Focoloco: Neck Deep in Monkey Business

4 products I use every day with my infant

2008-08-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

1. My Moby D. -very very important! This carrier actually allows me to get "things" done! Laundry, dishes, mopping the store, making sales, printing orders...heck, even window washing! I love this thing!
2. Aden & Anais swaddlers- 4 packs? we probably could use an 8pack the with our charming little spit-up machine. These are the best swaddle blankets and are not too shabby as nursing covers, burp rags, play mats... there is always one of these in my diaper bag and the rest are usually in the laundry.
3. BabyLegs- If you live in the NE US area these are very useful. Leg warmers are back in style! My son's wardrobe is onesies and leg warmers. Onesies with leg warmers in the cool mornings and evenings, and just onesies during the rest of the day when the temperature is nice and toasty.
4. Fuzzi Bunz- Sweet! Even more bang for the buck. These are the diapers I purchased and used for my first son and now his baby brother is getting good use out of them. These are awesome cloth diapers! Just as easy and absorbent as disposables, but so much cuter and better for our planet.

who stole my baby?

2008-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

No, not really, but then again where did my first baby boy disappear to?
Almost 3 months into our new 4 person family dynamic and I can't quite believe how big my 2&1/2 year old son seems...
I first noticed it when I came home from the hospital with our new son, Vincent. 8lbs 8oz, but tiny in comparison to this 30lb boy that I was still hoisting up on a changing table and washing diapers for.
He is now in his new big boy room with his very own twin size rocket ship bed. Thanks, dad!
This week we stopped putting diapers on him and he started using the potty with out much fuss and few accidents.
Who is this kid? What did he do with the little terror that was trying to feed his new brother Styrofoam peanuts and biting tiny limbs just a few short weeks ago?

Number 2 is starting in on the action, too. Almost 3 months old and a real infant, no longer a newborn. Light years past the newborn phase... he has found his fist. i remember when Ferris first found his fist...2+ years ago, before the big boy bed, abc's, golf, baseball, bike riding,potty training...

today, tomorrow, someday...soon

2008-04-23T12:38:00.001-07:00

So, I'm due tomorrow and I am very ready. see. the proof is in the photo I snapped earlier. I'm huge and have cankles and can't even fit into friends shoes that are several sizes bigger than mine.

Instead of allowing the desire to sit on my butt and just wait for this kid to arrive I've been keeping pretty busy doing many many many things that actually should have been done a while ago. So, hey, all in all, it's working out well....this waiting thing.
I had hoped the baby would be coaxed out by the full moon this past weekend, but here I am, still pregnant.
This weekend:
-we painted Ferris' new bedroom and installed the new floor...so it's almost inhabitable.
-raked the yard and trimmed back all the hedges, got the garden ready for spring.
-actually mopped the house for the first time in, um, a long time.
-tons of laundry
-unpacked suitcases of spring/summer clothes and put away the winter gear
-bought a wading pool and child size gardening gloves.
-played putt-putt and went to the driving range

it was a really great weekend. lots of fun and pretty productive.
now it's Wednesday and it's back to work at the store. not a bad gig at all. just trying to get everything ready for my leave.....
soon, he'll be here soon.

ps- no worries, mom, it's no voc paint

if i were a celeb. that was photographed all day long...

2008-04-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

i'd probably come across as worse than dear old Britney.
I'm due in just over a week and although I should be stuffing my swollen body with good, healthy foods in carefully balanced meals and preparing the house for this new little man, I am, instead, completely giving over to the sloth and glazed expression that accompany those final days? weeks? of pregnancy.

This morning, just as I thought I was doing great by getting to the post office bright and early to mail off our tax forms a man turns to me and says, " It's okay, I have a ton of laundry to do, too."
I smiled politely and left the place (with Ferris in tow) wondering what in the world inspired such a comment.
My clothes were clean...they didn't stand out as being unmatched or anything...i was wearing a bra...what in the world had this guy seen in me that made him think i needed to do laundry??

As I drove away I glanced in the rear view to watch Ferris intently reading his big book of all the vehicles that boy could ever dream of driving one day. My sweet little boy sitting contently in his car seat...dressed in his jeans, checkered vans, striped polo shirt and black hoodie with the glow in the dark skeleton torso on it.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, that old thing?
little does that man know that I dress him in that hoodie almost daily...even if all of his clothes are squeaky clean!
Would he find this unacceptable?
What other crimes of decency have I committed recently?

If anyone cared enough to follow me around today they would have witnessed:

-me eating a bowl of granola, a small mocha latte with whip... AND a muffin for breakfast.
-attending playgroup with my son and recoiling in terror at the sight of Michelle, our friend who was due last week, still pregnant. this could be me in another week!
- getting home, stripping off my stupid maternity jeans that not only look unflattering, but never seem to stay up and replacing them with stained sweatpants. also, letting the ladies swing free!
- for lunch: brie and crackers, half a bag of salt and vinegar chips, 1/2 a pineapple and 4 oranges. and in the spirit of honesty, eating this while watching the season finale of Rock of Love II.
i could have left that bit out, but man it feels liberating to admit it.

this is about as far as we've gotten through the day so far. The boy is napping blissfully and I'm trying to remember what I should be doing right now. I'm thinking about getting back into the dreaded maternity jeans to take him to an afternoon playgroup. thank god for playgroups!

Are we really open? Is it Spring already?

2008-03-07T07:56:00.000-08:00

Shima 105 Main St. North Adams, MA 01247

Yes, it appears so.
We opened our lovely little boutique, Shima, on Tuesday.

We've received some great local press and plodding along putting together our site, www.shimaboutique.com . We even had our first storytime event yesterday!
If we can pay the bills and eventually pay ourselves I think we will really enjoy running this little place.

9 weeks... that's not so bad!

2008-02-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

9 weeks left, theoretically, until our new son makes his entrance.

I hear from both men and women, "9 weeks? You're almost done!"
From the men I simply roll my eyes because I know they say this completely oblivious to what the last 9 weeks (or any weeks) of pregnancy feels like.
From the women, mostly mothers themselves, I know they are trying to be positive and cheery because they DO know what those last weeks can feel like.
They usually follow the statement up with something like, "...but they are considered full term by 36 weeks right? and even at 32 weeks they are usually good to be born with little complications, right?"
Hey! Now I only have 2- 9 weeks to go. It's that glimmer of an early, but perfectly safe and healthy delivery that keeps us all going at the end.

