Mostly
Memories began in October of 1993 when its founder, Tricia
Derges, thought of combining two popular products: the
greeting card and the sachet. Until this time, sachets
where made with bulky potpourri products which carried
only the names of the enclosed scent. Tricia developed
a unique method of scenting her new greeting cards with
pure perfume for a beautiful fragrance that would last
for many months. This new style of card was designed
so that not only did it carry a message but it was also
flat so that it could be framed or mailed. She took this
idea and her car title to the bank so that she could
get a small loan to finance her first printing.
The
first card took almost three months to complete. Tricia
spent weeks in the library collecting information unique
to each year from 1917 to 1987. This information was
meant to bring back special memories, thus, the company
name was born, “Mostly Memories.” [The “Fragranced
Memories” line now extends from 1896 through 2001
and is also available in Canadian historical years. The
card received a new look and a scent for its five year
anniversary in 1999.]
The
first scented greeting card was now ready to take to
the market. The original cards were finished one week
prior to the January 1994 Dallas Market. Tricia convinced
a rep group to allow her to put up one display in their
temporaries. All of her family helped to assemble the
first group of cards around the kitchen table. In fact
the final cards were completed in the car when she and
her husband, Dan, drove to the Dallas Market.
 The
cards were a hit at the market. Soon more orders came
and the family could no longer keep up with them. Tricia
knew immediately where she would turn for help. She made
a promise to the Lord that if she ever had a chance to
really help people that she would never let Him down.
She went to the Sheltered Workshop, just a few miles
away, to enlist the help of these wonderful people. Because
so many of the products at Mostly Memories are handmade
and hand labeled, work is also sent out to the homebound,
individuals who are unable to hold down regular jobs
or mothers who want to stay home with their children.
With
daily help from her family, Tricia operated the company
from the attic of their home. Orders were taken in their
home office, filled and packed in the attic, shipped
daily from the living room, and the garage was used as
storage. The first employee was hired in 1994 and the
first catalog of 12 pages was introduced in January of
1995. The company operated from their home until October
1994 when the number of shipments and deliveries became
a problem to the neighbors. Tricia found a small office,
centrally located to the schools their four children
attended so that she could easily take the children to
and from school. The company outgrew this facility in
one year. A new 25,000 sq. ft. warehouse was then built
and completed in April of 1996.
In
December of 1995, Tricia designed the first miniature
scented greeting sachet – Mini Messages. It was
this introduction which spurred the company to major
growth bringing about the development of Mostly Memories
own line of bath and body products and candles that same
year.
Today,
Mostly Memories ships to all fifty states and seventeen
countries. Tricia’s family still works closely
with the company. Her husband Dan is Chairman of the
Board and her oldest daughter Jaime, who at age 12, helped
pack hundreds of orders, is now the V.P. of Sales and
Marketing for Mostly Memories.
Tricia
contributes the success of Mostly Memories first and
foremost to the Lord; to the loving support of her family,
and the dedication of the wonderful employees she has
been blessed with. She firmly believes that the road
map to follow, in all that one does, to find happiness
and success is found in Matthew 6:33.
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