those times we have our brain cells all to ourselves,"
says Schankler. But, she adds, "I can always pick up
my daughter [now 14] from school, and I could go
to every single basketball game." She also aspired
"to create a business that is purely ours and not dic-
tated by corporate conventions or bottom lines," says
Schankler. "We'd love to be rich, but it is more impor-
tant to us to enjoy what we do and to take satisfaction
from our accomplishments. Besides parenthood, there
is no joy greater than succeeding on your own terms."
Who: Shelley Weingarden V
What: The Groovy Baby Store
What they've got: Vintage style, rock and retro plus
custom iron-on tees for infants and toddlers.
Pilutti andtchankler'get a surprise from Mike Tarasow, 5,
son of an Oliebollen.com employee.
A
Who: Margaret Schankler and Deb Pilutti
What: Oliebollen.com
What they've got: "Our products are chosen for their aes-
thetic beauty and simplicity. They are largely natural fiber, so
the kids are comfy, and the parents love the way they look.
Our styles are sometimes hip and funky, sometimes classic
and nostalgic — but never boring or cutesy."
When Margaret Schankler's daughter, Dory,
was 5, Schankler and her husband, Steve
Glauberman, became friendly with a Danish
family living near their home in Ann Arbor. "I
was really influenced by the way they dressed
and the things they brought with them from
Denmark," explains Schankler, 48. "They had a
very old-fashioned sensibility, and their clothing
was made mostly from natural fibers. Instead of
having lots of sweaters that get thrown in a ball
and melt in the dryer, they would have one really
nice sweater."
Inspired, Schankler — a former corporate
marketing writer who grew up in one of two
Jewish families in Muskegon before her family
moved to New Jersey (she returned to Michigan
after college) — began looking at children's
things in all areas of design. After her friends
returned to their native Denmark, Schankler and
her family embarked on a visit; while there, she
saw an exhibition of modern design in children's
furnishings and, she says, "I fell in love with it,
just like anyone falls in love with any aesthetic."
Upon her return, in 1998, Schankler set
about developing an online children's boutique,
selling clothing, toys, books and more. She
recruited Deb Pilutti, a freelance designer work-
ing for Schankler's husband's interactive devel-
opment company, to handle the site's graph-
ics. Having no money to pay Pilutti, Schankler
tr-
C.
offer ed her a portion of the company. Pilutti
— who has a daughter, Kyle (15), and son, Jack
(12), with husband Bob — accepted the offer. Together,
Schankler and Pilutti launched Oliebollen.com the following
year. Oliebol, the Dutch word for a deep-fried holiday cake,
"just felt right" for the business owned by two women with
"a stubborn addiction to childish living," says Schankler.
Wanting kids to be kids, albeit beautifully dressed, the site
is fresh, playful and whimsical. "We hope that it will remind
harried parents to have fun themselves."
Appropriately, after years of paying their corporate dues
and learning their trades, there were two considerations
at the heart of Schankler's decision to open her boutique
online rather than with bricks and mortar. "E-commerce
technology was the key to enabling us to merge home
and work. The 24-hour, unattended aspect of the Internet
enabled me to both be as involved as a parent as I wanted
to be and have a business. It allows us to work when we
have the time — usually late at night or early in the morning,
Shelley Weingarden has made a hit on the party
scene. Late nights at clubs? Not for this working mom.
Tupperware? Not exactly.
Weingarden throws T-shirt parties. When her son,
Brandon, was an infant, she realized just how picky she
is about what wore. "I had no interest in kids' clothes
before I had my son. But when he came along, it got
more interesting. I didn't want clothes with soccer balls
and teddy bears," says Weingarden, who still works
full time for an ad agency in newspaper negotiations. "I
also realized how hard it can be to get an infant out of
the house and shop when you work full time."
So she found herself scouring the Internet after the baby
was asleep for unique items she couldn't find locally. What
began as a hobby — "and still is," she adds — blossomed
into the Groovy Baby Store, which she runs out of the Berkley
home she shares with husband Kevin and Brandon, now 2 1/2.
Nostalgically retro t-shirts and onesies with rock themes ("I'm
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en's merchandise.
Only Doing This Until My Band Gets Signed" and "ZZ Tot"), hip
sayings ("Elmo is my homeboy") and the just-plain adorable
("Miso Cool" and "Lock Up Your Daughters") are available on T-
shirts and onesies, most for around $20.
And though the business' Web site is now up and running
(thegroovybabystore.com ), the bulk of Weingarden's success
is through word of mouth and T-shirt parties. A mom will volun-
teer her home and Weingarden, 33, does the rest: She sends
out invitations, handles responses, provides munchies and, of
course, brings along her products, including a heat press to
custom make tees from her more than 80 iron-ons to choose
from. "It makes it a fun night out for moms who can meet with
friends and shop around their own schedule," says Weingarden,
who also will bring her wares to individuals' homes by appoint-
ment so moms can shop while the little ones nap. "There are no
presentations and no pressure to buy," says Weingarden. "And
there are no clothes with ducks, froggies or bears!"
3
248.930.6256
AnabelFitness.com
Upstairs Merri! ' ■ Nood
251 Merrill Stri , e- f.
quite 20 0
Downtown
JNPLATINUM • OCTOBER 2006 •
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