I still love being pregnant. It's an incredible honor and there is nothing I would trade for the feeling of a little person growing and moving in my belly. There is also something awesome about having this huge, commanding belly and loving it instead of feeling self conscious about it. I can't think of another time in my life when I've actually felt more beautiful and confident completely naked rather than clothed. Still, I can feel my fortress of bliss being slowly chipped away by a multitude of villains.

the scale- I know gaining weight during pregnancy is required and healthy, but my irrational mind still manages to make me feel lousy every time I have to take that step up onto the deviously accurate physician's scale... the fact that you have to do it more frequently the closer to term you are (and fatter you feel) is simply wrong.

cereal- it's not just for breakfast anymore. it is also a chaser to almost any meal or snack. why? i have no idea. it just is. am I right?

shoes- one serious perk to summer pregnancy has to be flip flops and light airy dresses. Since I live in in New England I am battling with jeans, sweaters, seriously flawed maternity jackets (thanks a bunch, the Gap) and worst of all, shoes!!! Lace up snow boots and sneakers. Zip up boots. They are all evil when there is a bowling ball of elbows and knees fighting you when you try to bend over to get them on your feet.

February- The most wicked of them all. If February were a human we would not be friends. It's colder than the previous months and filled with snow and sleet and rain... sometimes all in the same day. February, I hate, hate, hate you. I was pregnant with my first son mostly through summer and the heat never bothered me much (must be living in Texas for so many years before moving to New England) but this winter is killing me.
I was fine until February came. Now I loathe every snowflake because it means boots and shoveling. Both very unappealing to a big, pregnant mama with 9 weeks to go.

what do Gladys Knight, Ozzy Osbourne and the Old 97's have in common?

2008-02-11T10:36:00.000-08:00

They have all sung the word, "train".
For my two-year-old son that is enough commonality to make a killer playlist. This is great news for me because linking songs together by a common word or theme is about the extent of my dj-ing talent.
My junior high mix tapes sucked. There was no flow, just awkward breaks from one song to the next (if you were lucky enough for the song not to be cut short before the next) and it really didn't matter if one song led into the next one smoothly...and mostly I was recording the songs off the radio. BUT this no longer matters! My son is fully satisfied with my mixing skills and so Ozzy's "Crazy Train" is unapologetically followed by "Midnight Train to Georgia" and everyone is happy.

2 days and a few thousand booths later...

2008-02-07T06:44:00.000-08:00

My partner and I spent the past weekend at New York International Gift Fair scoping out some last minute picks for our store opening in March. Two under-dressed, pregnant gals zooming up and down aisles and aisles of everything you can imagine.
I can not tell you how overwhelming that event is...and incredibly cool.
Unlike some of the trade shows we've attended in the past this one actually had some separate areas for handmade goods and goods made in the US.....if they could have made these sections within a larger division dedicated strictly to kids goods we'd have been in heaven, but as it was we still had to navigate all the different venue locations to hunt down everything we wanted to check out.
I think we managed the event quite well.

1- we found some terribly cool new products that we haven't seen around yet to put into our store that actually fit our requirements of sustainability and trade practices! This is insanely hard to do at these huge shows and can be extremely disappointing when you find cool things you like, but they don't meet any of those standards.
2- we were only bombarded with one rude tirade about labor practices when we asked a toy company about their manufacturing facilities. We can accept that "made in China" is not synonymous with "sweatshop"... which is why we'll ask how much the company is involved in the production of their products.
The gist was about how we wouldn't want to work there, but it's not like they had limbless infants producing their toys. The whole tone was really condesending and aggressive and weird for a sales person.
3- we got to put faces to people we've only known through e-mail up until now.

A few of our favorites that are no big secret since they are already pretty big on the scene:

Robeez new Tredz line- I actually picked up a pair of these for my son last summer at Marshall's and everyone that has admired them since, has lamented being unable to find them, even on the Robeez site. Apparently, I was in the right time and place. They were one pair from a 5 thousand pair run of prototypes. The official line just launched this week. These shoes are awesome! My son loves his and my big fat pregnant self loves that he can put them on by himself.

Erbavivia- This line of high end natural skin care products is incredible all around. If the gorgeous packaging doesn't get you past the price tag the companies eco-friendly business practices will. The products are actually made in the US. The packaging is recyclable and the company is working towards 100% no waste, carbon-neutral manufacturing.....and they donate some of their proceeds to charities. I don't mind paying top dollar for a product when they go the extra mile. Isn't it nice to know the price is justified by more than just product popularity?

Pixel Organics- I seriously hope that we have the budget to include this kick-ass line of bedding in our store in the near future. It's organic, it's made in the States, the graphics are drool-worthy, and it's a bit pricey. I guess, most designer crib sets are pricey to me, but I've never been able to justify upwards of $300 for crib bedding. I could do it for this line of bedding....if only I had the $$!!!
Oh! And they just launched a line of infant wear that is really adorable and organic....and pricey. Sigh...It's good to want, right?

Elderly Elvis, I love you too

2008-01-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

When we decided to move out of Brooklyn and find a new place to settle down one of the aspects of North Adams that truly endeared me to it was it's abundance of local characters. A true Twin Peaks-ish charm that would make the absence of our Brooklyn subway crazies less painful.

Of these characters I have two favorites. Moped girl and Elderly Elvis.

Moped girl is a middle age woman with long ponytails. She is a bit on the large side and scoots around town on a red moped with her toddler sized doll "daughter" in an infants bike seat on the back...helmet and all. She is awesome. I love to see her at the grocery store, her doll child in the basket as they shop together. She is pleasant and kind and once in a while talks to us about tool sales or other bargains we might be interested in.

As for Elderly Elvis, I had only seen him from a distance until today. He must be in his late 60s-early 70s... trucker cap or leather cap, big gold Elvis sunglasses, leather vest and a wicked set of jet-black mutten chops framing his aging face. I had always assumed he dyed the sideburns black since the rest of his visible hair is grey, but until today I had no idea of the depth of his dedication to his hip, Elvis look. As I gazed at him across the row at our local Good Will I realized that while he DID have mighty impressive sideburns made of his own hair...a large portion of his dramatic black sideburns were actually penciled in with cosmetics! Yes, Elderly Elvis, you make me proud to live in this wonderful little town. I honestly hope that when I am in my "golden years" I still have the spirit to put that much effort into maintaining my identity and spirit.

bumbo, I still love you

2007-12-28T05:20:00.000-08:00

I recently learned of the Bumbo baby chair recall when I called my brother to see if we could get ours back for baby #2. He had passed it along to someone else and we won't be able to purchase a new one. This had me completely bummed. We loved the Bumbo.

