Around the Table: Growing Up Setzler
The thought of three girls growing up under one roof conjures up images of crowded mirrors and stolen clothes. No exception, the Setzler sisters can’t imagine life without each other. All grown up and reminiscing over how their bond became so strong, the trio agrees it all started at their mother’s table.
by Caroline Edmondson
For those without sisters, the Setzler sisters confirm what we’re missing. Inseparable from the beginning, Natalie Roe, Erin Kennemer, and Rachel Anderson are three unique and independent women who can’t imagine life without each other. Although they confess to their fair share of sisterly discord over the T.V. remote or who got the front seat, they wholeheartedly agree the love served at the dinner table provided them with more than a meal.
Growing up around the Bay area, the Setzlers were raised with solid family traditions. Without any extended family in town, the girls remember the importance their parents placed on their family unit. Whether formal or casual, table time was a priority. “Our mom is basically a gourmet cook. Growing up, we ate dinner together every single night – no question,” Natalie says. “I always loved Saturday night hamburgers, but every Sunday lunch was exceptional, held around the dining table with linens and a delicious meal,” Rachel adds. “Food and the preparation of it is our family’s love language. Meals were always made special, regardless of occasion,” Rachel says.
The girls also fondly recall their parents, Roger and Janice, hosting a constant rotation of friends for holiday soirées and fabulous supper club parties. Each sister credits these gatherings for their love for entertaining today. Erin shares, “For meals in the dining room, my mom always set the table with fine china. She had countless sets, and everyone’s seat was indicated with a place card my sisters and I helped create. I loved her napkin-folding book and trying out new napkin folds to make the table fun and festive, be it a boat or a bird,” Erin adds.
Rachel loved peeking in on their gatherings. “I remember sitting at the top of the stairs as a little girl, listening to the guests below – the dull roar of conversation combined with the clinking of glasses and my dad’s jazz music filtering through the house.” Natalie was often put in charge of “the girls” during her parents’ gatherings and recalls a specific incident when she didn’t exactly do her job: “Erin and I were arguing over who got what paper out of our art cabinet. She grabbed my shirt with her teeth, I jerked away and a couple of those teeth came with me. We walked into the party crying, covered in blood. After that, babysitters quickly became the norm,” Natalie jokes.
With only 22 months separating them, Natalie remembers never truly feeling like the oldest, and being constantly grouped with Erin, as they were often mistaken for twins. “We got to experience new things at the same age because I seemed as old as her,” Erin teases. Of her own experience as the middle child, Erin claims she never suffered from “middle child syndrome” and enjoyed being in the middle of it all. As the youngest, Rachel says her sisters often felt like extra mothers, but says having multiple “someones” for advice and guidance was invaluable. Plus, “by the time I was the last one at home, my parents had been through it twice and didn’t worry as much about what I was doing,” Rachel jokes. Erin shares, “We’re so lucky to have each other. I’ve always had my sisters, so I never felt alone.” Agreeing, Natalie concludes, “It’s a treasure and a blessing to be both challenged and understood by my sisters – to have someone we did not choose to be related to turn out to be someone we would have actually chosen if given the chance.”
With an ever-expanding closeness, all three sisters decidedly moved to Auburn to complete their studies, overlapping a few fun years together. Natalie and Erin shared two years together at the university. “When I lived in the dorms, I constantly went to her house to do laundry and cook,” says Marketing major Erin. Natalie admits, “for the first time in a long time I really did feel like ‘the big sister’ helping her adjust to everything that came with being on your own.” Following in Natalie’s footsteps as an Interior Design major, Rachel was able to share her freshman year with Erin as she completed her senior year. “Establishing my own life and friendships but also having the comfort of her presence was assuring,” says Rachel.
After college, each sister married and started a family of her own. Interestingly, not only are their husbands independently close to each other, but they also share the same family pecking order as their wives (meaning each sister married a man who was also the oldest, middle, and youngest in his family).
Natalie and husband Stephen Roe, who have been together since high school, have three children: Bennett (11), Emory (9), and Jacob (7). “Stephen and I are partners in every way. We have continued to grow together through the years,” she shares. Having also married her high school sweetheart, Erin says, “Ben is my absolute best friend and makes me laugh like no other!” Together they have two sons, Wells (7), and Hayes (4), creating a very lively household. Rachel married Hollis Anderson, whom she met her freshmen year in math class at Auburn. “He is a dedicated father and husband, always putting us first,” she says. Their two children, Everett (3) and Mae (2), are a nonstop hurricane of energy, but they wouldn’t change a thing. All three sisters agree it is a special gift to raise their children in the same city and be such an integral part of each other’s lives.
A testament to their sisterhood, after years of working separately in interior design, Natalie and Rachel decided to join forces and open March + May Design in 2017. With similar design styles and known for their distinctive pops of color and fresh yet timeless designs, they are behind some of the Bay’s most spectacular homes. They both acknowledge the influence their parents’ love of entertaining in well-dressed rooms had on them. Both passionate about their profession, they are honored to create spaces for their client’s families to entertain, enjoy meals together, and flourish.
When it comes to balancing their work and family life, Rachel and Natalie agree their children and husbands come first. Rachel shares, “Our goal is to work when we are at work and not work when we are at home. I never want my family to feel like they are fighting for my attention.” Natalie agrees. “This approach has revolutionized our energy and effectiveness in both places,” she says. On working with her sister, Natalie reveals she “truly could not work so well or so successfully with anyone else. I trust her implicitly; we have the same goals, priorities, and work ethic.”
Erin’s career has been a journey. It wasn’t until she lost 50 pounds through Beachbody, an online platform, that she found a new passion. “My life transformed in so many ways through exercise and clean eating,” Erin says. “I had so many people asking me what I had done that I became a coach to help them do the same!” Erin has helped countless women regain their confidence by running monthly online health and fitness accountability groups, creating weekly meal plans, and starting a massive clean-eating cookbook for her clients. “I absolutely love helping others see their worth and capabilities so they can live their healthiest lives too,” she shares. Erin was recently voted onto the board of McKemie Place alongside husband Ben, who serves as President. “I loved putting together Build Hope, our brand-new fundraiser, which was a wonderful success,” she says. Important to ACCESS, McKemie Place is the beginning of a better life for women without a home. It’s the only overnight shelter for single, homeless women in all of Mobile, Washington, and Baldwin Counties.
The three sisters also gave ACCESS an exclusive look into their most recent business move: as of today, all three Setzler women will be working together at March + May! Erin excitedly joins Rachel and Natalie’s team as their Operations Manager handling orders, logistics, bookkeeping, and marketing. Talk about family ties!
As their family has grown, the holidays are spent at their parents’ hunting camp in Chatom, Ala. “My parents built this house with my sisters’ help,” Erin says. “There’s a lake and acres of land to hunt and explore. Plus, we all fit under one roof! Of course, we still enjoy the planned out elaborate meals complete with wine and lots of laughter. We are making memories and can’t help but wonder how these special gatherings will influence our children,” Erin shares. As the dishes are cleared, Natalie, Erin, and Rachel are so thankful their parents established these traditions that have inspired everything from design careers to their own love of sharing their homes with others, and for influencing them so profoundly over something as simple as a shared meal.
Clothes provided by The Gallery Shoe Boutique, The Holiday, Shoefly, Studio Blue, Dillard’s, & Debra’s.
March + May Design 2204 A Old Shell Rd. Mobile 251.423.2010
