Occupation: I've been a toy inventor and product designer for 32 years. My company, Thin Air, has been in Newtown for ten years. We do everything from logos to working with major corporations. Prior to that I had a life in theater design. I worked at New York City Ballet doing special effects costumes. I did a spider web collar for Suzanne Farrell, I did light-up firefly tails, and 12-foot butterfly wings. I also toured with my own company, called Gramasque, where I wrote, directed, and created costumes. I did television and commercials, too. Somebody saw my work and said they needed a sculptor for The Dark Crystal toy. I applied for the job, got it, and I met my then partner Tim Clarke. After, we decided to do our own toys.

Family: I work with my baby sister, Laureen, at Thin Air. We have a middle sister, Jannine Cellura, who still lives in Ohio. She's a makeup artist, and she is really excellent at what she does. My husband is Duane Langenwalter, and he is our third partner at Thin Air. Also, I have a bunch of fabulous nieces and nephews that I adore.

Pets: I have two dogs. One is a standard poodle named Dante, like the poet. He's 8 years old and has a little brother, Arrow. He's named after a Harry Nilsson song that was in an animation in the 70s, Me and My Arrow. Arrow is a Coton de Tulear.

For five years we lived on Main Street, right where the Labor Day Parade used to line up. We live in Monroe now, but we still love Newtown - our business is here, our church is here, and I am an auxiliary member of the Cultural Arts Commission.How long did you live in Newtown?

What do you like to do in your free time? I like to paint, I love video games, and I like to write.

Do you have a favorite author? I like Stephen King and Dean Koontz.

What is your favorite travel destination? Florence, Italy. It's where my heart is. When I was teaching at North Carolina School of the Arts I took a group of students there for a summer program, and we spent five weeks in Florence sketching. It's a beautiful city.

What is the best part about Newtown? There is such a wonderful sense of community here. Almost anything that you participate in, people are there to pitch in, help out, and make it work.

My grandmother. She was a very wise and incredibly kind-hearted woman. She always had a way of teaching you little lessons. When my uncles and father were renovating her dining room, they had taped the drywall up and it was ready, waiting to be painted. One day she came home with a box of colored chalk. She said, "I want you to draw all over the walls." I drew, and then she told me "Don't be sad, we're going to paint over them, but you and I will know that they're there." Later for her birthday when all the cousins lined up to give her a kiss, she held me close and said, "Do you see? Now your drawings, they look on us."Who has been the greatest influence in your life?

If you could spend the day with one person, who would you choose and why? Maya Angelou. Her poetry really moves me. There is such a strength in her.

Who is your favorite musical artist? Paul Simon.

It came from my least favorite teacher. He was a sculptor teacher. He rarely showed up - he was very casual. We had an assignment we had all been working on for weeks, and he came around for grading and told us to put all our work in the clay bins. Everyone protested, so he said, "Throw the clay back in the bins or I'll do it for you." People put them in gingerly with the intent to later retrieve them. Then he took a hoe and chopped everything up. He stood there in front of the class and said, "You did your jobs, you are artists. You are suppose to create. You've created, now it is time to move on and create again. Let someone else fall in love with it." What I took away from it was a great story that I could tell my students rather than put them through it.What is the greatest piece of advice you have ever been given?