While I sympathize with the parents of the children hurt while using the Bumbo chair I can't help but feel that Bumbo is getting a bum deal in this whole recall thing. Don't get me wrong, I understand the trauma of seeing your little one injured, hell, I panic when my 2 year old gets a fever, but don't accidents exist any more? I always felt very aware that my wobbly infant was destined for falls and spills whether I was inches from him or a few feet away.

IF memory serves, the box and instructions clearly stated that like any infant novelty device (let's be clear, this is NOT a safety device) the seat was not a babysitter, nor intended as a safety seat guaranteed to be secure in any way. It was not recommended for use on surfaces above floor level, and, yes, it was always a possibility that your wriggly infant may work their way out of the chair... and honestly I didn't need the instructions or a sticker on the seat to tell me that. It seemed intuitive. The Bumbo chair has no safety harnesses and resembles nothing I would ever mistake as a fortress of safe keeping for my child. It is a piece of molded foam painted in pretty colors. It gives them some support while they are learning to sit up on their own.

It's one of those things about our modern culture's mindset that really drives me nuts...this idea that there are, or should be, guarantees in life that you and your friends and family will never have accidents or incidents of misfortune. It never seems to be user error anymore...or, God forbid, a simple accident.
There is always someone to blame, a product at fault.

In my two years of motherhood my son has taken many spills, survived numerous bloody lips and bitten tongues (even a scar on the forehead) without the end result being lawsuits and recalls. Isn't that simply the price we all pay to learn basic motor skills? Aren't childhood injuries an expected folly of learning the ropes?

I dropped my son on his back and head once when I slipped while carrying him upstairs. I actually fell on top of him making the matter worse. We went to the doctor and, luckily, he was just fine. However, if he had been seriously injured I am confident that I would not have been recalled as his mother, no charges would have been filed with CPS and my husband would not have banned me from holding him...nor would I have won any lawsuit against the contractor that built our house or the sock manufacturer that made my treacherous , slippery socks. It was an accident. These things do happen...sometimes with tragic results.

Why has litigation become ingrained as one of the steps in the grieving process when tragedy strikes?

If our infants were guaranteed safety in consumer products why would they need us at all to care for them? How many parents drop their infants every year causing injury? I'm going to bet that happens much more frequently than the injuries caused using these chairs. Does there have to be blame just because a consumer product was involved? Can we no longer distinguish between a serious product malfunction or flaw and simple expected risk of using products?

I know I probably sound horribly cynical and sarcastic, but I can't help feeling that one of the big problems in our modern times is our bad habit of not being able to accept that accidents do happen, even tragic ones. Our habit of finding blame for accidents and injuries that are inevitable in a life lived outside of a heavily cushioned, sterile bubble.

Chickens and baby boobies

2007-12-13T11:05:00.000-08:00

My son sort of "gets" that he will be a big brother in just a few months...he kind of understands that there is a baby growing in my belly, but his imaginative little toddler brain fills in any blanks with some wildy amusing ideas.
He confuses my breasts and my belly, as if my new round belly is one very large "booby". He kisses it and yells into my belly button, "Come out soon brother!"...and then he'll ask if he can drink milk from my belly button.
He hasn't nursed in over a year, but has many friends that still do or have new nursing siblings and this has spurred a newfound fascination with boobies.
We were in the shower the other evening and he was drawing on tub more intently than usual. A very deliberate and complex drawing of swirls and scribbles and slashes.
He spent so much time on this picture that I just had to ask him what he was drawing.
"Chickens and baby boobies!" he replied.
Being a mom is just so cool.

Too Green for North Adams

2007-11-30T09:28:00.001-08:00

We've been steadily working on getting the store prepared for our Spring opening. I'm glad we still have a few months to use since we are doing most of the work ourselves...two pregnant gals re-doing an 1100sqft. store and sewing inventory. it's almost comical.
And trying to keep a grip on FocoLoco.
I was a bit bummed about holiday sales so far on the site. It's been a slower than expected shopping season so far, but just as I was getting ready to stick my head in the oven my partner called to say she had seen one of FocoLoco's shirts in Kiwi magazine's holiday shopping guide!
So very cool to get recognition from such a great green publication! It totally made my day.
As it turns out though, there is such a thing as being "too green". At least, this seems to be true here in North Adams, MA.
I knew from the grapevine that getting our signage and storefront designs approved by the local city planning board would probably be an uphill battle. We have been told no less than a hundred times that our chances of getting signage that is anything but black and gold approved are pretty slim. It's pretty understandable really... black and gold is exactly what I think of when I think "sustainable", "handmade", "baby and kids", right?
I'm actually thinking of painting the nursery in an all black and gold color scheme.
We turned in our most recent proposal several weeks ago and I hadn't heard any feedback yet so I went down to the community development office to see if they had made any decisions.
While no official decision has been made yet I was told that the consensus, so far, was that our storefront was literally, "too green".
This confused me because there are no less than 4 stores on Main Street that are painted primarily green. Hunter green and that traditional Christmas green. They are pretty darn green.
Yes, but those are a different green.
Ah, yes, that makes total sense.
Our green is "too bright".
Of course, I mean a children's store.... bright?
what were we thinking...

so long summer!

2007-11-06T11:50:00.000-08:00

It's been about 3 long months and I am finally out of my first trimester of pregnancy with monkey #2. I'm so glad that part is over. It's funny how easily you forget about the really unpleasant parts of pregnancy until you are immersed in them again.
The summer was great, but would have been so much nicer if I didn't feel like I'd been run over by a Mac truck every morning.
Anyways, it's over now and I finally have some energy to update this badly neglected site.
On top of adding to the clan in the coming months, FocoLoco is also entering an exciting new partnership with our buddy, Libbie, and opening a natural/ fairtrade parenting boutique in our quaint little town of North Adams, MA.
We are planning on opening in March, just a month or so before I pop. I've been plenty busy trying to organize this AND grow babies AND keep FocoLoco going AND still being a fairly good parent to the little monkey I already have. Sometimes it seems a bit insane to go through with this, but I feel like I have to at least TRY. If I fail I will just tuck my tail and head back to my at home cave of an office.
I'd much rather try and fail miserably than seethe with jealously watching someone else do it in our town. If it goes well I think we will have a pretty rad store that all the families in the community will enjoy.

