In The Beginning
Carol Duvall Show : Episode CDS-132 -- More Projects » Businesswomen Jean Kievlan, Barbara Burnett, and Suzanne McNeill take us back in time to recount how they turned their respective crafts and expertise into a shared business and livelihood.
Suzanne, president of Design Originals, realized that a home business was a necessity when she became a single mother with four children. She did not want to leave the children at home to venture into the outside working world to support them. "So I thought, How hard can it be to put some pattern books in an envelope and stick them in a mailbox? " Suzanne says. She went from being a novice to an expert work-at-home mom. Suzanne began by selling pattern books to shops and attending craft conventions. She learned some lessons quickly, such as that people don't just automatically pay for what they receive; they have to be billed. Along the way, she learned a lot more about running an operation from home, such as dealing with UPS, and -with business booming- how to obtain and operate a forklift!
Empty-nest syndrome was the push that propelled Barbara Burnett, who is now the Director of Media for Design Originals, into the business of home crafting. Shortly after Barbara started selling her crafts, she met Suzanne through a friend. Due to Barbara's punctuality, responsible attitude, and obvious talent, Suzanne decided that she would be a great asset for Design Originals, and hired Barbara on the spot.
Jean Keivlan's story is a bit different from those of her colleagues. Jean, who is now Design and Education Coordinator for Design Originals, started selling her crafts because her daughter needed $5,000 worth of braces and the family did not have dental insurance.Now considered a blessing in disguise, her daughter and son became involved in the business, as well.Always on the lookout for new talent, Suzanne discovered Jean's famous (or infamous) "Spooly" dolls at a craft show and invited Jean to submit a pattern packet to Design Originals. Jean, by then a savvy businesswoman, submitted not only that pattern kit, but 30 more for various crafts. She has since written books about her crafts and continues to be a Design Originals demonstrator.
