Sarah Ehlers, owner of Jon Margeaux

By Lisa Yates
Editor


When entrepreneur Sarah Ehlers’ mother died, she left her job as ad director for The Times.
“I took some time off to grieve her passing and think about what I wanted to do,” she said.

During that time, Ehlers recalled her mother’s fondness for entertaining and setting an elegant table.

“My mother was a gourmet – she loved to cook and make ordinary food look pretty on the table,” she said.

Her mother's style included collecting beautiful serving pieces and decorative glass.

“The joy my mother experienced in planning, preparing and setting a beautiful table made a deep impression on me that I didn't fully realize until after her death,” Ehlers said.

In memory of her mother, she founded Jon Margeaux – an international wholesale supplier of pewter tableware and hand-finished decorative glass items.

The collections are featured online at www.jonmargeaux.com, and in major giftware catalogs. There’s even a piece of Jon Margeaux at the White House – a pewter wine bucket shaped like a cowboy boot.

“One day we got a call from the White House,” Ehlers said. “They needed to find out the retail cost, because someone gave it to the president as a gift; and it had to be reported. That was exciting. So, we sent the matching wine glasses.”

She said the president responded with a note of thanks.

“Our pieces have also been featured on The Price is Right,” Ehlers said, noting that it all began here in Southwest Louisiana.

Her wildly successful business began in 1999, operating out of Sulphur. Then, she changed her business strategy and, moved the business to the Cottage Shop District at 2706 Hodges Street, in Lake Charles.

“In July, we opened a storefront to retail,” Ehlers said. “People told me they have been buying Jon Margeaux for years, but had no idea we were local.”

She said her retail space includes a gallery featuring the works of local artists – photographers, potters, stained-glass artists, and an acrylics-artist.

“I am very active in supporting the arts and in the revitalization of the mid-town area,” she said.

Ehlers attributes her amazing to success to many wonderful people in her life, including her husband, Greg Mahoney, a senior operations director at Excel Logistics.

Her brothers, Chuck and Robert Ehlers, both of whom operate successful business have been very influential. Susan O’Connor, her sister, has also been a great source of support.

“Whenever I faced challenges, felt down, or just needed a good laugh to relieve stress, she was always there for me,” Ehlers said.

Ehlers said she faced many challenges in business – finding a manufacturer, protecting her original designs in foreign markets, and prospering in a tough economy.

“Gail Brame, a commercial loan officer at Cameron State Bank, was another person who was very influential and helped me overcome one of my business challenges. A couple of years after I started my business, I realized that in order to expand into other markets in the U.S. I would need financing. Gail reviewed my company, loved what she saw, could relate to my vision, and believed in me. I owe a great deal of my success to her faith and support.”

Ehlers also learned a lot about business and tenacity from her mother, who was the main breadwinner of the family.

“She was a terrific business woman in her own right, and was elected Business Woman of the Year by the ABWA (American Business Women's Association) many, many years ago,” she said.

Like mother, like daughter.