I started life in Boulder, CO as a writer of lyrics and poetry. After high school, I won a scholarship to the University of Colorado where I realized that I needed to be a good salesperson to get anywhere in life. My first management gig came at an all-natural fiber clothing boutique on Pearl St. Mall where I learned that talent is great, but accounting is a required life skill. My friends encouraged me to become a stylist when they saw that I could not only design window displays but makeup and hair as well. So I ventured on to 4th and Lincoln in Denver where I lived on the second floor with my broken wine glass collection and vintage Las Vegas silverware that I found at a garage sale. The adventure continued when I moved to San Francisco with $100 in my pocket, the help-wanted section of the San Francisco Chronicle, and directions to the nearest bus stop. Eventually, I got serious about education and survived four years of full-time work and school. I'll never forget FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) graduation day at Radio City Music Hall. As we threw our caps in the air, I knew that my time had come. I was finally a designer who had no idea that merchandising and marketing was going to be such a large part of my future.