I am a mother, grandmother (Nonni), and wife. I have always been a working woman.

My first job ever was as an arts and crafts teacher at a children's summer camp. Back then, I was a budding artist with no real direction, but as the summer camp was my family's business, the running of that business had to start somewhere. After 25 years, I had worked every job in camp and made my way to the director's chair.

In 2011, after decades of service, it was time to retire. I had given my life to the family business. My children had grown and experienced extraordinary opportunities, and I had reached a goal in life. Now it was time to find my own direction, and that was a return to art. The question was where to go.

I focused on art in high school and college, majoring in marketing, art and design, and advertising. As a youth in Girl Scouts, I learned to sew. As a mom, I helped my mother, who was an incredible seamstress. The world was my oyster, so to speak, but what would satisfy this next chapter of my life?

That same year, my first granddaughter was born. She has a beautiful given name, but my husband and I call her Boopie. Right from the start, she was this adorable little package of joy. My daughter asked if I could make a tutu for Boopie, and so the spark was lit.

Boopies Closet started at craft fairs and local outlets. We specialized in the art of the tutu, and as our business expanded, our product line expanded. We made boy clothing items, themed birthday mini hats and outfits, and newborn and shower gifts, and then we took the next step and went online.

We opened our first Etsy shop in 2012. Warehouse space was limited for inventory, so we decided Etsy would be a good place to produce custom designs, thus reducing inventory storage and making only what we sell.

That same year, we purchased an embroidery machine, and then everything blossomed! We personalized t-shirts and birthday-themed hats and outfit sets; we made a ton of personalized baby gifts and wedding gifts; like Monogrammed towels, napkins and tablecloths. and we still continued our art of the Tutu. We wanted to provide that special item that everyone needed, but in doing that, we became “jacks of all trade” crafters, masters of none.

At that same time, the market became flooded with crafters making similar items, and when Etsy opened to mass producers, we could no longer compete.

We had to make some changes. So, we pivoted to mini hats.

Mini Hats gave us the opportunity to focus on one genre and become masters of the art. We make everything by hand, one at a time, and with so much love that your Boopie will know they are special. We are able to work one-on-one with customers to create a unique topping for their holiday or special event! Our listings give them a starting point, but then we allow them to customize the color or finish they want, etc., so they have a custom piece. The most thrilling orders are still those where a client asks, "Do you think you can make something like...?" Our creative juices fly into overdrive!

In 2020, we were very worried about how we would survive. Fortunately, people were still celebrating via Zoom, and when an occasion came up, we were ready. For instance, an entire family of 12 people wanted us to design a special birthday mini hat for their Zoom birthday party guests, so we did! They each ordered separately; we made all 12 and then shipped them all over the country to arrive in time for the Zoom celebration!