Lydia's Story
A hook for a pocketbook is not a new idea, just a forgotten one. That old hook I had, I found in my mom's drawer, the one full of other household things. "Where did you get it," people asked when I used it. And then I lost it. So, like everyone else, I'd put my pocketbook on the floor in restaurants, on counters in public restrooms, and on my lap in waiting rooms. I hated being uncomfortable, not to mention the thought of the bacteria my bags were collecting.
Once in a coffee shop, I watched a woman with an infant in her arms. A pocketbook was sliding from her shoulder, a shopping bag weighed down her hand. She ordered coffee and struggled to get money out of her purse. Well, if she only had my mom's old hook, I thought, then she could hang her pocketbook and bag and have a free hand. The thought came and refused to leave.
If I started my own business, I mused, I wouldn't buy cheap parts from China. No, my hooks would be made in this country. That was important to me. I wanted them to be classy, and I wanted women to be able to exercise their own taste. We deserve to be comfortable and elegant wherever we are and whatever we're doing.
My husband and my sons are my anchor, my strength. They are always there for me, excited along with me, happy and worrying at the same time.
To have one's own business is thrilling and heart-stopping. I don't sleep. My poor head goes around and around.
