Age: 38Company: The Silver Dahlia and Pinwheels Toys & GamesTitle: OwnerTown where I live: GlastonburyTown where I work: Glastonbury, West Hartford, and SimsburyCollege: UConn
Fun Fact
Prior to starting The Silver Dahlia I owned a small fresh pasta and Italian deli.
Q&A:
What do you do in your current job? I own four retail stores; three accessory and jewelry stores and one toy store.What are your goals in your current job? I hope to grow both businesses to their fullest potential in sales and in support for the community. At The Silver Dahlia that means helping local artisans get off the ground. At Pinwheels, that means lots of fun, community events where kids can come use their imaginations and play.What's your biggest passion? My biggest passion is starting new businesses. I love the excitement of putting all the pieces together and the challenge of all the moving parts. It is incredibly stressful and complicated and I lose plenty of sleep over it, but it is so exciting to watch a business go from nothing to a thriving part of the community.What are your future professional aspirations? In addition to working on the continued success of the stores, I would like to help other entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. Bringing new products and ideas to the market by partnering with creative people is very exciting to me.How are you involved in the community? Community involvement has been an important part of the business since day one. We sponsor as many educational and townwide events as we can. We feel honored to be involved with the Children's Medical Center, events supporting the schools, and all the other important charities that have come forward in our community.What do you hope Greater Hartford will be like in 10 years? I've got three kids in elementary school and I hope that Greater Hartford will be as great a place for them to live and work as it has been for me. I would love to see the music and arts and sporting events to keep growing stronger to continue to welcome families to go into the city for some fun and culture.List four reasons why you deserve to be a 40 Under Forty: I'm a working mother of three young children and have four profitable retail stores. I'd add how proud I am of our ties to the community. I didn't realize how much our customers would appreciate our involvement with causes that are important to them. We hope to support them as well as they support us.Click here to see all 40 Under Forty winners
