TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

The Picture Of Success

CANDACE C. MUNDY/TAMPA TRIBUNE

Jenifer (cq) Schabes works everyday at being a mother of 2 youngsters and running her In The Pink custom photo jewerly business out of her home. Schabes started the business in 2005 so she could stay connected to the business world while staying at home and being a mom. IN PHOTO--7 year old Madeleine works on creating party favors for an upcoming in-home party for In The Pink. The party favors give the customers who order jewerly from In The Pink something to take home and enjoy while waiting on their custom piece to be finished and delivered. Jenifer and son London oversee the job being done.

ADVERTISEMENT

By ANGELA DELGADO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 22, 2007

Additional Photos

ODESSA - Jenifer Schabes loves and appreciates good photography.

The walls of her home are adorned with portraits of her daughter Madeleine, 7, and photos of her, her husband, Mark, and son London, 2. Many of the framed pictures are in black and white.

Because of her love for photography and jewelry, Schabes wanted to display a photo of her then 6-month-old daughter and herself on a necklace. The problem was, she didn't like how classic lockets keep the picture hidden.

'It seemed like with the typical locket, someone has to come up to you and ask you to open it,' she said. 'Pictures of my kids, so many of them were so pretty it seemed logical to have it open instead of closed, so everybody could see it.'

Schabes couldn't find such a piece so she decided to make it herself. She took one of her necklaces that had a pendant and tweaked it to showcase her photograph.

'As soon as I wore mine out everybody started asking me, 'Where did you get it?'' she said.

This was about August 2004, and by January 2005 she founded In the Pink Designs.

The 20-plus jewelry pieces for men and women are made by a jeweler in Indonesia, and then Schabes applies the black-and-white photographs on them. Customers send digital images to Schabes, who prints them on photo paper and cuts them to size.

She seals them with a bond so the pieces are waterproof and the photos won't yellow. The jewelry, which goes from necklaces to cufflinklike adornments for Crocs, is available in silver and gold.

In the Pink wasn't just about jewelry and photographs; the real inspiration was Schabes' desire to be a stay-at-home mom.

Before Madeleine was born in 2000, Schabes studied to be a paralegal, worked in sales and did accounting and event planning for a company in Sarasota. Once the baby was born, Schabes couldn't imagine leaving her in day care.

'I knew there was no way I could give her up to somebody else,' she said. 'I couldn't let go.'

Still, Schabes wanted something to let her feel like an adult, she said.

She began dabbling in online businesses and sales until she came up with In the Pink, and although it had a slow start, Schabes said the past six months have been her most successful.

Her jewelry was recently used in the celebrity goody bags at the Daytona 500, and in turn her business was mentioned in US Weekly magazine. The bags opened celebrity doors, and Florence Henderson and Deanna Daughtry, wife of 'American Idol' singer Chris Daughtry, are clients. Kate Gosselin, star of 'Jon & Kate plus 8' on TLC, also purchased a bracelet with pictures of her sextuplets - two in each charm. She is going to wear the bracelet when she appears on the 'Today' show and 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' in October, Schabes said.

Although big names are starting to call, In the Pink's roots began with local moms such as Julie Currack of Land O' Lakes.

Currack's first encounter with the jewelry was through In the Pink's sales and marketing director Hethre Smith. She was in a Gymboree Play and Music when she saw Smith wearing an In the Pink piece.

'I saw it on her, and I complimented her on it,' said Currack, 35.

Currack bought a necklace and a bracelet and gave them to the grandmothers of her daughter Lily, 2.

'It's a great gift to give relatives, especially grandmothers,' she said. 'They were gifts, but I plan on buying myself stuff. My mother is going to order more pieces.'

Another fan is Tiffany McMonigle, 36, of Tallahassee. She saw the jewelry at a community expo then took a business card and placed it in her husband's wallet with 'I want this' written on it. He was wondering what she wanted for Mother's Day, and she decided to give him a little clue, she said.

'I was so excited that he actually bought it,' she said. 'I love the bracelet. I wear it every day. I constantly have people asking where I got it. It's so unique, and the pictures are so clear. I always have it on.'

McMonigle loved In the Pink so much she wants to display the line at her child development Baby Power franchise in Tallahassee.

'It's a great way to take something that is so important to you, favorite pictures of your children, and be able to wear them; have it with you all the time,' she said. 'That's what jewelry is all about to me, to have something that means something to you, and you can't get more meaningful than what they make.'

Schabes thanks Smith for her persistence in selling the brand to the masses. Aside from making contact with celebrities and wearing the jewelry, she is helping Schabes hold Pink Parties, which are like a Tupperware party but with jewelry.

Madeleine also helps her mom with the business by packaging party favors for the Pink Parties. Schabes said she keeps her work desk in the middle of the house so she can keep an eye on the little ones. Juggling tasks is part of the battle, and Schabes said she tries to include her children in the business.

'As a parent you have this option to be this example for them,' she said. 'I want Madeleine to know how important it is to stay at home with them, but I also want her to know she doesn't have to lose her sense of self. A happier mom is one who feels fulfilled in her life.'

With 100 of her pieces being worn throughout the nation, Schabes couldn't be happier.

'We just have to keep at it,' she said. 'It takes a lot to get a little back, but I'm anxious to see where we are by Christmastime.'

IN THE PINK DESIGNS

FOUNDER AND OWNER: Jenifer Schabes

FOUNDED: January 2005

BASED: At Schabes' home in Odessa

PIECES: About 20 different accessories for men and women, ranging in price from $100 to $2,000.

CONTACT: Go to www .inthepinkdesigns.com or call Schabes at (813) 300-2877.

Reporter Angela Delgado can be reached at (813) 865-1501 or adelgado@tampatrib.com.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT