It all began when...

Welcome to Lulu's Cottage Company. It is with this first posting that I will tell you the tale of how I got to preparing to open my own retail store. Since my 1st experience 17 years ago with a 9-5 job I knew I would never make it in that world. I have worked in the design arena, advertising, and the mutual fund industry fighting my way to get to a point where I could do what I wanted, be my own boss. I am a very hard worker and look forward to putting that work ethic into something I love. Over the years while working my 9-5 gigs I have always had an outlet for my creative side as not to let it suffocate. I have painted pots and furniture which I have sold, made pillows which I will be posting shortly and dabbled in creating my own "Sara Stewartesk" look. I was married a year ago today and with both my husband's moral and financial support I am now able to take the plunge. It will be a complete team effort as I will need him and all my other family and friends for support. So in a nutshell that is how I got where I am. I am now in the process of drafting my business plan and will definitely be reaching out to others for help and feedback through postings. I am open to any ideas that come my way. Oh and of course the name of my store was inspired by my dear and loving dog Lulu which you see in the picture on the right. She wants to come to work with me and now that I will be my own boss of course that is just fine with me.

More detail on my pillows...

I promised I would supply a little more detail on my pillows which is something I currently am selling. I also plan to continue to make and sell these in my store. I have posted a few pictures and would love to hear some comments back on which ones you may favor. The first one below is of light blues and yellows. These colors are very hard to find in older ties. generally you have a lot of reds and yellows in the older ties. Of course today you see pink ties and green with polka dots. Can't wait to start seeing those in the thrift stores.

This next pillow starts to show off some of the great ties from the 60's and 70's. What a flashback!

Now onto the luscious golds and rich yellows...

These pillows are slightly smaller than most and are mostly comprised of the cut offs from the larger pillows.

Now the blues and reds all with very 60's patterns...

The following pillows were made from ties provided to me by my dear friend Meg. Green ties are not very common to come by and the Brooks Brothers versions used for these pillows are great! I was lucky enough to give the pillows to meg to share with her father. That is actually how I got started on the first business called Retirement. Taking my Dad's old ties and making pillows for him, my brother, and my nephew. It was great to see my Dad's face at Christmas when he saw the pillows and that they would be a memory shared with other generations. My Retirement logo actually uses a tie for the eye. I will post that shortly too.

Finally, I have sachets filled with lavender, cedar, and balsam pine also made from scraps created by making the larger pillows.