‘I loved everything’: Businesswoman retiring after lifetime of work

For nearly eight decades, Martha Rose Carson has been a savvy businesswoman who has skillfully navigated her paths in interior design, fashion and furniture.

She’s now ready for retirement with the closure of Marty Rae’s of Orangeburg on April 15.

The owner of the longtime furniture business at 1144 Broughton St. opened her first business in 1954 at a time when aspiring female business owners and entrepreneurs were not respected.

“I enjoyed it. That’s the main thing. I enjoyed it. I had a good time because I loved what I was doing,” the 87-year-old said.

She started her first business after graduating from the University of Alabama, putting her newly acquired degree in fashion merchandising to use. She went back and got her master’s in interior design, and then opened up her first interior design studio approximately five years after that, working out of the back of her car.

Carson opened up her dress shop in 1958. She closed it after 51 years.

“Well, I had a bridal salon. I directed weddings. I was a member of the National Bridal Institute. I loved dressing windows. I soon got tired of all that. That was when wearing apparel was very important. Then I went into the furniture business,” she said.

The store, which is located in downtown Orangeburg, became known in the city and surrounding areas for its personalized service.

There were five sales ladies and two alteration ladies who Carson has said catered to the young and eventually began catering to an older clientele.

She thoroughly enjoyed the experience, especially the people who she served.

“I love people, and I loved to sell. I loved to get people all dressed up and to coordinate things together,” Carson said.

She and her longtime dress shop manager, Lucia Dean Zimmerman, would also host fashion shows.

“She’s been with me 60 years. She says 59, I say 60 years,” Carson said, noting that the pair held popular fashion shows for 10 to 15 years.

Although she eventually closed her dress shop, Carson also had the furniture store, which is now closing, too. She said it a bittersweet time as she prepares for the store’s closure.

“It’s sad because I’m going to miss all my good friends that I’ve accumulated over the years. I’ve had people that have shopped with me for years and years and years. I’m going to miss them, and, too, I’m not going to be happy staying at home. I’m going to have to find something else to occupy my time even though I don’t have a lot of energy now,” Carson said.

Carson is the mother of two children: a son, George, and a daughter, Marty. She is the grandmother of three and the great-grandmother of a 5-month-old great-granddaughter.

Marty said while her mother is finally now really ready for retirement, she is sure she will find something else to do.

“She’ll get involved in something else. She always has to have a project,” she said, noting that she’s proud of her mother’s successful business career.

“She’s done really well, especially because she started at a time when women didn’t do that,” Marty said.

Carson moved her furniture store to its current location after she made renovations to the building. The site was once the home of her dress shop, but has since solely operated as a furniture store.

Carson said her successful transition from operating a dress shop to operating a furniture store was due to her business skills, her passion for fashion and interior design, and her decisiveness.

“I have my opinions and don’t mind stating them …,” she said, noting that decisiveness must be coupled with not being a procrastinator.

“I think you can’t be forever deciding on something. You’ve got to decide right away,” she said.

Carson expanded her furniture business by opening a store in Lexington. That store has been in operation for nearly 40 years and is run by her son. She said business has been good.

“Oh, it’s excellent. He has nine salespeople. He says he takes after me,” she said.

Carson said the business landscape and consumers’ knowledge has changed, making business harder to conduct now.

“The shows on TV have made it hard because they give the person ideas, and that makes them grow and they think they know. … You’ve just kind of got to go by what they want,” she said.

It is a lot harder to make a dollar now than she first started in business.

“People are harder to satisfy. They expect more out of you because of TV. They expect you to do a lot more than you do,” she said.

Carson said she thrived, however, through her dedication to good, quality service.

“Good service, and I had built up a reputation. I tell people what I think, and I don’t tell people that something’s good. I’ll tell them my honest opinion. And if they ask me if I like something, I’ll tell them no or yes. If I don’t like it, I don’t tell them I like it. … I’m going to give them the truth,” she said.

Carson, who will turn 88 in September, said the time is right for retirement.

“The main thing is this goes to my daughter and she’s not interested in the business. So she suggested, ‘Let’s sell it.’ And I’m tired. … I’m ready to do nothing. It’s time. I’m going to play cards and eat out a lot and do a lot of things with my friends,” she said.

Carson will miss her customers most.

“I’m going to miss my customers. You know, the day-by-day dealing with people. I enjoy that,” she said.

Her customers have become like a family.

“I just love it. I love the people. The people are the secret to the whole thing. I’ve made some wonderful friends,” Carson said.

She will not miss driving back and forth from her home in Lexington.

“It’s an hour here and an hour back. I had to close the store early so it wouldn’t be dark because I can’t drive in the dark. It’s not safe, I’ll put it that way,” she said.

She was born in the tiny unincorporated community of Tirzah in York County.

“That’s outside of Rock Hill. I came to live with my aunt when I was 9 years old and never went home. I got the store (name) because my nickname was Marty, and she was Aunt Rae. I put the two together, Marty Rae,” she said.

As she looks back over her years in business, she’s proud of many things.

“I’m proud of my children. I’m proud of everything because I’m happy. I think I’ve made a lot of contacts that I’m very proud of. I’ve made a lot of contacts that I wouldn’t have made if I hadn’t been in business,” Carson said.

Doing what you love and loving what you do has been “the key to the whole secret” of her success, she said.

“And give it everything you’ve got, because I gave it everything I had. I loved everything. … You’ve got to keep up with the times, too. That’s important. If you don’t keep up with the times, you don’t move.

“Fashions and designs change so quick now. It used to take 10 years, then it took seven years, now takes about every three years for (fashion trends to change). You just look at aqua. It’s dead as a doornail now. Yellow is dead as a doornail. Now it’s red. Red is the big color,” she said.

Carson, who was one of the founders of the former Orangeburg National Bank, has been respected within her community. During Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler’s “State of the City” address, he proclaimed Feb. 28 as Martha Rose Carson Day in the City of Orangeburg.

Her advice for rising female business owners and entrepreneurs is simple.

“You’ve got to be willing to work, and you’ve got to be honest with your customer. You’ve got to be honest. … I tell people if they want something I don’t like, I’ll tell them I don’t like it,” she said.

Many of her lasting friendships were made while she was serving as a designer. She said many people who are going into the dress and other businesses have called for advice.

“They want to know. Just have plenty of money. You’ve now got to have plenty of money. It takes a lot more money now to operate than it did when I started out,” Carson said.

The longtime businesswoman thanks God for life and allowing her to have a successful career.

“He has blessed me. I have so much to be thankful for. I thank him every morning for me being alive,” she said.