Determined Sisters Showcase Creations For A Cure

By Laurie Borst

In September 2005, Abbi Winters was beginning third grade at Hawley School, but third grade did not go as anticipated. Abbi was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a malignant form of cancer. She spent most of the year undergoing chemotherapy, apheresis, and localized radiation.

Treatment has gone well. Abbi still has a course of medication she will be taking until March, but she feels “Fabulous!”

So fabulous, in fact, that she has started a business with her older sister, Morgan, to raise money for cancer research. Colorful Creations for a Cure started in August. “Everyone has been so nice to me,” Abbi said, “I want to give back.”

While Morgan, a sixth grader at Reed, was away at summer camp, Abbi started beading. When Morgan came home, the sisters would do beading together and the idea of a business grew. Abbi had started out working with elastic cord.

“We decided to take a class on beading and learn how to work with silver wire. Garden of Beadin’ in New Milford was where we went,” said Morgan.

From there, a cottage industry has bloomed. A corner of the family room has become a neatly organized workshop. Abbi created the name and designed the logo. Morgan did the computer work and made cards, with the logo, that hold the pairs of earrings. Earrings and bookmarks are the biggest part of the girls’ inventory.

The sisters found elegant bags for packaging their creations. When an item is purchased, it is wrapped in brightly colored tissue paper, slipped into a bag, and a receipt is written.

Abbi and Morgan are very professional. They wear matching velvet blazers when showing their wares. Their first event was the Labor Day Flea Market. They have attended a half-dozen shows locally since. Some items have been sold at the Oncology Clinic at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

This weekend, they will be at the Hawley School PTA’s Holiday Shopping Event on Saturday, December 9, and the Holiday Craft Festival at the Edmond Town Hall on Sunday.

All of the profits the girls have earned goes to cancer research. They have sold about $1,400 in bead creations, with $500 going to research. Getting set up for beading requires a bit of an investment in nice beads. Patti Winters, the young ladies’ mother, said the girls recently received a donation of beads.

The girls have been shrewd entrepreneurs, going to the Christmas Tree Shop to look for bargains. They are also creative in the use of items they find there. A giant margarita glass draped in black lace became an excellent backdrop for the bookmarks. Drying racks standing on end displayed earrings.

“Their young brains aren’t hard-wired yet,” said Mrs Winters. “They think outside the box.”

These innovative thinkers make all the products they sell. While they have some Santas and snowmen in quantity, all other designs are unique. Why?

Abbi says, “There’s too many designs to make the same thing twice.”

Abbi’s trademark design is a little doll. With colorful beads for head and body, wire for limbs, and coils for hair, Abbi’s doll are delightful.

And the business is a family affair. Besides the young artists, dad is their roadie, hauling their wares around. Mom drives them, does the pricing and bookkeeping, and holds bragging rights.