My Seasoned & Savvy Story  

The Short Version: I’ve stepped into a new season, infusing my years of personal and professional experience together with my artful and imaginative skills. As a business creatives’ coach, I’ve expanded my existing work with women, engaging and uplifting talented, creative professionals as they build thriving businesses they love. I invite you to visit BizCreatv to learn more and the Creatv Catalyst for coaching program specifics and to connect with me.

The interesting (longer version) backstory…

Welcome to the story of how Red & Rugged began...

From a young age, both “Rugged” and I have been hard-working individuals, doing what it takes to create opportunities and deliver a quality experience.

As the “Red” in this duo, I began delivering newspapers in sixth grade, having no idea it was the start of a long connection to content. “Rugged” began mowing lawns and shoveling snow in Pennsylvania, just a few miles from me, although we didn’t know each other back then. We were both serving customers in elementary school when you could still go door to door and work for your neighbors.

Growing up, I started writing in notebooks and exchanging them with friends as we documented our challenges and triumphs. This creative passion remained a constant. In business, I took a traditional corporate route, promoted from sales to business development to management until I ultimately made the life-changing transition to a strategic-backed start-up. I quickly learned how much I loved the entrepreneurial community. I launched my first business to write about entrepreneurs, then added events and launched a national magazine – all things that I had never done before. Venture capital groups hired me to assist young companies in their portfolios en route to acquisition.

Without preplanning this path, I developed a deep background in working with entrepreneurs, investors, economic development, and other community leaders. Next, I accepted opportunities to run multi-million dollar state programs, launch and manage start-ups' investments, and identify and support strong entrepreneurial teams. All of which opened the door to national recognition.

Meanwhile, in our personal lives, our family began to travel, attend art shows, visit main streets, and meet artisans around the country. Our artisan network grew, as did our interest in spending more time in this creative space. After decades in these traditional roles, we both began to dream about more fulfilling and creative life endeavors. In 2017, we launched Red & Rugged, creating an unforgettable artisan gift experience for our clients.

Rugged followed an accomplished corporate path for 40 years as a senior field engineer with his impressive aptitude for technical details, learning on the fly, working with his hands, and stellar customer service recognition. In addition to his full-time job, he led the custom craftsmanship at Red & Rugged, ensuring only beautiful, quality, handcrafted pieces were made and delivered to our customers. In December 2023, Rugged retired from his corporate role - earlier than planned, which you can read about in our blog, The Surprise Big Finish. In August 2024, he retired fully to enjoy the freedom to fish, hunt, golf, cook (make pizza!), travel with me, and more!

Over the last seven years, we have been proud and humbled to have built lasting relationships and treasured friendships in our artisan community, and with global executives, renowned hospitality professionals, boutique business owners, and discerning individuals.

It’s time for the next evolution… In this exciting chapter, I transitioned to a business creatives’ coach, expanding my existing work with women. I enjoy engaging and uplifting talented, creative professionals as they build thriving businesses they love. I invite you to visit BizCreatv to learn more and the Creatv Catalyst for coaching program specifics and to connect with me.