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Then came le D.E.B., which actually started out as a joke with my mother, Caroline. She would use a dish towel as a bib at my home when I was entertaining or request several extra napkins when we would go out to dinner. I would beg her to stop because it looked so ridiculous until one day, tired of my teasing, she said, "then design a bib for me." At first, I laughed it off but the thought always lingered in the back of my mind until I got married four years ago.
We exchanged vows in Las Vegas and hosted our wedding dinner at an exquisite restaurant by the name of leCircque located at the Bellagio Hotel. This is where I noticed many of the women in the restaurant, despite the lovely outfits they obviously spent a great deal of time putting together, were doing the same thing as my mom! They were disguising these lovely outfits by hiding them behind napkins. While I most certainly understood why they would do that, at the same time it was beyond my comprehension because the whole reason for dressing up was to look and feel lovely. Using a napkin certainly was not an accessory any of us would choose if not out of necessity to protect our beautiful garments. So, that's when it happened, I decided to do just what my mom asked me to do years earlier: design adult bibs for women.
Though disabled with multiple sclerosis, when I worked, I began my career as a corporate executive assistant, eventually ending up in human services at a nonprofit agency. There, I was in charge of building maintenance for several properties and managed multiple capital projects. It was my job to see to it that all of the buildings were up to code and operational, as well as creating a pleasant environment for the children who lived in them and/or attended counseling at the facility. Some of these things included the simplest of tasks, such as ensuring the sidewalks and roadways were safe, all school buildings and living quarters were clean, neat, and free from anything that could pose a potential danger to the children. As time went on, my responsibilities expanded to managing special projects, from designing therapeutic play rooms, coordinating paint colors, picking out lockers and selecting new lunchroom furniture and all the way to garden designs. I loved it! This was by far the most fulfilling job of my entire career. I took great pride in my work and discovered a profound satisfaction in seeing how my creations made the children happy. This was more compensation than I could've hoped for in any paycheck.
You may find it interesting that I have had no formal training, but seem to have been blessed with a keen eye for color and concept. I've never considered myself to be an artist, rather more like a design technician. I know what I like and it seems that others usually agree. I attribute my natural gift of creativity, along with life experiences and a network of good friends and family, to lead me to the idea and eventual design of my new, fun, exciting, and practical patented product. I look forward to redesigning other items women would find helpful in everyday living with elegance and class. Thank You.
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