2007-07-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

Poop.
It's a word I will always find entertaining, but I never thought I would hear it and react with an overwhelming sense of pride.
Yesterday, my son went poop on the potty in a public restroom for the first time. I am so proud you'd think he had scored a 1600 on the SATs. It's one of those moments I love most about parenthood. A monumental victory or accomplishment that becomes routine and passes without notice in our adult lives.

The first time you look down at your child and they smile back at you and it's not "just gas".

Sleeping through the night.

The first bite of "food" aka. that mushy paste that no adult in their right mind would ever eat on purpose.

I know there are a lot of dull moments mixed in there...
The abc's, while complex and fresh to a toddler mind, can be sanity stealing for us grown-ups. There is so much nice stuff though. So much to be happy about even if they keep you tettering on the edge of your sanity. Their emotions , needs and actions are so primal and pure. Simple and uncomplicated.

Sometime in the rapidly approaching future I know my son will stop greeting with me that smile in the morning. Instead I'll have to settle for a barely audible grunt or some form of abbreviated teen talk. Wtf, right? We'll battle over unfinished book reports and curfews. He will hate me(but not really) and I will be the most unfair mother(but not really).

For now I will bask in the glory of a toilet training victory.

Made my Day

2007-06-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

I just spoke with my little brother. He's living back in Texas with his lovely wife and adorable son...who is almost one, dear god! He said his new neighbors upstairs have a 3 month old baby, so he decided to pimp my clothing to them. They told him they already owned(and loved) my stuff and started naming off the designs they already had.
It is really cool when your friends and family support your business by buying your products.
It is EXTRA cool when you run into strangers that are buying your products.

dangerously low on batteries

2007-06-27T10:28:00.001-07:00

Before my son was born I had all sorts of ideals about the way I would raise this kid. I wanted to steer clear from the plastic, noisy, flashy toys, use cloth diapers and keep him far away from the computer and tv as much as possible.
20 months into it and 2 out of 3 ain't bad.
we are still using cloth diapers, although not exclusively.
he rarely watches tv or "plays" on the computer...
but, man, those obnoxious, noisy, flashy contraptions are a vital part of our daily routine.

It all started when that lovely little newborn didn't turn out to be quiet type and my sleep deprived husband and I were desperate for one night when we could lay him down without hours of screaming ensuing.

We had the battery operated swing, bouncer, crib play station, sound machine and ceiling projector...ANYTHING that might possibly distract our son long enough for his fatigue to capture him and allow him to drift off to sleep.
We have long since retired the swing and bouncer, but the sound machine and projector are as routine as saying "good night" to all the stuffed monsters and playing guitar.

A few nights ago, in the middle of our "good night" routine my husband turned to me with a concerned look on his face:

him: Suz, the projector is low on batteries. He (our son) looks concerned. You better go change them while I play another song for him.

me:Uhhhhhh, I don't think we have anymore C batteries, but I'll look.

him: Well, if there aren't any... you probably shouldn't even come back in here.

His tone was tantamount to a surgeon on a daytime soap breaking the bad news that so-and-so would not, in fact, be surfacing from their coma...EVER.

We are slaves to the battery powered pacification devices.

random memory

2007-06-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

When I was in junior high (or maybe it was early high school) we went on a field trip to watch Marcel Marceau, the famous mime, perform... and I forgot my glasses.
Those were a couple of the most boring hours of my life.

YES! We do Co-op discounts!

2007-06-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

I figured since we've been getting many inquiries about this subject, I'd just go ahead and put this out there.

I know it isn't always easy to buy ethically-made/ organics since they can be expensive and it's our goal to get our stuff into the hand of you guys(parents) as much as it is to get our stuff onto the shelves of boutiques. (not to say we don't puff up with pride when we DO see our products on the shelves of those painfully cool boutiques)

FocoLoco does take Co-op orders at a discount rate of 40% off our retail prices.

Here are the requirements:

minimum order : $300

The only things we don't offer for the co-op discount are BIBS. ( I'm sure it sounds silly, but these are a huge hassle and more often than not arrive to us damaged from the manufacturer.)

The other conditions are:

1.We must receive a complete order list in one bundle meeting the min. order requirement.
2. We will ship everything to 1 address, in 1 shipment, to then be distributed by your group leader.
3. The order must be paid in 1 payment, in full, before the order can be shipped out.
4. We only accept returns/exchanges on items that are received damaged or the wrong item. Please choose sizes carefully! American Apparel garments run small and are made to fit snuggly. This is particularly true for the 2t-6t organic kids' tee shirts.

So there it is! Chatroom mamas tell yer friends. Playgroup leaders spread the word.

WORD.

Spring Fevers

2007-05-17T06:20:00.000-07:00

Finally, the winter has been chased away by some beautiful spring weather...and we spend the month sick with fevers, projectile messes and hospital visits.

After spending the first few weeks of April shoveling snow I was so psyched for the nice weather to finally arrive. Unfortunately, while the weather this past month has been wonderful, our health as a family has been putrid. It started with my appendicitis. Call me naive, but I just didn't think it would take more than a few days to get back to normal after the surgery...this coming from someone who has never had surgery before, of course. It sucked and honestly I'm still not 100%.

Next came the stomach flu. My poor pint-sized sidekick was struck first. He ended up in the hospital for a few days due to dehydration. There is really nothing quite as sad as seeing your child hooked up to IVs, passed out in a hospital crib....which are the most prison-like, chrome barred contraptions I've ever seen. Pretty much the second we got word that he was well enough to head home I came down with the same thing....and now the flu has made it's way to my husband and, hopefully, that will be the end of that.

Overall, I guess I can't bitch too much. In the grand scheme of life, a month of minor illnesses is really no biggie, but it is still such a bummer when the sun is shining, the birds are singing and you can barely get out of bed to run your small business, much less go outside and enjoy the day.

Being cheap, apathetic, lazy and saving the planet!!

