Spring Fevers

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!!

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

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

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

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

1. The quality of being novel; newness.
2. Something new and unusual; an innovation.
3. 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!

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!

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?

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...

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?

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...

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???

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...

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

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?

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*?

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!!!

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...

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.