Today we’d like to introduce you to Deborah Montemayor.
Hi Deborah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was a 27-year-old divorced, single mother of two little girls living in Laredo, TX. On July 5, 2001, I was struck by a tractor or an 18-wheeler, the driver thought I was dead, threw a towel over my face, and dialed 911. I survived and while I healed alongside my daughters and my parents, I learned how to refurbish furniture. During those months I wasn’t able to work, my face was disfigured and my clavicle was slowly healing. I was so bored I made my father drive me to Home Depot to buy sanders, paint, books, and tools for me to work on furniture. I spent hours in their garage chatting with my parents while I sanded, stained, and painted away. Many times I was alone with my thoughts while I watched these discarded old pieces of furniture come back to life.
Every morning I looked forward to coffee and the newspaper with my dad and hours of transforming furniture. In hindsight, I’ve realized how therapeutic and relaxing the work was. I eventually went back to work but always continued restoring furniture as a hobby. In 2017, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and was told that reducing my stress levels was of utmost importance. Once again I began to restore furniture while I went through treatment. I realized the parallels between the furniture and myself as I slowly went from feeling ragged, tired, and old to new, restored, and full of life. My business, The Texican Gypsy, A life Restored was born when I realized I found love and peace with every piece I got to revive.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The Texican Gypsy was born and flourished thanks to strife. The first moment I picked up a sander to redo an old vanity, I had 32 stitches on my face and a broken clavicle after a terrible car accident. I found peace in the slow and steady movement of sanding and painting. I spent less time fretting over what terrible thing had just happened. I found joy in the final product and its new purpose. Sixteen years later, breast cancer struck and I found myself looking for more discarded pieces of furniture to work on and find solace.
It was actually the pandemic that turned my hobby into a business as many parents began to need desks for their children to work on at home. Adults working from home also needed their own desks to work from and demand for my work grew. As we toiled away at home all day, many of us realized we wanted our quarantine spaces to be places we really loved. I began to get calls to redo beds, chairs, dressers, etc. A second bout with breast cancer this year has created the biggest struggle for me as I begin to wonder if I still have it in me to continue.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I refurbish, repurpose, restore and upcycle furniture. I am mostly known for dumpster diving and turning a discarded piece of furniture into something beautiful, new, and full of life! This ability has enabled me to also help people style their homes for successful short-term leasing.
I appreciate all my colleagues and fellow artists who have taught me new processes from working with epoxy, to gold leafing to upholstery and painting fabric. My biggest accomplishment thus far is the honor of completely redoing the LBJ Presidential guest house in Stonewall, TX.
What sets me apart from others is that I care that clients get a piece they love for a price they can afford.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most valuable lesson learned along my journey was simply to find what you love to do and just do it. The finances, logistics, clients, and everything else fall into place once you get to a place where you love your work so much that it does not feel like work. I wish I had learned this lesson sooner and started this business when I first learned the craft.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @TheTexicanGypsy
- Facebook: The Texican Gypsy