2007-04-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

On my recent trip to Austin I read the latest issue of Real Simple. I think I love this magazine because it was made for people like me. It sorts all my issues into neat little charts and lists. Gives me only the basics and makes me feel more organized (which speaks volumes since I am a complete and utter scatterbrain). This issue even had a bit about being a hypochondriac covering: symptoms, what you imagine the issue is and the probable culprit. I took it all to heart...I am not dying of any rare disease, I probably just have a cold or something!
Back to the point.
They, like every other magazine I've read recently, had an article on simple ways you could live a life more "green". What I love about this new trend in eco-friendliness, I mean, besides the whole saving the planet stuff, is that many of the activities are things I have done for years out of sheer cheapness, apathy or laziness...and I used to be given a hard time about it.
Not any more!! Ha HA!
No longer will I think twice about wearing my favorite pair of jeans or socks over and over and over again before surrendering them to a wash. I am being ECO-FRIENDLY!!! All you clean freaks out there are killing the planet.
The hodge podge of eclectic thrift store furniture that fills our home is a prime example of REUSE! All those GoodWill clothes I wore in high school because I thought they were "groovy" and that made my dad cringe...simply ahead of the curve.
Packing as much crap in the washer as possible(when the clothes start walking) is CONSERVING water and energy...not simply being too lazy to keep going up and down the basement stairs.
Saving glass jars and styrofoam trays for art supplies and (my favorite) bear-shaped honey bottles for soap dispensers? Again, NOT being cheap-the term is ECO-FRIENDLY.
This green living stuff rocks...
We even used half the heating oil we usually use by installing a kick-butt, propane fireplace in our living room. Using less oil AND finally getting a fireplace in our 100+yr-old, New England home. Priceless.
Now, I don't agree with my dad on all his views on the subject of global warming and the environment, but I kind of share his sentiment that the "sky is falling" panic might be a bit melodramatic, but if it mostly results in good things....can it be that bad?
I may be wrong about the melodrama, but I have to believe that point of view, because if it is really that bad, then we are all screwed anyways and what would be the point?
Hmmm, maybe that's just the laziness talking.

Recycling cartridges

2007-04-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

We recently bought a fantastic new printer for FocoLoco. The Epson stylus photo R2400....This thing is RAD. Large format, archival ink....beautiful quality.
The only bummer is that you can't send in the cartridges for recycling!!
Over the past few years we've gotten so used to recycling the ones from our HP photosmart that I was kinda dumbfounded by this...I assumed that ALL cartridges were reusable.
What makes this an even bigger bummer is that this printer uses 9, yes, NINE cartridges. That leaves a whole lot of empty cartridges to deal with.
They can kind of be recycled by being ground down and melted to make packing materials, but most cartridge centers will no longer accept them because they already have way too many and more than they can even use.
"However, we do appreciate that it uses more energy to transport, sort and crush these cartridges than can be recouped by recycling." -Print4less-

beers, steers & my baby brother's wedding

2007-03-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited to be heading to Austin this weekend to attend my little bro's wedding! We try to make it down to Texas at least once a year to visit, but I don't think we've been in Austin in about 5 years.
It will be a quick trip, but full of fun.
First, a trip to San Marcos, where I attended university. Time to catch up with my favorite professors and do a little drinking and shuffle board at Riley's. This place is awesome!
http://www.rileystavern.com/music.html
Then back to Austin to dote on my nephew and have a grand ole' party with everyone.
Be back soon!

How Novel

2007-03-01T06:28:00.000-08:00

I was recently in contact with a store we used to do business with. Just catching up...seeing if they had, indeed, received the catalogs and e-mails I'd been sending their way. I hadn't heard from them in a while.
It's a puzzler to me because they seemed like a perfect fit for us. A really cool store run by two incredible moms that care about their community, building a network of other mothers and carrying unique small label products. A store that is also a meeting hub for mamas that are into natural parenting, celebrating creative WAHMs and with some sort of an environmental consciousness.
Hey! I'm a WAHM....we are a sweatshop-free company...artist run...offering organic cottons...
So what went wrong? I have no idea.
They said they would keep us in mind for the future and offered this cryptic tidbit:

"At this time, we don't have a lot of demand for novelty t's."

Was this an insult or a compliment?

nov·el·ty (nŏv'əl-tē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. nov·el·ties

The quality of being novel; newness.
Something new and unusual; an innovation.
A small mass-produced article, such as a toy or trinket.

cite: American Heritage Dictionary

Mostly, I wonder what it is that would define my products as being "novel" in comparison to any other shirt you'd buy at a kids' boutique?

Snow Day!

2007-02-16T08:55:00.000-08:00

Two days ago we had our first official snow day of the winter. The young man thoroughly enjoyed sledding. Pops and I did not have the same enthusiasm for snow shoveling...
Also, the sweater is almost finished! Just have to sew it up now and knit the collar.

tagged!

2007-02-15T07:55:00.000-08:00

I was just about to write about yesterday's snow day, but then I got tagged by tinatheseamonster.

The rules are as follows:
1. someone tags you,
2. you post five things about yourself that you haven’t already mentioned on your blog,
3. you tag people you’d like to know more about.

1. I'm not a citizen of the U.S. I have a "permanent resident alien" card that looks very 007. It has my thumb print and photo on the front and microfilm under the lamination on the back.
I was actually born is Scotland. My parents moved to the states when I was about 7. We used to go back to Scotland every summer for three months to visit our family, but after my parents divorced we weren't able to get back as often.

2. (on the same topic, kinda)In college, when I was about 20, I chose to miss my final exams so that I could visit my grandfather one last time before he passed away (lung cancer/ non-smoker).
I arrived just in time. He passed away a few hours after I got to his hospice. I thought it was extremely wonderful that he was able to hold on until we could say "good-bye".
I still wish I had hugged him more, but he was very frail and I was told that the tumors would hurt him if I tried to hug him closely. I still think I should have hugged him anyways.
He is the only person close to me that has ever died.
I didn't return to Scotland again until about 2 years ago, 9 years later. I was 5 months pregnant and my cousin, Matthew, was getting married.
It's amazing how bonds you create as children transcend time. I see my cousins rarely, but it always feel comfortable and normal when we do get together.

3. I love being social and meeting new people, but I HATE making sales calls! I really think FocoLoco could be much more than it is if I wasn't such a weenie about sales calls. I would rather poke pins in my eyes!

