In the early 1990s, Jenny Hill worked as a nurse. In her spare time, she enjoyed sewing and helping friends decorate their homes. She and a neighbor, also a nurse, once attended a fabric show in Atlanta and came back with more fabric than they needed. A lot more. Hill sold it from her house and at a flea market, while working and raising two small children. The initial $1,000 investment for material officially outgrew its hobby status when her accountant advised, “Get in or get out.”
Hill opened Interior Yardage in 1994 on Southland Drive. She has moved up and down the street a handful of times. The first location was on the second floor of an office building, until Hill realized “nobody wants to walk up steps, including me,” she said.
In 2001, an opportunity arose to purchase a building in the 300 block of Southland Drive. Hill and her husband, Chuck Hill, had a few rental properties at the time, which they sold and invested the profits into the building and a parking lot behind it.
Interior Yardage moved from its original location to 303 Southland Drive in 2001, when the Hills purchased the building.
Within a year of moving into its new location, Interior Yardage had outpaced what Hill could handle on her own. She needed to hire someone to run the business end while she took care of clients, products and projects. “That was a monumental task, to find someone to turn over all your money to,” she said. So, Chuck quit his job in medical sales and joined her in the business.
“We soon discovered that the first year of marriage wasn’t as hard as the first year of working together,” she said, with a laugh.
They have five to seven employees at any given time making window treatments, offering design advice and selling lamps, artwork, home décor accessories, case goods furniture and upholstered goods. Lee Sharp, Liz Rose and Dana Mayborg have been with the company upward of 20 years. “A lot of people think Lee owns the business,” Hill said.
Chuck and Jenny Hill, seated, with longtime Interior Yardage employees Liz Rose, Lee Sharp and Dana Mayborg, standing from left to right. Hill founded the fabric and home goods store in 1994.
“It’s been fun to watch it evolve, because if you’re buying drapery, chances are you’re probably going to need a lamp to go with it,” she said. “Because Lexington is centrally located and there are so many communities around us that don’t offer this type of service, we get a lot of out-of-town business. It’s great to serve a lot of the outlying communities.”
Interior Yardage was hired to upholster benches and motorized draperies for Marriott Residence Inn at City Center when it was being built in downtown Lexington. Hill has also taken on some projects for banks over the years, but the bulk of her clientele is residential, local, repeat customers. Some have second homes in Florida or South Carolina, who bring measurements to Interior Yardage for custom draperies. “Draperies are easily shipped,” Hill said. “We’ve done a lot of out-of-town projects.”
Some of her customers today were children back in the 1990s. They remember playing in the back corner of the store while their moms shopped. “We have now moved into the second generation of Interior Yardage customers,” Hill said. “It’s wonderful.”
Last year, as people were staying home, Hill’s business saw an uptick in new projects and customers. “They wanted to have their personal space more and more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing,” she said. “We have been very, very busy.”
There are inventory issues, though, with certain materials being on back-order for months — foam, for one, and embroidered fabrics from India — and some of the case furnishings that had been on back-order for 18 weeks are now at 26 weeks. Hill is patient and passes that calm on to customers.
She grew up on a farm in Bourbon County, where she learned a strong work ethic at an early age. “I was taught if you’re going to do a job, you do it right. I was taught to be honest and take pride in what you do, and if you’re not going to do it right, don’t do it at all.”
One of Hill’s goals each year has been to open an account with a new vendor when she goes to market, ensuring she is never at a loss for a particular skill set or product. “We have a strong network of Southland Drive business owners. Businesses are thriving over here,” she said. “There’s this theory that Southland Drive may become the next Chevy Chase, and I sure hope so. We’ve got cute houses.”
A few years ago, a customer asked Hill if she would be interested in selling her business. She wasn’t interested at the time, but the idea was planted. Now she is ready to give it some thought. Her oldest son lives in Austin, Texas, with the Hills’ new granddaughter. “I’m looking forward to being a grandma with her; I want to be able to go and visit and have her know me,” she said.
Business is good and family is even better. “We have been blessed, that’s all I can tell you,” she said