ECONOMY

PROFESSIONALS

HOME BREW

Inventor Finds Sweet Spot for Diabetics

A2 inventor Eran Bashan plans revolution
of at-home diabetes management.

By Allan Nahajewski

'17 here do great ideas come from? For Eran Bashan, a casual

over Shabbat dinner four years ago evolved
I conversation
into both a new invention and a company to market it.

Because the Ann Arbor resident is known for his love of
riddles and problems, that evening his friend, endocrinologist
Israel Hodish, gave him a doozey to solve: Seek out a better way
for diabetic patients to self-test their blood sugar and adjust
their insulin levels.
(Ideally, diabetics would have their blood work analyzed on a
weekly basis, but requiring patients to visit their physicians that
often is neither practical or economical.)
"I am not a diabetic, and I didn't know much about diabetes,"
says Bashan, 40, who was born and raised in Israel and, at that
time, was studying for his doctorate in electrical engineering at
the University of Michigan. "But I love to solve problems, and I
don't like to see inefficiency, especially in health care."
Bashan and Hodish went to work on the issue and, within
months, developed a Diabetes Insulin Guidance System (DIGS),
a device that uses innovative software to analyze blood sugar
levels and tell patients how much insulin they should give
themselves based on their body chemistry.
DIGS is expected to make its debut early next year in Europe,

Jerry and Becky Eizen; Becky owns Jazzy
Promotional Products.

How Katrina Bore a
Business for Becky

Southfield mom of three
realizes long-held dream
despite nature's wrath.

where the company is on track to clear regulatory hurdles for
the product. Bashan's Ann Arbor-based startup is called Hy-
gieia, which is Greek for health. The company already has seven
employees who are gearing up for the launch.
The new product, which is about the size of a cell phone,
could lead to substantial health care cost savings and, more
importantly, potential health benefits for the user.
"Diabetics are currently self-testing, but months often go by
before their doctors see the data," says Bashan. "By then, the
data is often too old or too voluminous to be of real value." He
added that blood sugar levels can change rapidly, so timely
changes in insulin levels could make a big difference in diabet-
ics' day-to-day health.

DIABETICS SEE PAGE 15

By Yaakov Schwartz

or natives of New Orleans, it's not un-
common to reference life in terms of
"before" and "after," given the changes
wrought upon that beleaguered city
after Hurricane Katrina. For those with
family affected by the storm, it's what
Southfield resident Becky Eizen, founder
of Jazzy Promotional Products, calls
"Katrina's tertiary effect!'
Eizen, 45, raised in New Orleans but
long-since settled in Metro Detroit with
husband Jerry and their three boys,
endured a frantic three-day search, post-
storm, to locate her mother, Yetta. When
Eizen and her mom finally connected,
Eizen also learned the family home had
been destroyed; she cajoled Yetta to
move north and live with her and her
family.
For years, Eizen gave thought to vari-
ous types of home-based opportunities
she could develop. But between her
responsibilities as a recruiter for a major
department store and the struggle to
secure seed money, entrepreneurship
seemed a long way off— until Yetta,
now safely landlocked in Southfield,
provided funding to get the business off
the ground.
Eizen came up with the idea for
what she would eventually name Jazzy
through a friend in the field: "I wanted
whatever business we got into to be a
fun one, and I wanted to have a good
time doing it," she says. "When people
order promotional products, it's not usu-
ally for a sad occasion — it's usually for
something fun."
The new entrepreneur quickly was cus-
tomizing clothing, mugs, pens and other
sundries for local and nationwide busi-
nesses, and her product list grew more
varied as she increased her client base.
However, only a few months into her
venture, Eizen was forced to endure an-
other adjustment to her life: her mother's
untimely death.
Yetta's passing prompted Eizen to dub
the company Jazzy Promotional Prod-
ucts,"... in true New Orleans fashion," she
says. "The name Jazzy is bittersweet for
me; we named it as a tribute in honor of
my mother."
Eizen, who runs the company from
home with help from husband Jerry, a
professional firefighter, has an MBA from
Georgia State University and years of
experience working in retail. She says she
understands that competition from the
Internet and brick-and-mortar stores is
fierce and compensates with a personal-
ity that lends itself well to client services.
"One of our biggest chal-
lenges nowadays is
that people are
-63t, \ ordering online,"
she explains.
"Companies are

I HERE AND NOW

Life's Little Treasures; a Treats Store That Won't Break Your Bridge

Boutiques, businesses and brands you may not know — but should.

