Miss America is a Designing Woman at a Woodbridge Furniture Store

Maybe the last person you might expect to meet when you're shopping for a recliner is Miss America. But if you were at American Signature Furniture on Saturday, that is exactly who you would have bumped into.

Teresa Scanlan, who wears the Miss America crown for 2011, made a scheduled appearance at the Route One furniture emporium as part of a promotion to tout a furniture line.

The store became host to a myriad of other tiara winners and families from the tri-state area who wanted a chance to meet Scanlan. Two pageant winners came as far as Connecticut just for the chance to see Miss America up close and personal. Guests ranged in age from three years old to senior citizens, and although the majority of the crowd were females, there was a sprinkling of dads in the group. 

If you’re wondering why Miss America visited a Woodbridge furniture store, you aren't alone. The visit was an in-store promotion for a line of furniture designed by the Miss America Organization exclusively for American Signature Furniture. Though Scanlan herself wasn'tinvolved in the design process, trumpeting the furniture line is one of her Miss America duties as she makes in-store appearances.

Scanlan was situated in an area of the store devoted solely to the Miss America furniture line. Down to the white desk she signed from and chair she sat on,  the furniture around her was all part of the pageant line. There was a lot of pink, pageant adorning accents, and an overall theme of regality to the furniture, thereby lending to the “crowned” concept.

The beautiful blonde from Nebraska was very poised and professional throughout her store appearance. Her visit demanded a lot of patience as attendees of the event had the opportunity to take pictures of her, and with her.  Often, at events like this, guests are restricted to just having one item signed and one "go through" at the celebrity. However, Scanlan patiently posed for the store’s own professional photographer as well as those of moms, dads and grandmas in the crowd.

She even had some repeat fans rejoin the line for another round of snapshots. The store provided free pink totes for guests to have signed but some girls, particularly other tri-state area pageant winners, also bought furniture in the store from the Miss America line and had her sign that instead. A popular item was the pink Miss America wall mirror.

Melissa Hoffman of Cranford and Jeanine Juliano of Middletown were there to meet Miss America, but pageants weren't new to either of the teens. They are both NJ pageant winners themselves.

The two teen girls currently hold NJ Princess titles and came with their mothers to support their fellow tiara winner and to take part in the “Have a Heart Food Drive.” Passionate about pageantry themselves, they were both eager to meet Scanlan.

Jeanine's mother, a proud pageant mom herself, said her daughter has been competing for several years, and they both love it. “It’s great (pageants). She is very involved in her community. It keeps her busy,” Mrs. Juliano said.

This sentiment was echoed by several pageant mothers within the crowd. With daughters preparing for college and coming into their young adulthood, they find it ideal to have their girls occupied by a good cause.

Anisha John, pageant mom to NJ Princess, Andrea Alyssa John, came from Red Bank for the event. Young Andrea won the title in her very first pageant and was happy to meet Miss America and to see her fellow NJ Princess title holders.

Not to be lost in the visit was the intent to collect canned goods for the food drive and to promote a popular pageant theme of community involvement and service. In fact Scanlan said that if she could offer any advice to an aspiring pageant contestant it would be volunteering and community service.

"Both are a great way to meet people and to network. It’s important to be involved in your community. You have the chance to help a lot of people,” Scanlan said. "Try new things everyday.” 

Scanlan first became involved in pageants at the age of 13. Fast forward four years later and she is currently preparing for college as the active Miss America 2011.  She has her eyes set on West Virginia for college, explaining that she “loves the area.“ This was only her second time to New Jersey, with the first being a visit to the Miss America pageant headquarters in Atlantic City. A self-proclaimed fan of the entire East Coast, Scanlan was happy to be in the Garden State.

As for the furniture itself, store designs are very contemporary and chic. The store opened just a few weeks ago at the same location where Levitz furniture used to be. According to store manager Peter Rabe, what separates American Signature Furniture store, located in the Iselin section of the township, from its competitors is that “it’s more fashion forward than other stores. We also offer furniture comparable to high-end stores like Pottery Barn or Ethan Allen but at affordable prices. And that’s really what customers want. They want the best, but at the best price, as well.”

American Signature Furniture, Rabe said, is able to accomplish this task through vertical integration; they do not involve any third parties in any level of the development of their furniture or mattresses.