Who We Are

Michelle and her husband of 17 years have 2 young children.  She has a BA in Business with a concentration in Marketing.  She began working for a petroleum based company out of college as a Desktop Publisher and after four years worked her way to the Marketing Director position where she remained for a total of 12 years.  After her youngest child was born she began her own Marketing Consulting business which she still operates.  She enjoys her family, friends and faith.  She also enjoys yoga, traveling, wellness education, volunteering, the ocean and being able to go out with grown-ups for intelligent conversations without peanut butter on her clothes.

Read more about Michelle’s personal interest in Breast Cancer Awareness below.

Karyn and her husband have been married for over 14 years.  They have 3 young children.  She has her MBA and a background in accounting and management. While at Graduate School, she started her own gift basket business which she sold a few years later.   Before her first child was born, she worked at a software company where she worked her way up to Manager of US Business Operations.  She loves to create both with her kids and on her own.  If she can find a free moment she loves to sew, especially for friends and family.  She is a runner and has run 2 marathons to raise money for charity.  She has also coached Track & Field and Cross Country on the college level.  She hopes to get back to coaching someday soon.

Read more about Karyn’s personal interest in Autism Awareness below.

Focus on Giving
How Breast Cancer and Autism Awareness Have Touched Our Lives

Michelle and her family are strong advocates for Breast Cancer Awareness and have been ever since Michelle was diagnosed – twice.  At the age of 38, when her children were 2 and 6, Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer – which was found on a baseline mammogram.  After surgery and hormone therapy, she became a strong advocate.  Her desire to help others only increased when she was diagnosed a second time the following year.  This time the cancer had metastasized (traveled) to her lymph nodes.  After a year of intensive (she was surprised to learn there was any other kind!) chemotherapy, additional surgeries and radiation she is now cancer free!  Grateful for each day and committed to helping others on their journey, she is honored to be able to be involved with a product that allows her to give back.

Karyn’s family, like so many others out there these days, has been busy learning all they can about Autism.  Specifically Aspergers Syndrome.  Her young son was recently diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.  During their search for answers and information, they have been so impressed with, and grateful for, the people and groups out there who have reached out to help.

We want so much for this business to provide us and our customers the means to help these groups help others.  We are driven by the need to give back.  That is why we are committed to giving a percent of each sale to these incredible organizations.

The Tranquility Towel Rack’s Beginning
Told by Karyn

I grew up in a busy household.  With 5 kids and a close-knit extended family, we were constantly holding large get-togethers.  Especially in the summer (since we had a pool and large yard).  My mom was very organized and neat.  In our house, everything had a place and everything was in it’s place.  Unfortunately, the place for wet towels and bathing suits was hung over the fence.  This never sat well with my Mom.  The towels and bathing suits got snagged and the look of the towels hung all over the fence bothered my Mom’s sense of order.

So, my Mom was always on the lookout for something that could help keep the pool area clutter-free and save the towels and bathing suits from getting those snags.  It never dawned on her or me to make something to facilitate such a need.  After all, wood isn’t the best solution for outdoor use and what else could we use?  Then, one day, after looking at some outdoor furniture that we were told was made out of PVC pipe, we had our ‘ah ha’ moment.

The basic design came to us pretty quickly.  It had to be big enough to hold a lot of towels and swim suits and the towels had to be able to fit without being folded.  This would ensure that the towels were easy to hang, would dry quickly and looked neat.  It took quite a while to come up with the final design, but we are thrilled with the results.  We weren’t however thrilled with the pipes.  They had ugly blue printing on them.  They weren’t as rigid as we would have liked and they were starting to yellow in the sun.

So, I did some research and found an American PVC manufacturer which made ‘Furniture Grade PVC’.  I ordered enough material to make a couple of stands for my Mom’s house.  We were thrilled!  They were gorgeous and sturdy and weather resistant and so easy to wipe clean.  Her pool area looked amazing!  We thought it would end there, but people started asking us where we got them and we realized that we were on to something.

I really wanted to try and sell these stands to the public but didn’t have the marketing know-how or time to push the business idea forward.  Luckily for me, I knew just the lady to help me.  I remember saying to Michelle,” I really need your help and expertise.  I can’t afford to pay you.  Would you like to be my partner?”  Well, she gave me an enthusiastic “Yes!” and we haven’t looked back.