North Kingstown Villager, February 2006
If a group of women were asked to define the word housewife, after
the collective sigh had ceased, you would no doubt hear dozens of
descriptive takes on the role bellowing throughout the room.
Ask local housewife Diane Veyera her definition and she'll smile
and tell you that it means a married women who manages her own household,
not somebody's maid! This witty philosophy is the driving force
behind her new business venture; I am a Housewife, which was launched
this past September.
Veyera says she had the idea for her business in the back of her
mind for quite some time but it was always swept aside due to her
busy role of a housewife which she's proudly held for over 16 years
now. Prior to that time she worked the corporate life for GMAC,
but decided to change careers and become a professional housewife
after the birth of her first daughter thereby joining the prestigious
ranks of women who could multitask their way through endless 24/7
job shifts, but without a fancy benefit package, sick days, vacation
time, and, of course, a paycheck.
One balmy summer's day in 2004, Veyera and her husband Richard,
stopped for a cool drink at The Ocean Mist in Matunuck. While she
was enjoying her cocktail she drew a picture of her housewife loge
on the back of a napkin along with some humorous tag lines that
she had thought up as a result of her many years of training such
as "It's a Job" and "I work for free."
"I found the crumpled napkin in my purse several days later
and really laughed when I saw my drawing along with the one-liners.
I thought other housewives would enjoy them too," she remembers.
That Christmas Veyera decided to take her sketch to a local print
shop where she had it transferred to some mugs and coasters a joke
gift to her husband. " My husband just loved my idea and really
got a kick out of my housewife drawing," she chuckles. He left
them out for display where they were very well received by friends
and family. " Richard was incredibly supportive of my idea
and he and our friends and family encouraged me to market the idea
in honor of housewives everywhere."
Some of Veyera's inspiration comes from a classic piece titled The
Good Wife's Guide printed in May of 1955 from Housekeeping Monthly.
She shares some of the philosophy that this article had encouraged
the typical fifties housewife to live by:
- Have dinner ready and on the table when your husband returns
from work.
- Prepare yourself. Take time to rest and freshen up for your
husband before he comes home from work.
- Clear away all the clutter by making one last trip through the
main part of the house before you husband arrives.
- Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all
noise of the washer, dryer, vacuum and encourage the children
to be quiet.
Veyera smirks a bit when discussing this advice, knowing full well
that today's housewife is lucky to even be home when her husband
arrives home from work. "Most of the housewives I know are
in the car at that time of day, dropping off or picking up one of
the kids from soccer, girl scouts or some other after school event.
The last thing we have time for is taking a break to freshen up
our makeup or taking one final dusting in our foyers before our
husbands step through the front door," she laughs. Keeping
the 21st century housewife in mind gave her even more pleasure in
coming up with more Zingy tag lines for her products, which she
quips might not make June Cleaver and Donna Reed too happy.
During this exciting time of planning her new business, Veyera had
a part-time job with North Star Records in East Greenwich. Not only
was her boss extremely supportive of her business concept, in the
early spring of last year, she was given the opportunity to take
some classes in Providence. One of the instructors asked Veyera
and the rest of the class to write down what they wanted to be accomplishing
in their lives three months from the time of the class. Veyera immediately
wrote down that she wanted to bring her housewife business idea
to fruition. Three months later she said she received a wonderful
gift in the mail. It was the piece of paper she had written her
goal on. Her instructor mailed it to her with a little note asking
if she had begun working on her idea yet. "That was it! I said
to myself, "Why Not? I'm just going to do it! She remembers
excitedly.
Veyera laid the plan in motion be deciding on a product line. She
stated with night shirts, aprons, mugs and tote bags all donning
her stick figure housewife logo and a variety of hilarious taglines
including "I order take-out" and "Where's My Wine
Glass?"
Next she investigated several different screen printers, sharing
that it can be very expensive to get s production proof made. She
eventually found the right screen printer and developed her witty
website iamaHousewife.com and officially launched her business in
September.
I am a Housewife.com received its professional debut on September
9 when Channel 10's Frank Colletta offered his official salute with
one of Veyera's coffee mugs during the early morning news show.
Veyera has also received a lot of support at the vendor days she
has participated in from businesses such as Citizen's Bank, Bryant
College and most recently at Women & Infants Hospital. "I
have a large poster board displayed with all of my taglines and
I just love watching women stand and read them while they nod their
heads in agreement, " she laughs. In addition to the vendor
days, Veyera will also show her line at gift shows like the Cape
Cod Gift Show May 25- 28. Several gift shops in Rhode Island, Massachusetts
and New Hampshire carry her products as well, but Veyera says most
of her business is done through her website.
Veyera proudly admits that although she's addicted to her Swiffer,
she's also enjoying running her own business and humbly says "
Being a housewife isn't exactly the life of leisure that others
often assume it is. Remember to refuel your tank before you're running
on empty!" Visit her website at iamaHousewife.com, and when
you tank is running on low you'll find several products that will
definitely fill you with plenty of laughter and smiles. By Cheryl
Butler
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