Margaret “Peggy” Greif Arden celebrates a career spanning more than 50 years as an award-winning interior decorator and small business owner. Creative and naturally artistic since childhood, Ms. Arden enjoyed crafts and ceramic arts, and took design coursework first at DePauw University in the late 1950s, and then at the University of Illinois between 1960 and 1962. She got her start in the interior design and decor industry by designing interiors for hospitals and corporate settings, and fell in love with the work. By 1965, Ms. Arden had established her own company, Creative Decor, a Kankakee, Illinois-based firm where she remained the principal and primary owner until 1979.
Throughout the decade, Ms. Arden also worked as a member of the staff at several other area design firms. She joined the Curriculum Co. in 1977, Benjamin Brothers in 1978, and Maple Hall, Inc., in 1980, and would stay active as a designer and salesperson at each firm for several years. During the late 1970s, she also continued her education at the College of St. Francis, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1981.
In 1984, Ms. Arden again decided to strike her own path in the design world and opened Peggy Antal Hotel Interiors, where she would be the sole owner and president until 1987. Peggy Antal Hotel Interiors worked with several major hotel and hospitality chains including Best Western Hotels & Resorts, and she was hired to decorate the personal home of the president of the Hyatt Corporation. Her work for Best Western was featured on the cover of Hospitality Magazine and nominated for the Hotel Guest Room of the Year.
Since 1987, Ms. Arden has been the president and chief executive officer of Design Source, Inc., a Chicago-based firm where she continues her work creating dynamic, versatile interiors. She credits her success to networking, perseverance, and tireless energy for her clients and her craft. Throughout her career, she has been an active member of numerous professional organizations, including the National Association of Women Business Owners, the National Association of Female-Owned Businesses in Construction, Women in Design, and the National Association of Future Women. Ms. Arden has also contributed to local business and community groups, and is a member of the Ann Arbor Apartment Association and the Ypsilanti Chamber of Commerce in addition to having served as a parent volunteer for the Kankakee School District and a Republican election judge for Kankakee County.
