About Jo

Some people’s lives are a novel and others are a series of short stories.  I feel that I have been very fortunate to experience all that I have:  From the corporate world, to being an entrepreneur, an artisan, teacher, coach and mentor. I hope you find my story inspiring and helpful.

The Seed was Planted

I have always been a person who loved fashion, beauty and uniqueness. It all started with my Mom, when she used to make her and me matching outfits – I thought that was just the best!  As I got older, my Mom taught me how to sew.  By the time I was 14, I made my own clothes.

Owning My Passion

My parents didn’t know it yet, but all their hopes for me to become the doctor in the family were about to come crashing down.  Two weeks before the start of pre-med school, I announced that I wasn’t going.  You can fill in the blanks on that piece of news.  On top of that, I announced that I wanted to go to art school!  “Art is what you do as a hobby,” I was told. I had to get training for a real job.  That moment held my first realization that following your passion is not always the easiest road.  I got a job in a fabric shop and enrolled in evening classes at a fashion design school, where I earned a scholarship.  I married; my husband’s band became a bit successful, touring with the Beatles, playing private parties for the Rolling Stones, and hanging out at Atlantic Records in NYC.  I began making clothes for rock ‘n’ roll bands. This life was very exciting – the seed growing!  It all came crashing down when I became pregnant – the responsibility of real life was too much for the relationship.

Determined

Now I really had to learn how to make a living, and I was determined to do it in something I loved.  I managed to get a full scholarship to fashion design school, where I won numerous awards and was recognized as “a designer likely to succeed” by a major Boston newspaper.  I was off to make my mark!

In the beginning…

Upon graduation, I was fortunate to land a job on Newbury Street – Boston’s most prestigious thoroughfare, as a designer and pattern maker. The shop specialized in leather and fur custom orders.  I found myself designing clothes for professional athletes as well as people who wanted something really special. There was a line of outer wear for men, women and children – my son had the best little leather jackets and shearling vests!

Expanding

I experienced a major turning point soon after my admission to Massachusetts College of Art, where I became a Textile major.  I was making very sculptural clothes – what would later be termed wearable art.  Here I go again…ahead of my time!  Because the department head felt that they were not appropriate for the Textile Department, he gave me a horrible review. I was devastated. Having had previous successes in my life, I knew I could design and create beauty that people loved. Funny how I kept coming home to myself – often in what seemed the worst of circumstances.  I quit school and opened my own shop outside of Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA.

Courage to be OUT There

Well, there I was.  I hung out my shingle DEMETRA, Couturiere. I created a line of clothes and bags that were made on-site.  My wonderful assistants then are still friends today.  I hung the clothes that I made in art school and they received a wonderful reception, including an invitation to be part of a show at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, numerous newspaper articles and, The Massachusetts Arts Council recognition.  This publicity attracted people that I never thought would cross my path:  Lauren Bacall, Leslie Bogart and Caroline Kennedy were a few of my private clients.  More publicly, the studio designed and oversaw the manufacturing of flight attendant uniforms and professional cheerleader’s costumes.

Challenges of the Mompeneur

My business was doing well, but my shop was 35 miles away from home – a home with two teenagers and a second marriage that desperately needed me to make this blended family work.  These pressures forced me to close the shop and move my consulting business to a home studio.  The business changed, yet continued to flourish.  I also taught design, pattern making and merchandising at The School of Fashion Design and Endicott College. On the home front, despite my best efforts, combining family and entrepreneurship proved to be too much for me.  I found myself needing to rethink the next steps of my life.

The Corporate World a New Seed  Sown

When a friend set up an interview for me at MAST Industries, I hardly knew exactly what I was getting into.  MAST was the sourcing and product development branch of the Limited Corp. I was hired to manage the pattern and sample room for all divisions:  Limited, Express, Victoria’s Secret, Lane Bryant, Cambridge Dry Goods and Abercrombie & Fitch. My diverse fashion and entrepreneurial background, as well as my strong technical skills were the perfect fit.   Within a year, the divisions advanced to breaking even; I had put systems in place ensuring that only samples that had a chance of becoming an order were made.  I standardized the grade rules for each division, working directly with designers, buyers and graphic artists to be sure we were making what they really needed.

Within the second year, I became the company’s technical advisor, co-authored the company’s quality manual, developed factory procedures, and taught seminars in Asia.  We made huge progress, and I received two corporate awards.  I then transferred within the company to do product development and design for Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F).

A Fabulous Opportunity

After A&F, I decided I wanted to take the summer off and enjoy living by the beach.  Well, my summer off turned into 10 days off!  I was checking out available opportunities, never thinking I would find something quickly – and only two miles from home.  It was Cyrk, a small promotional company that had just landed a $52million contract developing the Marlboro Gear, and they didn’t have a clue how they were going to do it all.  I walked in with the experience they needed. For me, it was like having my own business in so many ways. I was given a lot of leeway and opportunity to grow, and had mentors to help me with the calculated risks.  My department grew to a $150-million-dollar operation.

This was when I began to realize how much I enjoyed mentoring and watching my team grow.  I traveled for several years as much as six months a year, making products in as many as six countries at a time (Asia, Central and South America and the Middle East).  So, I needed a really strong team. I learned as much about people as I did about building and running a successful business.  Aside from this being a fabulous opportunity for me, the people that I mentored went on to have their own fabulous careers as entrepreneurs, directors of sourcing, designers and interior decorators.  From this I realized that mentoring was one of my best skills and passions – understanding the goals of others and helping them achieve them.

A Gentler Pace

After eight years at Cyrk, I finally got my summer off and had time to think about the next phase of my life.  Demetra was reborn as a company that provided manufacturing consulting and mentoring, interior design, jewelry design, and image consulting.  My consulting and mentoring was focused on new entrepreneurs and small companies.  I was profitable in my first year.  Our world changed – as did the business world – with the horror of 9/11.  Several of the small businesses with whom I worked closed, and my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Grace Happens

Grace does happen! I was offered a low-key position designing handbags and shoes for the Avon catalogue through Li & Fung, a Chinese trading company, which had a satellite office in my area.  It was an answer to a prayer: They understood the family obligations I had, as well as my desire to hold onto my fledgling business – truly a very unusual situation.  After my Mom passed, I was promoted and the gentle pace was gone.  I was managing a $3-million account that grew to $12 million, as I continued to design some of their top sellers.  One tote set sold a half million pieces.  When the office moved to New York, I chose to stay by the ocean, continue my manufacturing consulting; image consulting and jewelry design work, and really develop my passion:  mentoring entrepreneurs and small businesses in developing their products so they can get it right the first time!