In her “original” career, Mary Ellen Moseley – who goes by MeM or Miss MeM – worked as an administrator / bookkeeper for Dick Hagman Associates, her husband’s manufacturing rep business. “In 1972, we were one of the first Swarovski Crystal representatives in the U.S.,” she said. “We had a showroom in the Dallas Trade Mart.”
Dick Hagman Associates was one of the original tenants in Kansas City, Missouri’s Amigo Mart, which was built in the 1980s. Then came the opportunity to return home.
Though Miss Moseley was born in Sumter, South Carolina, she moved to Vinings, Georgia in 1949. “In the 1990s, after moving back to Atlanta, we were tenants of the Americas Mart on Spring Street in Atlanta,” she said.
The showroom was open five days a week and for gift shows three times a year, “so decorating was always involved, as well as cleaning, packing and storing,” she said. “I became accomplished at most of these, including keeping the books and paying the five reps that we had in the Southeast.”
In 1998, once her marriage ended, Miss Moseley realized that she needed employment, so she joined an agency that specialized in newborn care. “I think the training lasted about six weeks, and I worked for them off and on until I found something more permanent,” she said. “I ended up moving in with one of my client’s families and caring for their newborn – and eventually for their two other children – for a total of eight and a half years.”
The family moved away, and Miss Moseley found a temporary job cooking three days a week for a couple who were both attorneys. That led to other jobs, mostly in fresh meal preparation.
Since then, Miss Moseley has fine-tuned her “Silver Service” business. “I call my career ‘duplicating a housewife’,” she said. She’s ready to do whatever is needed. “Sometimes it’s cooking, gift wrapping, addressing envelopes, sewing or ironing.”
She also offers “The Five Star Hotel 30-Minute Pick-Up” service. Miss Moseley prepares things so when the owners arrive home, dishes are in the dishwasher, beds are made, the bathroom is tidied, and the lights and music are turned on, ready for their return.
“I always wanted to have clean linens on my bed every night, so I figured that a special cleanup like that would be something that a busy attorney would like,” she said, “and generally, it doesn’t take longer than 30 minutes.”
Miss Moseley said that she sees her jobs as more than a way to earn income; she considers them her ministry. “I love helping people organize their space,” she said. “I have helped people downsize from their homes to apartments, organize their linen and kitchen closets, and get rid of unnecessary household items.”
These days, Miss Moseley lives in a Buckhead retirement community, where she helps run the Caring Hands Boutique at Calvin Court with another resident and fellow volunteer Tom Hart. The boutique raises money that is earmarked for use at Calvin Court to help residents in need.
Caring Hands is a charity of Presbyterian Homes of Georgia; it helps residents with things like paying doctor bills, rent or meal cards, she explained.
Although she’s ready to help in many ways, Miss Moseley is narrowing her focus these days. “I no longer do any housecleaning or shopping,” she stressed. “The 30-Minute Pickup – yes!”