Cherie Montanez

is the successor and President of MQC (Miami Quilting Center) Workroom, a family owned & operated business. Cherie’s grandparents, Orlando Mesa and Manuela Mesa, founded the family business in 1967. Orlando and Manuela worked respectively as a cutter and a seamstress at Modernage. It was there that they developed a romantic relationship and Orlando proposed marriage to Manuela. After receiving her very own sewing machine as a wedding gift from her husband, the newlyweds worked together on developing their dreams of starting their own business. They both continued to dedicate themselves during the day to Modernage, while in the evenings; they worked diligently to create MQC. Through their hard work and dedication, they soon had their own small factory. MQC dominated the industry until the early 1990’s when Manuela and Orlando’s health began to decline. Without their dedication and vision, the business began to suffer. Soon after, Manuela died of cancer. During this time, Cherie was a middle school teacher and she comforted her grandfather and played a supporting female role in his life. He asked for her commitment to continue with the family business and she realized how important it was to him to know all of their hard work and dedication would persevere through these hard times. Cherie promised her grandfather that he could count on her. Soon after Orlando died, she quit her teaching job and kept her promise.

 

As a professional who bridges business and creativity expertise, Cherie furthers the company's growth by expanding its services far beyond its initial core specialty: quilting. At the same time, she maintains MQC's solid reputation for providing high quality workmanship on all projects. MQC's services are offered exclusively to the residential, commercial and yacht industries, worldwide.

 

Cherie is actively and passionately involved in the interior design community. Cherie is currently the Communications Director on the 2009-2010 Board of Director's for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Florida South Chapter.