Discovering a passion for sewing at the age of 16, Mary Tabone created a strong reputation in the local industry of soft furnishing, later leading her to open her company MG Home Interiors Ltd in 2007.
Prior to 2007, Mary was introduced to her love for sewing by a job she had at a textile company selling clothes. Already having a strong liking for the clothing industry, the transition into sewing was a seamless one.
Today, Mary is well known amongst Malta’s households also thanks to her having become a TV personality, educating our country via TV on all matters relating to soft furnishing. She has indeed transformed her passion into a profession, designing and executing through MG Home Interiors a variety of curtains, duvet covers, carpets, and more.
Mary Tabone, a well-known name in Malta’s soft furnishing industry, had a long journey to achieving all the recognition she has now gained for her talents in sewing. Starting off in 1986, Mary started off by doing works on clothes before getting married and halting her professional work in the field. Although she had stopped working, Mary still sought other ways to pursue this beloved passion of hers, and she did this by sewing clothes for herself, along with family, friends, and neighbours.
As her love for sewing grew, Mary was looking for ways to expand her hobby and she started planning to move her operation out of her
home in order to have her very own stand-alone workshop. Turning this dream into a reality, Mary made the move and created her workspace where she would work with a smile on her face, days on end.
in 2006, Mary was contacted by a TV personality, Godwin Friggieri, to co-host a TV program, ‘’Niltaqghu it-Tnejn’’
After having gained traction, in 2006, Mary was contacted by a TV personality, Godwin Friggieri, to co-host a TV program, ‘’Niltaqghu it-Tnejn’’, which aired on NET Television. ‘’Being on TV puts you into homes .. you’re directly interacting with viewers”, Mary says, recalling her time on TV, expressing how being on TV paved the way for her to become more familiar with viewers, and their loyal following has kept prompting her to keep doing what she loves doing.
From TV to Entrepreneurship
Having advertised and mentioned other local material companies in her TV program, many viewers asked why she wouldn’t simply start up her own company. To this, Mary responded by taking the steps to launch MG Home Interiors. Later in 2009, Mary bought the full shareholding of MG Home Interiors Ltd.
the venue is … immediately accessible from the main road, with parking availability in its immediate vicinities and with ample storage as well as showroom space
With the initial opening of MG Home Interiors came a showroom in Naxxar, where MG Home Interiors would show off all their products which, at the time, included furniture as well as soft furnishing. Following Mary’s purchase of the company, the showroom made a move from Naxxar to Birkirkara in 2012 with a full devotion to soft furnishings. This was, however, a short stay for MG Home Interiors as just two years later in 2014, Mary made the choice to move their showroom to Luqa. ‘’The showroom in Luqa is truly a blessing, as the venue is in a prominent location that is immediately accessible from the main road, with parking available in its immediate vicinities and with ample storage as well as showroom space. I won’t be looking back from here’’ shared Mary, expressing pride in the decision she made to move to their premises in Luqa.
Where the Company Is Today
Today, Mary has employed and personally trained a diversity of 5 locals, among whom is Marys’s daughter, Orlette, who today co-runs MG Home Interiors’ very own workshop on a full-time basis under the system which Mary developed. In this workshop, one can find a diversity of different high-quality materials coming from the likes of Italy, Spain, Germany, and Turkey, along with 5 different machines which are consistently manned, having each employee work together in harmony to create a product which must invariably rise to MG Home Interiors’ quality standards.
“We don’t mass produce. If you want a product to be made a certain way, we’re going to make it exactly that way”
Explaining the process her team follows, Mary confides that she doesn’t agree with the idea of each person individually working on a specific process or element, but rather, “each worker knows every technique used in the workshop. Someone being absent from work will not hinder the process,’’ Mary explained. Additionally, this methodology allows Mary
to monitor the works in process and ensure that all is being equally split and is adhering to the entire gamut of their operational, design and quality standards.
Principles and Standards
MG Home Interiors prides itself on its ever-lasting devotion to quality and special attention to customer care, providing each client with high-quality products with a good value for money. Using its expertise in soft furnishing, MG Home Interiors is ready to customise soft furnishing in a way which best adorns the lighting of a client’s space, making it a point to maximise on precision and efficiency in a timely manner.
Being a smaller company, Mary feels that she can give each individual client more attention and allow leniency for more customization, ‘’We don’t mass produce. If you want a product to be made a certain way, we’re going to make it exactly that way. We won’t try and avoid any costs to get it over and done with,’’ Mary shared, highlighting the company’s hard work on individually producing every item up to the client’s standards.
Looking back on Installations
Highlighting the individual attention she gives clients, Mary shares that her favourite work to do is domestic work. Although she is happy to do work with any client who comes forward, whether that be a developer or a personal client, Mary makes it a point to form a one-on-one relationship with the client and appreciate the connection and personal traits of the exchange.
In fact, Mary shares that she’s done a number of installations on a number of hotels, some of which include the Cavalieri Art Hotel Hotel and the Corinthia Marina Hotel, along with a variety of schools, government offices, and a diversity of apartments located in prestigious
areas such as Portomasso and Fort Cambridge. Her favourite installations, however, are those done for charities. An apt example of this is Dar Bjorn, which was entirely curtained by MG Home Interiors. Mary expressed that being able to help care for others and create “some laughter” is something which is dear to her heart and gives her a lot of pride and satisfaction when doing these types of installations.
“Someone being absent from work will not hinder the process”
Turning a Business into a Family Business
Circling back to Marys’s daughter, Orlette Tabone, Mary flaunted her daughter’s capability to work alongside her, referring to her daughter as her right hand. Orlette is fully involved in the company and works with Mary to ensure that the quality – and design standards of MG Home Interiors are being maintained, as well as handling paperwork and administrative jobs alongside Marys’s partner, Giovanni Briffa.
Having run the business for some time, Mary has acquired quite the number of returning customers, and she is proud to share that such customers remain just as satisfied with the services Orlette provides as they were and are with Mary’s. Walking in her mother’s footsteps, Mary is confident in saying that Orlette is fully capable of taking over.
Being in the business since 1986, Mary is looking forward and hoping for an early retirement, subsequently passing on the business to her daughter with confidence in the fact that the company being left in good hands.
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