Monday, February 28, 2011

Nothing Sweeter Than A Baby

My mother told me that from the time I could walk I was crazy about babies. In the Chicago suburb where I grew up, people would leave their sleeping babies in the baby carriages without fear while they shoppped. Mom said that I could not (actually would not) pass a baby carriage without standing on tiptoes to look inside to see if indeed a baby was in it. Once we were traveling by train from Chicago to North Carolina to visit my grandparents. We had to change trains in Cincinnati, and it seemed like a long layover to me. There was an adorable little African-American baby dressed in a blue romper complete with matching cap and booties. I could not be still until my mother asked the baby's mother if I might hold him for awhile. His mother gladly agreed, and I entertained myself for the rest of the time playing with this darling baby. I didn't want to get on the next train because he was not going where we were going. Even though I was not old enough to baby sit alone, I never missed an opportunity to hold a baby, play with a baby, talk to a baby, or cut out pictures of babies from our copy of Sears catalog. Needless to say, my dolls were my favorite toys!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Who is Malcolm Mousekowitz?

When my daughter was younger she imagined an adorable little mouse whose name was Malcolm Mousekowitz.  (She loved the little mouse Jerry in the cartoon Tom 'n Jerry).  I was looking for a name and logo for my business so I asked her if I could use Malcom Mousekowitz, and then I found a local artist to produce the logo.  Since I cannot draw, I almost drove him crazy trying to get my idea of what Malcolm should look like to translate into his head so he could create the image.  Fortunately for him, time and money dictated that we stop when he got even close to the picture in my head, and this is the end result.

Who Am I?

Since this is my first post to my new blog allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Marian, and I am the sole proprietor of Malcolm Mousekowitz. To share a little bit about me, my previous business life  included:
  • twenty years with Neiman Marcus where I began as a secretary in Dallas, Texas and was promoted eleven times ending as Vice President-General Manager of Neiman Marcus in San Diego, California.
  • three years as Owner and Innkeeper of The Dock Street Inn in the historic district of Wilmington, North Carolina after refurbishing a 132-year old house and converting it to a bed & breakfast inn.
  • ten years as Executive Director of vocational colleges in Southern California
  • four years as Parish Administrator for an Anglican Church in San Diego
I retired six years ago and relocated to the California desert in Cathedral City.  I did volunteer work for Project Linus knitting and crocheting blankets and assisting the Area Coordinator with computer work.  I love children,knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing and embroidery.  I decided to combine all of those passions to produce handmade clothing and accessories for infants and toddlers.  I persuaded one of my oldest and dearest friends Marie who lives in Texas to join me in this venture.  She is an amazing seamstress, and we have been close friends for over 40 years having met when I worked for her husband in my first position at Neiman Marcus.  The miles between us have not been an obstacle thanks to all of the marvelous technology we have available to us, and we are proud of our first collections which you can see at
http://www.malcolmfortots.com/ and http://www.malcolmfortots.etsy.com/

Personally, I have a secret dream for this business, but at age 71 I hope the business will grow quickly in order to achieve that dream.  In later posts I will let you in on what that secret dream is.