There's a familiar adage that says you should never go into business with your friends -- but for Gwen Williams and Linda Orkney, the business life couldn't be better.

The friends and owners of Curtain Call -- a retailer of designer fabrics and custom window treatments and bedding -- were sitting on Mrs. Orkney's' back porch 12 years ago when they decided to try their hands at business.

"We started with a love for fabric," Mrs. Williams said.

Initially, they opened a small fabric store that sold remnants. Today, their passion has grown into two successful stores -- on Baston Road in Augusta and at Lake Oconee in Greene County, Ga.

The longtime friends complement each other, said Mrs. Orkney's husband, Roy. Before opening Curtain Call, Mrs. Williams worked for years as an interior designer, and Mrs. Orkney was employed at a local fabric store.

"Gwen's strengths and Linda's strengths balance each other. They're both good in different areas; having that balance makes for a pretty good partnership," he said.

Mrs. Williams' husband, Bob, describes his wife as "instinctive and seat-of-her-pants," while Mrs. Orkney is "analytical and conservative."

"They have different styles, and maybe that's a good thing," said Mr. Williams, who recently became the company's chief financial officer.

"They're amazing," Mr. Orkney said. "The progress that they've continued to make, Bob and I were always amazed."

Their partner, former interior designer Brent Odom, came on board as store manager in 2002. He became an owner at the Lake Oconee store when it opened in 2007.

Sue Orlowsky, an interior designer in Augusta, has worked with Curtain Call for almost 12 years. She often hires the store to complete custom window treatments for her clients.

"They're just a great resource. All three of them are knowledgeable," Sue said.

Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Orkney were born and reared in Connecticut. They met in 1987 while dating their future husbands, who had known each other since 1974. All four of them worked at the same company, United Nuclear Corp., in Connecticut.

Mrs. Williams was in personnel, and Mrs. Orkney was employed as a systems analyst.

The couples married in 1989, which was the same year that United Nuclear shut down its Navy nuclear reactor division, which had employed Mr. Williams and Mr. Orkney. One month later, they learned that their wives would be out of a job as well when United Nuclear announced the entire company was closing.

Mr. Orkney said they had two choices: work at the Mohegan Sun Casino that was being built on the former United Nuclear site, or take a job at Savannah River Site.

He temporarily left his wife and children behind in Connecticut to establish a new home in the Augusta area.

The Orkneys didn't realize that Mr. Williams had also decided to take a job at SRS. Mr. Williams started at the facility in July 1990; Mr. Orkney started a month later.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams often invited Mr. Orkney over for home-cooked meals. When Mrs. Orkney and the children were able to join him in Georgia, the four friends were reunited -- hundreds of miles across the country.

The companions grew closer over the years while Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Orkney pursued new careers that reflected their interests. Mrs. Williams started a full-service interior design business, Gwen Williams Interiors, from her home, and Mrs. Orkney was able to stay at home with her young children while working part time at a fabric store, Yard Stick Fabric Outlet.

Mrs. Williams developed a loyal client base, and her business steadily grew.

Mrs. Orkney helped customers with brainstorming ideas, fabric selections and cutting fabrics. The store was struggling, however.

"Linda was always disappointed because the store didn't have the inventory she wanted to have. When the opportunity came around, I told her that she should think about running the place herself," Mr. Orkney said.

She considered his suggestion and asked a co-worker to go into business with her. The woman was unable to devote the time, though, so Mrs. Orkney was back to square one. In spite of that, a memorable night at her home sealed her current partnership.

Curtains up

The four friends vividly recall that it was a summer night in August that they gathered on the Orkneys' back porch. The topic of the fabric store entered the conversation.

After some discussion, Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Orkney determined that with their combined skills, they could run a successful business.

"That was the beginning of Gwen and Linda's partnership," Mr. Orkney said.

They were brainstorming possible names and Mr. Williams rattled off Curtain Call.

"We just loved it," Mrs. Williams said.

The partners' main obstacle was getting a startup loan, so their husbands withdrew $15,000 from each of their 401(k) accounts to fund their business.

They used the money to purchase Yard Stick Fabric Outlet's inventory and take over its lease for the store space on Frontage Road.

"They spent $8,000 buying everything that was in the building," Mr. Williams said.

"It was a little bit of a risk, but we knew they could do it," Mr. Orkney added.

Like most business owners, the women needed to hire an accountant, but they had an eye-opening experience when they met with one local professional.

"One of the first people that we interviewed put a dollar on the table. He said that in 18 months we could give him his dollar back because two women in business wouldn't make it," Mrs. Orkney said. "That was a challenge we had to live up to."

They opened their store in 1996. Mrs. Orkney said jokingly that they didn't have high expectations at first; they just wanted to break even and have a job they loved.

"With the two of us together, we just kind of figured it out," Mrs. Williams said. "One thing that was exciting was trying to meet the demands of the public. In a sense, Curtain Call grew because the public wanted certain things."

Mrs. Williams said that Curtain Call offered clients one-on-one attention and access to fabrics hand-selected by the owners.

Initially, the owners couldn't afford employees.

"We used to go there to move things and help them out. It was a real mom-and-pop operation," Mr. Williams said.

The owners made a profit the first month they were open.

The small store measured only 3,000 square feet, and as Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Orkney added more inventory, they began to outgrow their space. Also, road construction was making it increasingly difficult for customers to access the store, though loyal clients kept coming.

In 2002, Brent Odom joined the staff as the store manager. He had become friends with Mrs. Orkney while shopping at the old fabric store, and decided to leave his full-time job as a high school teacher at Briarwood Academy near Thomson, where he taught biology, chemistry and physics, to pursue his passion: interior design.

