A Quilted Jacket with a Story to Tell

So many of you know I grew up with my mom’s business inspiring me to launch my own business (I started in high school with my teddy bear business and then post-college with Indygo Junction). Bertha’s Bed was my mom’s partnership with her good friend, Peggy. They took antique quilts and made them into pillows, jackets, and vests.

Sometimes I would use left over pieces from the quilts to make teddy bears and that is really where I got my start in pattern making. Later my mom opened a retail craft store to teach teddy bear making that grew into a gift and clothing store, Donna’s. 

Here’s an article from the Des Moines Register dated 1976 that my mom’s business partner Peggy recently sent me.

This photo and article really got me thinking about the opportunities and exposure to creative people I was fortunate to be surrounded by at an early age. I think of Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, that focuses on how circumstances in life contribute to success. My circumstances were unique and definitely influenced my successes with Indygo Junction. My mother’s entrepreneurial spirit no doubt is in my genes but beyond that her businesses afforded me the opportunity to start young learning about retail, wholesale and trade shows. But one of the things that had the most impact were all the creative people who were a part of her store’s community! Some, like Patrick Lose became designers for Indygo Junction. Thanks Mom!!

Here are some photos of her last Christmas season. “Donna’s” was a retail store in Valley Junction, West Des Moines, Iowa (coined Every woman’s favorite store!) and it thrived for 25 years until it closed in Spring of 2007.