4. My first real job was as a telemarketer. I was 16. It sucked, big time.
People yelled at me. Sometimes you'd ask for someone who had died. Sometimes you'd get stuck on the phone with very lonely elderly people and then the manager would snatch the phone away and still try to squeeze a few bucks out of them. It sucked.
I worked in a tiny, smokey office with about 9 booths that all faced the center of the room where our manager stood, chain-smoking, greasy and dripping with sweat. This guy always had huge yellow pit stains on all of his shirts.
Everyone that worked there were teenage girls except Vicki, the middle-age, amputee that was always trying to sell us her meds....I'm totally not making this up.
This job, I'm quite sure, has an awful lot to do with my sales call phobia.

5. I am obsessed with knitting. My mother taught me this summer. I have 2 suitcases full of yarn. I crave free-time for knitting. I am almost finished with my first sweater, a tiny red/black striped one with a jolly rodger pattern on the front. I really hope it fits my son when I am finished.

okay, so now who to tag...
andrea, jen, marie...I'll have to think of 2 more later.

Form or Function?

2007-02-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

Over the past few months, we have accumulated several of the Parents' brand toys. More specifically, the bath-time tug boat, the instrument set and the "palm pilot".
I was immediately drawn to these toys because of their funky, appealing colors and achingly lovely appearance. Honestly, I kinda wanted to buy every darn toy they were offering. I'm a sucker for good design.

Then we actually played with these toys and suddenly all the pretty colors and cutesy characters in the world couldn't make up for how poorly the toys functioned.

The boat's portholes were so close to the base that the slightest splash in the tub sank the whole thing AND(this one kills me) the life preserver is made of thick rubber and plastic and doesn't float!

The palm pilot is sort of an etch-a-sketch type devise, BUT the drawing surface is so saggy and unsupported that it is difficult to actually draw on without permanently indenting the surface, and even then, you can barely see the image.

The musical instrument set, by far the best of the bunch, is not without flaws either.
The ladybug chime instrument has the exact same notes on both sides so instead of 6 different notes/tones(?) you get just 3, and the bumble bee clacker thingy is bound so tightly that no matter how hard you shake it the wings don't slap together.

I found all these flaws really surprising considering these toys are branded with the name of a magazine that I have always considered a good source for recommendations of educational toys that functioned well.
It felt like they designed these toys and then never even tested them to see if they functioned properly. Form over function....and that isn't good design!

Maybe I'm alone in this opinion? I don't know...

Its' so quiet, almost too quiet...

2007-01-31T07:32:00.000-08:00

Today was my son's first day of daycare.
I've been looking forward to this day with a mix of giddy excitement and understandable parental anxiety.
Just 2 days a week, but I am already extremely optimisitic about what those days will allow me to do in terms of growing this business. I also hope that it will make the other 5 days of the week that I spend with my son that much more enjoyable.
For over a year now I have felt like I've been in one place while my head was in the other...thinking about work while at the playground...planning the afternoon with my son while I should be e-mailing clients.
It's nice to finally have a clear distinction between the two.
I'll still be doing the business full-time, but now with two whole days in the middle of the week to dedicate to that, solely,I can relax about making the rest of it fit more casually into my evenings and naptimes.
I already miss the little dude, but I think the break will be good for both of us. He seems to really love the place and even though I thought *we* had a lot of toys, our collection pales in comparison to that of the daycare!
Here's to new adventures.

Etsy: Artists' friend or foe?

2007-01-16T09:36:00.000-08:00

Wowsa! It’s been a while…

So we finally worked out our publishing problems and back in the land of bloggers.

The holiday season was hectic, but wonderful. The little dude continues to grow like a weed. Life has been rolling along smoothly and I consider myself lucky.

I’ve debated posting a entry about Etsy(www.etsy.com), but finally decided that this sort of issue needs some attention…and if enough of us write tiny obscure entries then maybe after a while it will get some attention.

No, I don’t mean that Etsy is too obscure and needs the attention.

I’m talking about, for lack of a more eloquent word, the “shitty” side of Etsy. The side that the big bosses running Etsy simply play ignorant to and claim no liability for. Copyright infringement and copycats.

For anyone reading this that is not aware of Etsy.com, in theory, it is a marketplace for artists and crafters to use( Ebay without the auction aspect) to promote and sell their HANDMADE wares. The big issue is that with over 30,000 users there are many many many sellers that are not HAND-making the things they sell. Worse yet, there are hundreds of items for sale that are blatant knock-offs of successful, established, small businesses…and even a few huge ones. Disney? StarWars? Dora? Thomas the TankEngine?

Overall, I’ve loved the quality and uniqueness of the items I’ve purchased through Etsy. There are many talented artisans finding success in its marketplace. Kudos to all of them. Keep up the great work and I wish you all success in your creations!

Maybe this is just urban legend, but didn’t Disney once sue a daycare for painting murals of their characters on the facilities walls?

Famous photographs of celebrities silk-screened onto clothing? How pissed would you be if you were the photographer seeing dozens of sellers turning your work and talent into their profit without offering you and compensation or asking your permission?. I could be wrong about this, but I’ve always understood that once you create an original design or piece of art it is technically protected under U.S. copyright law and anyone who wishes to use the image must gain your permission before doing so. I’m not certain, but I think that is true.

I realize that most crafters and sellers are probably not up to speed on U.S. copyright laws, but I’d bet a buck or two the folks running Etsy are. There is a “report this item” button that allows you to report items that you don’t believe are handmade or are simply illegal. I’ll admit I’ve reported a few blatant copyright infringements … the items are still for sale weeks later.

Personally, I could care less if Disney loses a few bucks from small artists, I’m not much of a Disney fan(don’t even get me started on “the vault”), but I do care about the small businesses that worked hard for years to establish a unique style and product only to have the Etsy monster come along and spew out a dozen sellers that rip them off and get MORE press, being a piece of the big Etsy machine.

I know, I know, there are a million ways to reinvent the wheel, but when one person buys a product from another business then turns around and sells their own copies of it they need to be held accountable and I am disappointed that Etsy does nothing. Just keeps on collecting their listing fees and sales percentages.

In the corporate world it is called industrial espionage, the only difference is that in the corporate world the businesses can afford the team of lawyers it takes to protect their products.

I’ll still visit Etsy occasionally to shop for unique pieces of artwork or gifts, but mostly I just go there now to make sure my hard work and designs are not being ripped off.

I'm okay, you're okay, but those kids today...

