How it All Began - Our Story

Now Celebrating our 25th Year of Service!

The year was 1981 in Hendersonville, N.C. My son, Ernie, was looking for Party Supplies for a Club of which he was a member. Christmas & New Years were coming up and no Party Supplies could be located in the entire area. I was not working at the time and thought this was a perfect opportunity; I would open a Party Store! Just one problem though; I had absolutely no money and no experience for this endeavor.

However, I persisted, managed to save a couple hundred dollars and called a Paper Company in Charlotte, N.C. The lady answering the phone was so nice and informative, to my surprise, she made me feel the company was just waiting for my call. She invited me to a show coming up, to meet their vendors and, of course I made the trip. Talking with the vendors, I learned that many of the paper products would fit perfectly with the selling of Party Supplies.

By, April 1982, with a N.C. Sales tax No., a Federal ID No., a License to operate a Business, an Old-Hand-Me-Down Pick-Up Truck, and just enough money for a minimum order of $250.00, MLH Paper & Party Supplies was ready for business. As many of my long time customers already know, the MLH is the initials of my name.

In 1983, I built a small building in the back of my house but soon outgrew that and built a warehouse and did commercial type deliveries along with handling the Party Supplies. Many people, too numerous to name, assisted me in many ways, along with some Divine Guidance, the business grew. My son, Ernie, worked a lot in the early years as his time permitted setting up the inventory and accounting on the computer and teaching me a lot in the process.

Finally, I was able to open a Retail Party Store at 317 White St. Hendersonville, N.C. in 1989, along with continuing with the Warehouse Operation. Leslie, my youngest daughter, who grew up working in the business, took a full time position in 1996 handling a lot of the purchasing and computer related work. We opened a Wedding Store, along with along with Wilton Cake Decorating Supplies in 1998 at 309 White St. Hendersonville, and a couple of years later moved all the Party Supplies to that location. In 2007, my oldest daughter, Sheila, moved back to Hendersonville to join the company.

I can’t emphasize enough the loyalty of many customers and the help given by many people over the years (including family members and employees) that have made MLH successful. To everyone I am extremely grateful! I hope that MLH can continue to be of service to everyone who may be in the market for Party Supplies. My motto has always been, “A Satisfied Customer is Our Greatest Asset.”