Chapter Two-Frances

Jude and I have a saying: “Just go for it,” it sums up our approach to business and life. That’s why, in the Dulles airport that day when my zipper set off the security alarm and the guard asked me to remove my jacket, I did. But, it wasn’t without a fight. I tried to explain that the very soft, supple, and thin leather outer garment wasn’t really an “outer garment,” like a coat. It was more like a shirt or a blouse and underneath I had on nothing but a bra.
The guard’s facial expression suggested either disbelief or dis¬regard. His job was a simple one. Keep anyone with metal objects on their person from leaving his presence until presented with solid evidence that there were no weapons involved.
I can offer only one defense. This was in early 2002 and I hadn’t been traveling much since the 9-11 tragedy forever changed all of our lives. It’s sad that so many things have changed since that horrible day and how we get from point A to B was just one of them. Who knew a zipper would set off alarms? At least one person didn’t.
“Remove the jacket,” the guard said again in a firm monotone.
“Okay, sport.”
A roar went up and the entire scene dissolved quickly. The guard gasped. Cat calls and hoots came from the male passengers in line and I was promptly ordered to cover myself up.
Everything Jude just said is true with one exception. I wouldn’t characterize us as Abbott and Costello. We are more like Lucy and Ethel. Jude is Lucy-like because she is constantly dreaming up cre¬ative, and in some cases, wacky new sales and promotion ideas for our line of jewelry. But she always looks at the big picture. In that sense, she is the driving force.
I’m Ethelesque because I’m the details person. I love the minutia of daily operations and organizing things.
She loves serendipity.
I like planning.
We both firmly believe that it is our divergent personalities and talents that make us such a good team, and great friends.
There are, however, at least two places where we share common ground. First, we both have a insatiable creative itch. I was an interior designer for 15 years before I had the pure luck to meet Jude.
Prior to our meeting at a yard sale, Jude had been a freelance photographer for several years and had been designing and selling jewelry while simultaneously struggling to be a good and attentive mom.
The other commonality we share is our ability to throw cau¬tion to the wind—not in a dangerous fashion, but more like passionate explorers. We can’t wait to see what’s around the next corner. And though I’m a planner, more often than not, even I‘m not always prepared for what it might be.
In that vein, I’m a bit embarrassed to say that after three years of being in business together, we still don’t have a business plan and probably never will.
So many people have helped us along our journey. Take for instance the buyer at Manheim’s—not the actual name—an upscale retailer, which was the second store to buy our jewelry. She was very good at her job and quite successful, but a bit unorganized, or so we thought at first.
It was in the early going and we had just landed a big sales con¬tract with this store. We had practically no cash left after paying for the production of the first line. We also had subsequently no money left for paychecks, so we had to invoice quickly. In fact, we sent a bill with the first shipment, something unheard of in the retail jewelry business.
But hold on, not only did the store pay the invoice right away; the check was for more than the amount due. I was afraid to deposit it for fear that the almighty retailer would accuse us of theft. I called the buyer immediately.
“Doris, you’ve overpaid us,” I said.
“No, we haven’t.” Was her quick and decisive reply.
“Yes, you have,” I asserted.
“No, Frances, we haven’t.”
That was as far as I got with her. There followed several months of my calling Accounting, trying to convince them that we weren’t thieves and asking what we should do with the extra money. That was the beginning of a fascinating relationship with this woman who, though later terminated, turned out to be one of our guardian angels.
If I had to give you a simplistic formula for how we made it, I would say: Leap of faith (courage) + persistence + creative thinking + luck = success, or at least fulfillment, and that’s so much more important and long lasting than mere happiness.
It seems that every worthwhile endeavor begins with that all¬important initial leap. It may be over a dark cavernous, emotional valley, the depth of which is unknown, or just a large financial chasm.
Sometimes, that faith leads to astounding rewards. Other times, it just results in one hell of a ride. Either way, for me it’s better than standing in one spot looking backwards at the safety of what was.