2006-11-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

So, I've come to the astounding conclusion that I am not made out for this "blogging" type stuff. When I think of something to write about I can't get to the computer...by the time I'm at the computer and able I've already forgotten what I wanted to say.
I'm okay with this. I'll blog whenever I feel like it...even if each entry is months apart. A funny thing happened on Halloween and I actually remembered that I wanted to write about it...so here it is.

Since my husband and I moved away from Brooklyn, Halloween has been a mere shell of its former glory and I find myself mourning its passing each year. I miss those wild and wonderful city costume parties. No one minds dressing up in the city...maybe because it's a challenge to top the kind of outrageousness you see on a daily basis on the street and in the subway.

Our first Halloween in the Berkshires I made a feeble attempt to dress up, only to find myself the *only* adult dressed up at an informal get together. Sitting around watching football and handing out candy...this was Halloween #1 in our new home. Halloween #2 passed without much notice as we had our hands full with our newborn son. This year we made more of an effort. We put out our hand painted tombstones for "Seymour Butts" and "Ivana Tinkle". We carved pumpkins. I dressed up as Wednesday Addams and our son dressed up as a monkey. We considered having a party, but while a small party under regular circumstances can be quite fun and intimate, a small costume party just feels awkward and sad, so we decided just to hand out candy.

As I was lighting the jack-o-lanterns that led the way up our steps I heard rustling in the wooded area behind our house. THe local teens tend use our backyard as path to other streets or as a hang-out spot to...uh, well, do stuff teens do.(I'm not *that* old. I remember those days quite fondly.)I didn't think twice about it. On my way back up to the house I went around the back to put away some garbage and found two pristine rolls of toilet paper, slightly disheveled, but mostly intact and bright white.
Now, I've gotten used to the mass of local teens being apathetic and often rude.(yes, I am making a generalization and my apologies to the rest of the teen population) Cutting in line at the grocery store even though my hands are full with a baby and tubs of formula, walking into the middle of busy streets stopping traffic and glaring at anyone who dares honk a horn at them as they meander along the street making no effort to let traffic pass, but it is a truly sad day when the teens have become so lazy and apathetic that they can't even put an ounce of effort into their mischeif.

What the heck is wrong with these kids that they can't even t.p. a house properly?

Maybe this is what my husband and I will spend our next Halloween doing. Teach those kids how to do it with some style and zeal. *wink*

Paying for a review???

2006-08-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

So this "thing" has sort of been on my chest and if I don't just let it out here it going to keep eating at me!

Recently, a parenting forum website (no names) contacted me to let me know how much they loved our style, etc.
They also said they were starting a new area of their site for product reviews and wanted to offer me one of the first review spots. This would entail sending one of their members freebies to review AND paying the site $200 for the privilege of being reviewed.

Is it just me or does this totally go against the nature of a review?

I've always assumed that reviews were unsolicited opinions, good or bad. This is the whole reason why I tend to trust reviews. I've always figured that there is no reason for the reviewer to lie because they are not receiving any incentive for a positive review. Am I just naive?

And isn't a paid review just a sneaky advertisement?

One of my greatest solaces in running this tiny business has been that I feel like an honest business owner. I may not be rolling in dollars, but at least I'm working hard to create a healthy, conscientious business. I don't want to be sneaky or deceptive to my customers. They are, afterall, parents just like myself.

I tried to reply as diplomatically as possible and offered to send samples for review if they changed their policies in the future.

So am I being silly? I've never paid for a review in the past. Does this kind of thing happen all the time? I mean, I've read some reviews in magazines that were paid for, but they are always clearly marked as a "paid advertisement"...which usually makes me completely disregard what I just read.

Ahhhh, that feels better. I think I'll let this one go now.

Cheap cool shirts...

2006-07-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

Even though I run a not-the-cheapest-option kids' clothing line, I'm not one to pass up an opportunity to make some cool stuff on the cheap...yes, it helps to have a large stock of wholesale clothing laying around... but even if you have to shell out a few bucks for the shirt, onesie, whatever it doesn't have to cost that much to make a cool and unique piece for your trendy little bug.
When Ferris was born I wanted his "going home" outfit to be fun and silly and ABSOLUTELY NOT baby blue or some other piece of pastel horror. I ended up using a plain black American Apparel one piece. I adorned it with a great Simpson's iron-on that said, "Kiss me. I don't have cooties" below an image of Principal Skinner and Miss Crabapple. Super sweet and the iron-on only cost a few bucks.
Since then I have found tons of other great appliques for the kid to sport. A floating head of a shriner smoking a pipe, a t-bone steak, skull and cross bones, etc.
Bottom line: it's a fun way to be a little creative without spending too much of your precious little free time or money!

101 uses for little glass jars

2006-07-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

Before I had my son I was convinced that I would be that supermom that makes all of her baby's food from organic scratch...
The reality is that although I do that as often as possible, Ferris still goes through a daunting amount of tiny jars of baby food and I'm running out of ideas for how to reuse them.
We recycle most of them, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the center only recycles the bottles and cans that offer the refunds and that the rest of the glass and plastic ends up in the dump...so I'm looking for new ideas on how to reuse the army of glass baby food jars that is currently overwhelming my cupboards.
Any ideas for how to use them that doesn't involve homemade cooking?(we already have plenty in use as homemade food storage)

Professor, what's another word for pirate treasure?

2006-06-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

Why I'd call it booty, booty, b-b-b-booty, that's what it is...

So, amidst all of the nasty bum madness my best friend, Jenn, came to visit and to meet Ferris for the first time.
This involved some good times and hangovers for me and her and a whole lot of presents for the young man.

Here are a few of Ferris' fabulous new possessions:

(left to right)
1. double devil- awesome new stuffed fun by jenny harada. we bought this at the grand opening of Twin Hearts.
2. mini gnome-by bla bla. we call him Nomar. Also, a Twin Hearts purchase.
3.decole forks- spoons are in the wash....again, Twin Hearts...I guess I don't need to mention that Twin Hearts is a pretty great store.( They carry Focoloco, too!)
I love these. I have always been attracted to small shiny trinkets and these forks and spoons made me drool. There was no chance I was leaving the store without at least a few sets. All of the websites that I found these on when I did research were sold out. So, if you like 'em and you live in the Berkshires you'll have to check out Twin Hearts.
Actually, all of the Decole stuff is wicked cute. I could see this brand becoming an obssession of mine.
4.Red Converse All-Star Hi Tops- I have never seen a baby look so ridiculously cute in anything like these. Our favorite belated Christmas gift from aunt Jenn.

