In 1954 she opened a shop in Edgecliff, selling custom furniture made from her own drawings.
Commissions include: In 1961 she converted the shop to the Mary White School of Art.
A full design course was offered and public lectures were held in the evenings.
Later that same year she was the Chair of Steering Committee for the Foundation of the Crafts Council of Australia.
In that same year, she closed her school and moved to Adelaide, to work for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.