I'm so excited to announce that IRIS has a new South Carolina Chapter - Southern Flair! This is the first chapter in SC. So.... if you are a stager/redesigner that is also a member of IRIS and you are within driving distance, please join us! We will welcome anyone who can attend the meetings, including members from North Carolina and Georgia. Our next meeting is currently scheduled for May 31st and I'll post more about that in a few days.
Current Positions are held by:
President - Melissa Marro
Secretary - Faye Sim
Secretary - Annette Wiley
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocet and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry. In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance. With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. She now operates as the CEO of First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign as well as an instructor for Certified Staging Professionals International Training Academy (CSPI) - the world's largest Staging Training Organization, and regularly speaks at the StagerList Expos and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.822.2622 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
If you would like Marro's team to provide information on staging a property in the state of South Carolina, or the Greater Charleston Area, please visit www.WeStageSC.com, email marro.melissa@gmail.com or call 843.822.2622.
For more information on Marro's CSP Staging Training, please visit www.StagingAndRedesign.com, visit the CSP Calendar for dates or email marro.melissa@gmail.com. Below is a list of Marro's current CSP Certification class dates:
April 10-12 Charleston, SC
May 4-6 Covington, KY
May 18-20 Charlotte, NC
June 22-24 St. Petersburg, FL
June 26-28 Marietta, GA
July 5-7 Memphis, TN
July 10-12 Charleston, SC
August 2-4 Washington DC
August 24-26 Chicago, IL
Grassy Creek home under contract in 32 days
Contingent in 26 Days after staging!
Never underestimate the power of small changes. When competing in the real estate market for listings or trying to sell a given property over any number of other similar properties in a neighborhood, sometimes it is the smallest of things that have the largest impact. Here are some simple fixes that can help make a tremendous difference when showing off your next listing: 
While many of the before and after photos many agents see and respond to are vacant homes, it is important to note that owner occupied homes are extremely important to appear their best as well. Often owners of these properties are simply at a loss of where to begin and are so busy trying to keep the home in order that they don't know staging could save them time, money and a lot of stress! 
summary of recommendations. Other times the stager can actualy help line up contractors for larger jobs, loan art, rugs, furniture and/or accessories. Most of the time, stagers are able to use exclusively or primarily the homeowners belongings and still create a dramatic and welcoming appeal. This means that the costs are extremely reasonable and are nearly always covered in higher offers and quicker sales!