ALUMS TODAY
A L U M N A’ S C O M PA N Y H O N O R E D B Y L S U A S A FA S T E S T G R O W I N G B U S I N E S S Mela & Roam, an upscale textiles and home accessories retailer owned by St. Joseph’s Academy graduate Courtney Smith Barton, was honored by LSU One Hundred as one of 2017’s 100 fastest growing Tiger-owned or -led businesses in the world. Mela & Roam was ranked number 28. Courtney is a 1999 graduate of SJA and a 2003 graduate of LSU with a degree in apparel design and textile science. Her business, headquartered in Houston, Texas, offers antique and vintage furniture upholstered in rich textiles, one-off curios, art and accessories inspired by craft traditions from around the world. In 2009, her husband JJ’s oil industry job sent the couple to Malaysia, where Courtney spent several years immersed in the culture of Southeast Asia. There, she fell in love with textiles. “I saw colors in ranges I’ve never before laid eyes on, tasted flavors that made my soul dance and scoured souks, bazaars and markets amassing a collection of linens and unusual goods to bring home,” she said. “I couldn’t wait to share the discoveries found on those roads less traveled and transport others to far-flung places, even if for a brief moment.” Returning to Houston in 2011, Courtney began Mela & Roam from a room in her home, then created a website and traveled to markets and pop-ups around town. She now has a brickand-mortar location in a space above a French antique and garden shop. She also travels every spring and fall to Round Top, Texas, for the country’s largest antiques and vintage show. Courtney said Mela & Roam provides a unique perspective in home decor: Heirloom-quality linens, rich textiles, furnishings, art and accessories embody the authentic cultural heritage of the communities from which they originate, yet are at home alongside modernday decor. “Clients regularly mix our
pillows and dohar blankets with cult favorites like Sferra, Matouk, Bella Notte and Leontine Linens for a look that’s cultivated, more personalized and less expected,” she said. The 2017 LSU One Hundred gala was held October 5 at L’Auberge Casino Hotel in Baton Rouge. Courtney said the experience was surreal. “Sitting in a room of peers that I admire for their great successes was an honor in and of itself, but to be recognized as one of them is indescribable,” she said. “I pinched myself as the speaker worked his way down from number 100. Once he hit 50, 40, 30 . . . well, I nervously laughed and was convinced an error had surely been made. To be the 28th fastest growing Tiger-led or -owned business in 2017 was easily a highlight of my career. I’m proud to be an SJA and LSU alumna, proud to be from Louisiana and ever grateful to have created a company that combines global influence with Southern sensibilities, drawing inspiration from my own roots and traditions.” As a youngster, Courtney was surrounded by a family of jewelry makers, embroiderers, graphic designers, farmers, antique dealers and entrepreneurs. “My Acadian French grandmother was the ultimate homemaker,” Courtney said. “She placed importance on crisp linens and well-appointed sheets; every tea towel and bed linen was embroidered and monogrammed by her hands. Using many of those same textiles in my house today, I am continually inspired by the lasting effect of her pieces both in quality and sentiment.” Courtney and JJ have two sons, Ory, age 6, and Theodore, age 3. 20 | S J A C O N N E C T I O N S Alums Today
Courtney Smith Barton ’99