Dark Intentions - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,46

made close to a hundred million dollars and promoted it on The Today Show and Good Morning America, they all jumped in on the idea and started their own clothing brands.

"So bags? Purses?” I ask.

"Yeah. Well, you know how much I love purses, and I still have all my contacts with the jean manufacturers since I still have a twenty percent stake in the business. I figured why not try to do something in textiles? Just a little bit different, since I can't compete with my own property, as you know."

I nod approvingly.

On the outside, my mom seems flighty and the type of person that goes wherever the wind takes her, but in reality, she's very focused, very serious, and if she has gone so far as to tell me about it, it's probably been in the works for months.

"Well, let me know, because anything I can do to help. I’d love to see some of your designs."

“I thought you’d never ask.” Her eyes light up.

Following her upstairs, I step on the riser, and I remember that this is the exact spot where Lincoln pushed me when we were kids.

We fought a lot, arguing about anything and everything but mostly competing for attention from our mom.

Of course, I didn't know that at the time. All I knew was that he was in my life too much and she wasn't there at all.

I don't know exactly what precipitated that particular push, but I remember finding myself at the bottom of the stairs, a big gash in my forehead and right above my eye, followed by a trip to the emergency room for seven stitches.

Lincoln was grounded for a couple of weeks, but that hardly bothered him since he stayed in his room, watched television, and played hours and hours of video games anyway.

My mom's office is upstairs overlooking a beautiful sycamore tree with a bench curving around the trunk. Our old Golden retriever, Molly, is buried under that bench and we put it up in her memory. I still can't look at it without my heart closing up tightly.

The office has built-in bookshelves on both sides, filled with mementos and books, as well as boxes of craft projects and art supplies. Ten years ago, Mom started painting and has actually moved her studio to the other guest bedroom down the hall because the paintings were big and took up so much space.

I've always admired her ability to stay busy in one place. She will just toil around this house doing kitchen remodels, working on her paintings, designing clothes, gardening, swimming, throwing a few parties, but all in all, she's a huge homebody, at least at this point in her life.

I, on the other hand, have to be constantly on the move. I get on flights, I live in hotel rooms, I work too many hours all in an effort to stay busy, or maybe just occupied.

I exist on a treadmill, not going anywhere in particular but I press on because it’s really just the physical act of changing locations that’s important.

Mom has a large collection of sample bags ranging from simple tote bags with minimalist, elegant designs to high-end purses for a more elegant and dressed up feel.

"The only thing I would say besides the fact that they're all really well-made and have excellent craftsmanship is that they don't fit with each other."

"What do you mean?" She tilts her head to one side.

"They just sort of feel like they belong to two different brands.”

"Yeah, I had the same feeling. One feels like it's Saks Fifth Avenue, and the other is a little bit more casual, a cross between Free People and Target.”

“Exactly.” I nod. "I mean, both are great but you should figure out where you stand. Do you have a concept for the company as a whole?"

"No, that's what I'm working on. I wanted to make all the samples first, see how I felt about them and then decide which route to go."

"I'd really just pick one at first and stick to it. Build a good audience, a good mailing list, successful Facebook advertising campaign, Instagram, that whole thing prior to expanding. And if you want to go high-end, I mean, you definitely can charge more, but it's a different market, as you know. And then of course there's the sort of Nordstrom prices, high-end but not ridiculous."

She nods. "Yeah. Pricing and positioning the company will be the key thing here."

"Couldn't agree more," I say. "Once you have more ideas