SHE is simple, soft spoken and from humble beginnings; a quiet demeanour that betrays the fact that Charmine Thompson is a player in the home accessories business in Jamaica. She is the owner of Charmine’s Home Accessories, a small business she started eight years ago.

She designs and sews curtains and drapes, shoe racks, shower curtains, bathroom rugs, clothes pin holders, sheet sets and kitchen items such as toaster covers, and dish towels.

It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention, and it is certainly true of how Thompson got started.

She hails from Mandeville and currently lives in a modest community off Mannings Hill Road. Years ago, when her teenage son was just a toddler, she faced challenges regarding his health.

“I was forced to give up my day job as a cashier some years ago because my son was getting sick very often and I had to stop from work frequently to look after him. So I turned to my friend Joy for help and she took me to the factory where she worked, but they said they were not taking on anyone. So, afterwards she took me to this lady who taught me how to sew,” she recalls.

She spent three weeks learning the basics of sewing, and that stint gave her just enough skills to take the next step in the field. She later approached a placement agency which got her connected with a textile worker who had her own business.

“They linked me with Miss Haughton at Heroes’ Circle who was a maker of sheet sets, and it was here that I learnt a lot more about the sewing and the home accessories business,” Thompson says. “After a time she made me permanent and was so comfortable with my work that she would just cut the fabric and have me to do the sewing. I would spend a number of years working with her.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Thompson enrolled in HEART to undergo three months of intensive training in the art of drapery-making. “HEART gave me the tools and the confidence that I needed to further perfect my skills,” she observes.

During her studies, the single mother started to do her own business, using her limited savings and any extra funds she got to purchase materials to make sheet sets and other signature pieces. To market them, she would walk into business places to sell to workers and clients.

Soon after, she developed a faithful following, and today there is a growing demand for her products. Her shoe racks, drapes, sheet sets and toaster covers are “all the rage” among some buyers.

One such admirer is Anthony Dunbar, CEO of D&M Uniforms and Bandbox Cleaners which have been operating out of Kingston for over 30 years.

“I have spent many years in the garment manufacturing and dry cleaning business and I can attest to the quality of the products from Charmine’s Home Accessories.

“The quality is impeccable. The products are well finished with precise and neat stitching, and her sense of style is excellent,” Dunbar declares, adding that her line can stand out against competing goods from anywhere.

“I make an effort to be different in the mix of fabrics that I use to create my unique styles, and I also take a lot of pride in creating items that are properly finished,” she explains.

In the meantime, Thompson, who currently works from home, has her sights set on a larger work space that would enable her to hire staff to increase output and expand her range of products.

“I also hope at some point to take on an apprentice that I can help and teach the same way that someone took an interest in me and taught me this skill,” she adds.