October – Margie and I flew to Los Angeles to meet with our agent and her interpreter. We reviewed the entire spring line for petites, plus, and petite-plus women’s professional wear. This is the fun part – designing and picking out fabrics and colors.

September – Started attending marketing class. Developed the PR materials. Found a pair of sisters that have added their line of Juice Box Bags to our site. I needed help and Kay Hess has come in and keeps the web updated for you.

August – Things change quickly. I hired another technical designer, Margie Hess. I started designing the spring line. Also worked on financing. Managed enough financing to take care of the first season.

July – So what does a normal day look like? First, there is no such thing as normal, but I have tons of fun learning new things and exploring. I get up typically when I wake up, check e-mail, do a few of hours of research, and constantly hack away at the to-do list. Many things on my list are one-time events, such as finding a customs broker or researching shipping companies. Some days I work on articles, either writing or editing. Then there is the task of website updates and reviews. Last and so very not least, is the never-ending accounting. Fashion design isn’t all glamour - trust me!

June – Rented a warehouse close to home. It has an office and bathroom. I am getting closer to launch, and it is exciting! The information and patterns that went out in May have been translated to Chinese, and I have since received questions regarding the designs. We had a petite focus group to look at the developing spring line. I hope to have some fabric and quality samples back in July for the fall line, so things are chugging right along!

May – My fall line was shipped to Taiwan for manufacture. The packages included patterns, fabric samples, finished examples, and technical specifications. It was such a big step that a celebration ensued. In attendance on a warm spring evening were 40 close friends with great food, music, and fun.

April – I have hired a technical designer, Cara Penry. What does a technical designer do? She takes the designs and develops dimensions and pattern numbers, then makes the patterns and samples. Let’s just say I’m grateful to Cara - what made me think that I could make a pattern?

March – I am struggling to find a technical designer. I may have to teach myself how to do this. I went to Florida to check on mom and on the way back to Ohio, I stopped in Savannah. Every year they hold the nation’s second largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and my good friends Knot Fibb’n, were playing. I definitely saw some interesting fashions that weekend, including a few dresses on males that would never make the runway!

February – My mother has a heart catherization and a stent put in. I spend time in Florida and keep an eye on her. The joys of an Internet company; you can work from anywhere. At 78, my mom even has broadband. Don’t even think about taking away her technology.