Fashion & Jewelry Reinventors

What do night sweat pajamas and a summer in Turkey have in common? For me, the connection goes back to 1976, when I spent a summer in Turkey as an exchange student. Back then, I would have laughed if someone had told me that in 30 years, I would be back in Turkey, overseeing the manufacturing of a line of menopause sleepwear called Cool-jams to help combat night sweats and hot flashes. I had no idea that my past would come back to tap me on the shoulder in such a big way… Continue reading.

“Bring a skidoo suit,” the human resources director advised in one of her many phone calls, as she set up my trip to Manitoba for a final interview. I laughed, thinking she was just kidding. Landing the job overseeing design direction for a big Canadian Retailer was my only focus at that moment, and I successfully did so without the skidoo suit. The day I accepted the job was my last best day in the corporate fashion world… Continue reading.

My Second Act story developed unintentionally and arose from a need I had that couldn’t be filled. I had no idea that at 50 I would be a small business owner, running a successful online and wholesale business! I also had no idea that I would be able to help so many women who are experiencing hair loss from chemo, alopecia, or other medical conditions… Continue reading.

Jules and Molly Smith of AmoliaMae.com. Molly is modeling one of the cotton nightgowns.

Do you ever think back to that time in your youth when you were plotting the course for what you wanted to be when you ‘grew up’? For me, the reality is I have lived my life with one or more plots in my mind, changing the course several times along the way. What I realize now is sometimes no matter how we try to control our destiny, it is actually our own life experiences that determine our true course… Continue reading.

Jill Boehler felt like a movie star. Seated in the spotlight in one of CNBC’s studios, with the cameras rolling, she was being interviewed by the charismatic host of the talk show The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. Earlier that day, she’d left her home in Baltimore and flown to New York, where a black stretch limo met her at the airport and chauffeured her to the studio in New Jersey. A stylist there had curled her eyelashes and sprayed her hair. Now she was recounting for a national television audience how she had started a business selling silky, warm, microfiber wraps that fold into pouches small enough to stash in purses. Deutsch, considered by some to be the world’s savviest ad man, leaned over to stroke the wrap draped around her neck. “I love it. What a great idea!” he cooed… Continue reading.

I’ve been creating and making “art” for most of my life…Barbie clothes, my clothes (some of which I’ve found in the last few years and really cringed over!); notebooks full of drawings of my first love – horses; volunteering too often for high school prom and dance decorating committees, etc., etc. In college, I couldn’t really focus and make up my mind, bouncing majors from art to architecture to landscape architecture. I finally quit after 3 years sans degree and worked full time in a women’s clothing store… Continue reading.

My Depression Party Dress

I am on my way to my dream. In October I start, as a student. at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing). Did I mention that I will be 52? I don’t think I am their oldest student, but after seeing all my classmates register for class, it seems like it. My story is this: I raised three children along with my handsome husband of 30 years. The off spring eventually grew up and flew the coup. I loved my empty nest, but I found that I needed more to do… Continue reading.

I am a handbag designer from Portland, OR, and I turn 50 this year. I have been designing handbags and building my business, Designs by Jayne, for 3 years. My previous 15 year career was working as a registered dietitian and health educator setting up corporate employee health promotion programs… Continue reading.

The biggest transformation in my life started as a fluke. I was on vacation in Puerto Vallarta with three friends. I’m not a good swimmer, and even though I love the ocean, I had a fear of the water. But my friends really wanted to go snorkeling, so I said, “Okay, fine, I’ll go along.” We were taken out in a boat and dumped into deep water - no life preservers. I was pretty scared. I was holding on tight to a rock, but finally, after about an hour, I relaxed… Continue reading.-from-real

In a galaxy far, far away called High School, I had early aspirations of becoming a writer, a novelist to be exact. Having penned many a heart broken poem and creative short story, I believed I had what it would take to be a bestselling author. If you can imagine, I was a nerd. I think that’s what they still call kids who prefer reading books and studying over cheerleading. I was also very determined. At 15, when I was told that I could not get a school sponsored summer job, I went up against the “man” and argued that my 3.8 GPA should outweigh my age… Continue reading.

I am passionate about fashion, style, and color. That’s why I make my living as an image consultant. What you don’t know is that fashion also helped me reclaim my sanity. The sudden loss of my beloved 17-year-old son, Scotty, in an automobile accident, happened around the same time as my divorce after 23 years of marriage and three very serious surgeries. As you can imagine, I was devastated and despondent… Continue reading.-

When I was a college student in Coconut Grove, Florida, I talked my way into a job at a jewelry shop appropriately named “Om”. With my art background I was entranced by the jewelry fabrication aspect of the job and was soon given the chance to learn how it was done. I sold jewelry, polished it and hammered silver links for necklaces and learned how to do lost wax casting. Later on, I set up a workbench in my basement and sold my creations at craft fairs to help pay off my school loans… Continue reading.