I've got a mobile 8 month-old with a wicked case of the runs and you want me to do what?

2006-06-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

Ever since my son became mobile at the ripe of age of 6&1/2 months I've had to learn a new mantra.

"The chemicals we use to clean our homes are more harmful to my child than the dirt and germs that inhabit them."

My son discovers one of the dogs toys and slobbers on it before I get a chance to whisk it out of reach...(chant mantra)...he crawls alllll over the kitchen floor and immediately sticks his hands in his mouth...(chant mantra) he makes a bee line for the garbage can...(chant mantra)

I thought I was going to turn into one of those obsessive-compulsive parents that barely lets their child's feet touch the ground and has to run home to boil their binkies after a terror filled 2 second trip to the floor. I refuse to let this happen.
So after 8 successful diaper-rash-free months of life (I'd like to believe has something to do with using cloth diapers, but, hey, I’m no doctor) my son has developed the most heinous case of it.
It all started about a week ago when the diarrhea (cha cha cha) fairy came to visit. I guess sometimes those germs win the battle.

Anyways, the doctor says we just have to let it play out, so a week later I have a son with bright red baboon bum with oozy-bloody sores and it breaks my heart.

The punch line? The doctor says, "Try leaving him without a diaper on as much as possible."

Excuse me? I've got a mobile 8 month-old with a wicked case of the runs and you want me to let him go commando? Are you insane?

So right now we are spending a large part of our days playing in the nice tiled bathroom and playing in the tub.
Just one more perk of running a business from home. You can, if you choose, spend many hours chasing after a leaky bottom.

Jealous?

PIck ME!!! Pick ME!!!

2006-06-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

The baby clothing biz is a competitive market to get into. There is a new "ultra-hip" line of baby products introduced every hour. That sort of challenge has made me really question what I want to accomplish from this endeavor.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about Focoloco being popular among today's parents. It's a residual sickness carried over from those painful years in junior high when all you wanted was to be liked by everyone...and all anyone wanted to do was be horribly mean and cruel to each other.
Sure, popularity as a brand has a lot to do with financial success, but there is a small part of it that is deeply rooted in seeking the approval of the "cool" parents, magazines and boutiques. I've tried to shake it, but it just won't go away.

This need for approval gives me very little satisfaction though. It made me wonder, "What does success mean to me and to this business? What would give me the most satisfaction?"
Popularity is NOT the answer.
So here it is, my vision for Focoloco.
I want the company to be dynamic. Always looking for new ways to improve our products…new designs, new colors, new collaborations.
I want to make the effort to support other cool small business through link exchanges, product reviews and (hopefully in the next few months) creating gift boxes that feature the products of other incredible artists and crafters.
I want to work on finding great organizations to donate some company profits to on a yearly basis.
I want to explore new ways for the company to be a kinder, gentler comany to the environment.
I know we are small, but every little bit counts. Our products are not a necessity. No child *needs* a closet full of clothing and accessories. So I feel like we have a responsibility to find ways to lessen our impact of the environment through our choice of resources, materials, business practices and our choices in the other companies we choose to support and endorse.
I will accomplish all these goals. They are fairly simple and I've seen so many other wonderful business succeed in them.
Sometimes it's slow going.
I am still a full-time mama...there are many days that the mundane details of life take priorty. Laundry, dishes, groceries.
There is also my fabulous son. There are many many hours spent playing with him instead of working, BUT those are hours I gladly give to him. Spending time with him is the reason I do this business in the first place.

Here are a few of the changes Focoloco has made in 2006 to work towards these goals:

1. We have introduced a large selection of American Apparel's Sustainable Editon into our product line. These garments are made with 100% organically grown cotton. We'd love to use this line for ALL of our products, but AA has not yet begun production of long sleeved baby garments and bibs in a Sustainable Line. We do use AA for all our products though. 100% sweat-shop free! How cool is that?

2. We have ditched the plastic boxes we were using for our gift packs. When gift packs reappear on the site they will be packaged in simple, recyclable corrugated cardboard boxes decorated with our funky new custom stamp...and instead of tissue paper filler, we'll be using more colorful shredded confetti created by recycling our old magazines.

3. We don't heavily package our products. We hope that our products are unique and funky enough that they don't require gimmicky packaging to sell them.

4. All of our printed information(brochures, line sheets, labels) are now printed on 100% post-consumer recycled papers.

There is still a lot of room for improvement, but I'll continue to implement more and more eco-friendly practices as time goes on. These are the kinds of projects that truly give me satisfaction as a business owner…and as a mother.

For great shopping that helps support other wonderful small businesses check out Focoloco’s link page

Because "PR for Dummies" told me to...

2006-06-08T06:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here it is, the blog of www.focoloco.com founder, Suzy Helme. Never heard of me? Join the other 8 billion people on the planet who have no idea either.

Do I expect anyone to care about this blog? No, not really, but if some do, how wonderful! Besides, it gives me a home for all the ideas and thoughts spinning through my head that are utterly lost in the conversations between myself and my 8 month-old son. Sometimes I actually have something good to say.
Why start this blog?
Do you really want to know?
Okay, because PR for Dummies told me to. Seriously, it's the truth.
While I'm fairly confident in my skills as an artist/illustrator I am tragically lacking in business savvy...and grammar skills for that matter. Please excuse my random use of correct punctuation, sentence structure and capitalization.
So, yes, PR for dummies told me to. I'd been toying with the idea for a while, but completely forgot about it until I read the chapter in PR for Dummies about using the internet and related things to increase visibility for your business.
I'm sure some people would be embarrassed to admit to using such tools, but I don't embarrass easily and I have no qualms about showing myself for the flawed and often befuddled person that I am.

So, perhaps before you read any further you should check out my site, www.focoloco.com

Please?

Above and beyond being a business owner I am a mother. Actually, that's sort of why the business was started in first place. I've always wanted to be a mom and the idea of having a "career" has always been a secondary thought.
I have a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration and I decided that I wanted to use that skill to allow me to make some money running a small business that would ultimately give me the freedom to stay at home with my family, or at least creat my own schedule so I could be available to my family whenever they needed me.
Focoloco, LLC was started 3 years ago. It has grown from a necessity into a passion. I l-o-v-e my job. I think about it all the time. I get excited when new designs are ready to be printed and when I find new ways to make the business better.