THIS IS OUR STORY
Born in New York, raised in the same house by the same parents – that’s where the similarities end.
Fast forward … and stay-at-home mom Red has a crisis and turns to her older sister, Black, for help. How will she ever get through this? Black tells her to take a deep breath, and together, they’ll get through it. As the pragmatic race-car-driving executive who knows the right track when she sees it, she sees the crisis for what it is – a catalyst that will force her sister to take her ostrich head out of the sand.
Black helps Red get in the driver’s seat, put her hands on the wheel, and take control of her life – instead of her life controlling her. That’s what sisters are for, right?
Black then turned her sister's crisis into a brand, a business, and a best-selling book, What I Learned About Life When My Husband Got Fired! (Get your autographed copy here!)
The book had been intended as a sitcom, but along the way, took various detours (it even became a state-approved textbook and is used in prisons – yes, it sounds more like a Hollywood movie than reality), and people are telling us that our messages are making a meaningful difference in their lives.
That’s why we created our store — to feature “merchandise with meaning,” as each item is designed to inspire better decisions while providing humor, wisdom, and practical advice for everyday living.
THIS IS US
Warm and fuzzy? Yes, and proud of it, too. After graduating with a degree in Theater Arts, Tina Pennington (aka “Red”) met an Englishman, fell in love, and traveled the world. His career took them everywhere, with stints in the Netherlands, England, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, until they moved to Texas in the early 2000s.
With two red-headed children, Sawyer and Natasha, and one red labradoodle, Red had the picture-perfect suburban life. That was until … her husband got fired. What had seemed like a fairy tale life soon unraveled to reveal something far from it.
Years later, it ended up having a happy ending, as Red says, “It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Pragmatic and blunt? Yes, with more than a hint of sarcasm. Unlike her sister, Mandy Williams (aka “Black”) is all business. With an MBA in International Finance from NYU and London Business School, Black was a driven executive who retired from the male-dominated oil and gas industry before she was 40. Boredom quickly set in, so she began racing Porsches, then Ferraris, and became the first woman to race the road course at Indianapolis.
Living in Texas, Black has been involved with the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation for decades and has raised over $1 million.
Black often says, “You have two choices in life – you can be the passenger along for the ride, or the driver and steer where you want to go.”
