hay pulmones!”

On Memorial Weekend 4 years ago Sam called to say “hay pulmones” and became one of the best recipients of a double lung transplant ever. He was out of the hospital and became the happiest bus boy at Chili’s less than 6 weeks after his surgery! This was a young man who before could not walk across the room without coughing or being too weak. This began a whole new life for Sam and his family.

We hope as you enjoy Mother’s Day and this lovely Spring that you will send a thought or a prayer Guadalupe’s way…and of course to Sam too.
To read more articles related to this Newsletter (May 2012), click here.

Our Chameleon Fine Furniture Factory in Arroyo Grande has been bustling with activity (which is music to my ears). Pictured above are just a few of the beautifully tailored Parsons Chairs designed by Melissa of the Beladagio store in Bakersfield that also sells our Chameleon Fine Furniture. Dressed in 2 shades of textured linens, these slipcovered chairs will be a breeze to change for cleaning.



Our Chameleon Workroom Team is amazing. Guadalupe (on left) has been with us for 15 years and set the standard for the high quality products we produce. Rafael (on far right) is Guadalupe’s son and carries the same standard of perfectionism and talent for design. Bernardo (seated) is the newest member of our team. Margo and Johnny (standing center) have over 25 years experience between them and we were lucky to scoop them up when they lost their jobs at another shop 3 years ago!

When you pay a visit to our Arroyo Grande Store you can tour our factory and see the quality of the frames, components and workmanship in action.