Parties Victorian
Build a business around tea time . . . and Victorian times.
By Devlin Smith
Given Sheila di Matteo's passion for the time of tea
parties, parasols and lace gloves, it's no wonder she founded
Parties Victorian. "I love everything about it," says di
Matteo, whose company's specialty is tea parties where she
sells Victorian-themed items. "I like their clothes. I like
their houses. Everything that's in a Victorian house-it's
so gorgeous and detailed."
Started as a part-time business in 1998, Fullerton,
California-based Parties Victorian was a natural next step for di
Matteo, whose friends and co-workers used to ask her to hunt down
Victorian items for them. Instead of buying a few items for a few
people, di Matteo decided to buy as much as she could and sell to
family and friends at tea parties.
Word-of-mouth has helped the business grow, and earlier this
year, di Matteo decided to offer her business as a business
opportunity. Licensees order all their products (Victorian
reproductions ranging from paper items to pillows) from di Matteo
and earn a commission of 25 to 50 percent.
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Though di Matteo realizes not everyone shares her passion for
Victorian times, she's found that most of her party guests
won't go home empty-handed. "Once they see it," she
says, "they always end up falling in love with
something."