October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month September 29, 2014

Here are 5 things you should know or do for the month of October:

One, Get a mammogram.
If you already had one this year, be sure to have next year’s scheduled.
Can’t afford a mammogram? Not an excuse. Between health care reforms, or various agencies, it is affordable. What you cannot afford is to get breast cancer.

If you think a mammogram hurts or you are too busy to have one this year, I can tell you first hand cancer hurts and you can’t believe how busy you will be if you get breast cancer. If you are afraid because what if you do have breast cancer, let me tell you sticking your head in the sand is not a cure for breast cancer!

Two, Make sure all your sisters and friends, get a mammogram.
Go with them or schedule it for them.
Don’t listen to news stories that say you don’t need one every year. If you are under 80 and over 40, get a yearly screening. If you or a loved one has a Mother who had breast cancer you need to be screened 10 years before they were diagnosed.

Three, Know that less than 10 % of all breast cancers are genetic.

If you think breast cancer cannot happen to you because there is no breast cancer in your family, you are WRONG. The two

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leading causes of breast cancer are: Being a woman and too many birthdays.

Four, If you think you are too Fit and too Healthy to get breast cancer, think again!
Breast cancer happens. All it takes is one cell to go rogue. Breast cancer is not a disease that is caught or lifestyle influenced.

Five, Know there is no cure for breast cancer.
I wish there was a cure. Those of us who have had the disease, we are only in remission. My company, Haralee.Com Sleepwear donates a portion of every sale to breast cancer research. During the month of October we double our contributions.

Did you learn a fact? Have you had your mammogram?

My Company’s 10 Year Anniversary! September 22, 2014

It seems unbelievable that our company, Haralee.Com Sleepwear has been in business for 10 years but it is true!

It took me 18 months to research, source and start the company. We launched at the Susan G Komen for the Cure Health Fair in 2004 on September 17^th!

Here is our original photo group. 3 of these women are cancer survivors; all have been touched first hand with cancer. Of the 7 styles we made then we still make 6 although in different fabrics and colors.

Our first manufacturer was the Washington state women’s correctional penitentiary. This group of women sewed clothing for big name companies and I was happy to do business with them too. Never having been in a maximum-security prison it was an eye opening experience. This was way before Orange is the New Black. Doing business with in this facility was also a very different kind of business relationship. I of course had to be checked out more than just my financials. Fabric had to be searched, appointments could not easily be changed and rush orders were never considered.

It was an earned privilege for the women who worked in the sewing plant. They could earn money, use their brain, skills and get a glimpse of the outside world. Most of the women were murderers. They killed their abusive husbands, boyfriends or pimps. Most of the women were mothers. The woman who cut out all my fabric was a bank robber. She was really good with numbers and I had very little waste. I was able to talk with the women, get their input on sewing and pattern compatibility and after my first production run was ready they gave me a fashion show. As far as I was concerned it was a win-win partnership. It only lasted 2 years for our company before the state of Washington shut down the sewing plant.

We went through 3 other manufactures before we found our current excellent manufacturing company. We are using now our 5^th photographer for our model shoots. We had 2 other pattern makers before we found our current one. We really had challenges in buying fabric and now we think we have found the perfect source. We’ve had 3 different looks to the web site in our 10 years. We remained vigilant to our values to keep the company as local as possible, and made in the USA. Shipping has remained true to be efficient and fast and now even free! Our models have always been friends, their daughters, and sisters who are also cancer survivors or touched first hand by the disease.

It doesn’t seem possible that 10 years has passed! This summer I was approached to sell the company. I said no. Not never, just not now. We are only 10 years old!

 

On The Verge September 16, 2014

I was speaking with my sister recently after she had a very exasperating experience. She stated she was on the verge….
Well she was so exasperated that fill in the blank was easy.

I realized we are all often on the verge of something good or bad.
Here is a list that may appear in your conversation:

On the verge of something big
On the verge of losing it
On the verge of a nervous breakdown
On the verge of falling asleep
On the verge of hitting it big
On the verge of discovering a breakthrough
On the verge of hysteria
On the verge of enlightenment
On the verge of a big break
On the verge of extinction
On the verge of exhaustion
On the verge of recovery
On the verge of making it
On the verge of acceptance
On the verge of going Postal

Being on the verge can be very dramatic. It can be a full of exasperation or full of hope. It might take someone a lifetime to be on the verge of some attribute or a split second. Some of us may never act on what we are on the verge of or be the recipient of what is just out of reach.

What are you on the verge?

Behind the Scenes at Haralee.Com Sleepwear September 8, 2014

It takes quite a few people to run Haralee.Com Sleepwear, my company. Every year we introduce 1-4 new styles. We have a photo shoot to introduce the new style and usually take some additional photos of styles and a new group shot.

A lot of planning and scheduling and coordinating goes into the photo shoot before even one picture is taken. We take our photos in our home. We want the look to be informal enough that the customers can see themselves in our line of sleepwear. Most of our competitors use a white background. We have been turned down to sell on Amazon because we don’t use a white background. Some companies use only one model. We use 4-5 different real women as models.

When we have an intern the photo shoot is usually their culmination and the most fun aspect of their internship. This year we didn’t hire an intern because we had The Perfect Intern and her memory is still too fresh!

We cleaned and scrubbed the house and staged it so all the photos would be indoors. We had a new model this year who was fulfilling an item on her bucket list, that is to pose as a fashion model. We were ready until our photographer’s camera could not communicate with her lights. The solution was to take the photo shoot outside. It was damp and cool outside and only one model brought shoes!

It was a scramble to get the shoot completed before the rain started and models had to leave for prior commitments. Frenzy is a good word, but we got it done and I think the look s great.

Here is a shot of our model who is the daughter of another model and is pregnant with her first child.

Here is our newest model. She can scratch off fashion model from her bucket list.

Here is a great behind the scenes look.

Do you have a behind the scenes story to share?