By Lynne Konstantin

THE ART OF MINIATURE

(replete with tulle tutu), to block-printed
stationery and jewelry like custom-crafted
lockets and bracelets, embellished with custom-
er-chosen charms of monograms, birthstones,
flowers, animals and more.
"I always wanted to be an artist," says the Birmingham native,
now living in Chicago. "I told this to my mother when I was in
kindergarten, and my parents always supported and encour-
aged that aspiration. As I grew, I found that I really enjoyed
creative problem solving and my interests turned to design, art
and teaching!'
While earning a B.S. in apparel and textile design from
Michigan State University, Silecchia, now 30, headed to New
York City's Fashion Institute of Technology for a year of studying
children's wear before settling in Chicago.
She has worked as a costume designer, bedding designer and
art teacher at the Birming-
ham Bloomfield Art Cen-
ter (which she calls her
..a.A lfr".•••.`
favorite place in Detroit)
ilk
it
.0 Ar
40.40" 410
before turning into and
tIP
entrepreneur while work-
ing as a fashion design
instructor at the Illinois
Institute of Art-Chicago.
Always most happy
when she's creating,
Silecchia says she is most
inspired by three things:
friends and family and
nature.
"Some of my original pieces are inspired by my grandpar-
ents and close friends: The Lil' Flossie onesie is named after
my Grandma Florence Weinberg. She was a huge fan of sassy
jewelry and, in her honor, I created a onesie with reams of beads
and bows!'
Little H Designs are created with non-toxic, water-based inks.
Shop online at littlehdesigns.com or at the Knitting Room in
Birmingham (248) 540-3623. RT

4.. ".

Artist and Little H Designs founder Heather Silecchia.

One of Heather Silecchia's first memories is of
creating tiny houses and villages out of juice boxes
with her sister. When she was 10, she saw a hand-
painted baby shoe in a children's boutique and told
her mother that she was sure she could do that, too.
So she did, as a gift for her new baby cousin — fol-
lowed by scores more for new moms and dads who
commissioned her hand-painted, custom baby shoes
until she was 23. "I've always had a love for all things miniature,"
says Silecchia.
Her passion led her to found Little H Designs, where she cre-
ates children's clothing, keepsake jewelry for moms and kids, and
paper goods. Fresh and whimsical, yet clean and sophisticated,
Silecchia's creations are all one-of-a-kinds.
From adorably simple and sweet T-shirts, onesies and dresses
that are screen-printed by hand with florals, tools or ballerinas

-------

JAZZY SEE PAGE 15
„vmiwauwwwwipsimnnssrtpwpwwimpipwnpppk

EASY ON THE DENTURES
Heading Up North for a late-summer fling? Be sure to stop at the Taffy
Barrel on Bridge Street in Charlevoix and fill up a basket with old-fash-
ioned treats.
In a throwback to the nostalgic general store, the Taffy Barrel doesn't
disappoint — with its hardwood floors, turn-of-the-century tin ceilings
and Lake Michigan breezes wafting through the open door.
There you'll find Sandie and Rick Root welcoming you, proffering
samples of their finds: more than 90 different flavors of gourmet salt-water
taffy brimming over old oak barrels.The pair searched across the country
until they found a family in Salt Lake City, that had exactly the recipe they
wanted of soft, creamy, whipped nougat-style taffy — chewy, but doesn't
stick to your teeth the way traditional taffy does.
All of the taffies are peanut, tree-nut and gluten free, certified kosher
and made fresh the day the Roots order them — so that they can control
the freshness.
The Taffy Barrel also offers a large selection of sugar-free taffies; and
plenty of classic sweets, too, like Mary Janes, Slo-Pokes, Black Cows and
4 more. Just try and stick to your diet. The Taffy Barrel, 211 Bridge St., Charle-
voix (231) 547-9280. Fill your virtual basket at thetaffybarrel.com . RT

•

12 August 2011

I RFD THUM

SUPPORT FOR THIS PAGE HAS BEEN UNDERWRITTEN, IN PART, BY

Quicken Loans

www.redthreadmagazine.com