"I would buy all of my fabrics and trim from Curtain Call. We sat down one day and talked about the possibility, and I felt like it was a good fit. I believed that as a team, we would work well together," Mr. Odom said.

Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Orkney said Mr. Odom adds "energy and youth," and they agree that he is an asset to their team.

Two years later, Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Orkney decided it was time for a new store. Mrs. Williams found a piece of land on Baston Road for sale and thought it would be a perfect store location.

Mr. Williams said that his wife has good business instincts.

"She would instinctively do things that without a formal business background would turn out right," he said.

Curtain Call's new location was complete in 2004. The store is three times larger than their previous shop, measuring 10,000 square feet.

Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Orkney recently added 2,000 square feet for warehouse space. They lease adjacent building space to several businesses.

Today, Curtain Call has a team of 12 employees in Augusta, including in-store designers and workers who fabricate the custom bedding and window treatments. The store has evolved into a design business that sells hundreds of fabrics, in addition to furniture, blinds, shutters and accessories.

True artisans

"I've been sewing since I was 8. The sewing machine that I use, I've had it since I graduated from high school," Mrs. Orkney said.

She remembers sitting at her grandmother's feet while she made pajamas for children in the family. Mrs. Orkney and her five sisters and two brothers would play around the bottom of the sewing machine.

Though her mother also sewed, her large family took a lot of time, so Mrs. Orkney learned to sew on her own.

Mrs. Williams said that her mother used to sew matching outfits for the mother-daughter team.

"She tried to teach me to sew. It didn't go very well, so she sent me to school," she said.

She learned to sew at age 13, and made her own clothes until her mid-20s.

Mr. Odom said he taught himself to sew in college. He went shopping for window treatments and realized that he couldn't afford them.

"So, I went to Service Merchandise, bought a machine, pulled out the book and taught myself," he said.

After his friends saw them, they began making requests; his design business caught on.

He said a person must have a "knack or true talent" for interior design.

"This is not something you can be trained for if you don't already have a knack for it," he said.

It's difficult to find talented staffers because many people don't know how to sew, he said.

"Custom window treatments are pretty much one of the few things in the United States that's a handmade product. It's also a dying craft. Younger people don't seem as interested," Mrs. Williams said.

Mr. Odom said that people who make custom window treatments are skilled craftsmen. Technology is changing our society, but he doesn't think custom window treatments will go the way of the dinosaur.

"People love beautiful things," Mr. Odom added . "One of the most important things to people is their home, especially in the South."

The owners frequently attend design shows across the country. The shows teach them the latest fashions, colors and styles to make sure they're offering customers "fresh and new choices."

Curtain Call offers in-home consultations because most clients need help and often don't trust their own decisions, Mrs. Orkney said.

Mr. Odom said he urges clients to make sure they love the fabrics they're putting in their homes, because the materials will be there for an extended time.

Ms. Orlowsky, the local designer, recommended that Curtain Call participate in Dream Home Augusta 2008.

"We selected Curtain Call to be the exclusive provider of all window treatments and bed coverings," she said.

The Dream Home is a project through the Builders Association of Metro Augusta to complete a home in the River Island subdivision near Furys Ferry Road. For the first time, the focus is on one house, and the funds raised will be donated to charity, Ms. Orlowsky said.

Jake Ivey, the owner of J.W. Ivey & Associates, is the builder for the project. The home is expected to appraise for $900,000 to $1 million, he said.

"I think they're very up to date on the current trends in a house. They do a very good job," he said about Curtain Call.

The home will be open to the public for four weeks, and then its owners will move in.

Dr. Becky Mecredy considers Mrs. Williams to be a great friend, in addition to a talented designer.

"Gwen has decorated three houses for me. She's just got a flair -- she and Brent Odom," she said. "They have a flair for coming up with something a little different. It doesn't look like the same thing that's in everybody else's home."

"They just do a really great job. They've been self-built all the way, and every year it grows and grows."

New heights

Curtain Call opened its second store location in Lake Oconee in 2007.

"After researching the area and seeing the growth, we felt like Curtain Call was needed there. There was an absence of what Curtain Call can offer in that area," Mr. Odom said.

He said that Lake Oconee has prestigious golf courses and is a draw for second homes, vacations and golf retreats.

"It's a developing area, so there's a lot of new home construction," Mrs. Orkney said. She believes the area will draw a large Atlanta crowd because of its proximity.

The 3,000-square-foot store is a "design space." The size is sufficient because only fabric samples are needed there, the owners said. They work at the Lake Oconee store on a rotating basis.

Curtain Call's owners are working to stay on the cutting edge of technology.

"Technology has a big impact on what we do in window fashions," Mr. Odom said. "For example, technology has made it possible to motorize draperies."

It's important to keep up with the latest developments, he said.

"We're dealing with customers who are techno-savvy. They come in with a technical background, and they expect you to know," he said.

One of the newest trends in the marketplace is solar screen shades. They can be placed on timers, and a homeowner can program them to close when the sun enters a particular room.

In addition, consumers can control their draperies remotely while lounging in their recliner.

For customers who are concerned about the environment, window coverings are now available in more natural fabrics, such as hemp and bamboo, or made without harsh chemicals.

Window treatments can be energy efficient. They provide extra insulation from UV rays and cold air, which can help to reduce heating and cooling costs, Mrs. Williams said.

Mr. Odom said that Curtain Call's aim is to "set themselves apart."

"The more you know, the better you're able to help your customers," he said.

Reach LaTina Emerson at (706) 823-3227 or latina.emerson@augustachronicle.com.