https://www.etsy.com/listing/514903650
Have I got a story for you!
Noah has come a long way from the little baby who would fall asleep in his infant carrier if left unstimulated for more than 5 minutes. At 10, Noah has no trouble staying up with his 6 siblings still at home; he fits right in with his church friends and neighbors, and he absolutely hates anything that even resembles resting except at night.
Our family has been undergoing some changes as my Etsy embroidery business is coming into its own, and we are shifting from relying on corporate America to sustain us financially to exploring more local opportunities and flexing our own entrepreneurial muscle with several family businesses.
Andrew’s expertise is keeping him in business development with an eye towards entering the field of property management in the Austin/Dripping Springs/Wimberley area, and I (Alyson) have my machine embroidery business over at http://www.21reasons.etsy.com.
Leah (15) has been learning everything there is to know about essential oils in hopes of developing a product line of functional essential oil products. She is also entering into the field of pyrography, which combines her artistic ability with an application in wood burning. More to come on that!
Andres (13) has started his own lawn care business specializing in mowing and weed-eating. He went from having to borrowing his dad’s mower to acquiring his own and then adding a leaf blower and weed-eater all within a few weeks.
Eden (12) is our resident animal expert. She is quite the animal rescuer, nursing every little thing that comes along back to health against all odds. She does the impossible. Think you have to have an incubator that automatically rotates eggs to hatch chicks? Apparently you don’t; well, at least Eden doesn’t. Her latest feat was hatching several eggs that had been abandoned by their mother hen, and all she had was an old heat lamp and a plastic bin. She has a thriving egg business here in Wimberley, Texas.
That brings us to Noah (10). Noah’s been watching with great interest all the money that the kids have been earning (and spending).
Before I go much further, let me give you some background:
THE STORY: Visiting with a dear friend one afternoon, she shared with me how much her father, who has advanced Parkinson’s disease, enjoyed this fantastic reversible sequin pillow that he could run his hand back and forth over to change the sequin colors. A color fanatic myself, I was totally intrigued and set out to find one of these pillows for my son, Noah, aged 10 with Down syndrome. After searching high and low I came across one in a retail establishment for $30. I snatched it up, brought it home, and Noah LOVED it! Well, so did his siblings, all 6 of them! It wasn’t long before other people we knew started coming to mind as needing to have one of these pillow. Using my contacts in the embroidery business, I came up with higher-quality zippered reversible sequin pillows that I could assemble for $20 a piece before embroidery – 33% less than what our first pillow cost us.
We passed one of our completed pillows along to a neighbor with severe autism who is usually nonverbal. After we showed him what it did and gave him time to process the information, we were surprised to hear him say Gracias. He spent the next two hours tracing patterns in the pillow and now keeps it by his side. We’re delighted!!!!
As I started putting the pillowcases and pillows together that we were gifting to our friends, I realized this was work that Noah could do, with some help. That’s how Noah’s Mermaid Pillows were born.
THE PROCESS: The pillow covers are manufactured, and I add an embroidered name to the back if requested. Then the components are assembled, bagged and labeled for shipping. For the pillows Noah assembles, he takes the pillow cover, unzips it, inserts the pillow (which, believe it or not, takes some serious coordination to do all the pulling and tugging and stuffing), and zips up the cover. For every pillow Noah stuffs (starting at 5 a week), he receives $5 – $1 for spending money, and $4 to go towards the speech therapy and therapeutic horse riding at
http://www.RedArena.org that helps to keep him at his best. Our hope is that we could give back to Red Arena and allow the scholarships they have so graciously gifted to us to be passed on to another child. Noah will participate in some way in every single Noah’s Mermaid Pillow order. Every packing slip will be hand-signed by him; he’ll also be helping in the packing and shipping department. This will introduce him to processes and procedures necessary in business with an eye towards meaningful employment or a greater role in
http://www.21reasons.etsy.com in the future.
On our first pillow-assembling session, Noah stuffed 6 pillows, and our work time quickly turned into a speech therapy/occupational therapy session (with awesome cooperation from Noah). We practiced talking about everything we were doing; zip, open, push, pull, etc. We also practiced our colors as each pillow had two colors depending on which way you swiped it. As soon as we get our first order, Noah will practice counting money, fulfilling orders, printing and placing address labels, signing orders, etc. And I’m thinking he’ll be adding a special sticker to each mailout as well – we are still trying to capture each occupational therapy opportunity possible. Noah will also be going to local businesses that have waiting rooms, introducing himself, and with some help, asking for an opportunity to leave a pillow as a gift and for advertising purposes.
Are ya catching our vision? Let me know, because I have some ideas on how you can help. Just leave me a note in the comment sections and I’ll get back to you!
For those wishing to purchase one of Noah’s Mermaid Sequin Pillows, follow the link . . .
Blessings,
Alyson
wordsofhisheart 