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Author and Artist,
Sandy Gingras
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I started How To Live in 1993. I was 35, unmarried and highly educated in “other things”. My son was 3 and looking up to me as if I should be standing for something. I think there’s too much fighting AGAINST in the world, I wanted to stand FOR something. So, I wrote down what I loved and what mattered to me from the quirky to the sublime.
The first design was called “How to Live on an Island”. I put the design on a t-shirt and sold them at craft shows from Shelter Island to Chincoteague. Then I had black and white card printed of that design and hand painted each one, shrink wrapped them with Saran wrap and an iron on my kitchen table, tied them with string and glued on a shell.
And I began driving around and selling them to stores. All the “How to start a Stationary Business” books I read said I needed to have 15 card designs and a marketing plan to even THINK about starting a business. I knew I didn’t have that, but I did have my son’s Crayola paints and a little kid depending on me, and a great deal of personal stubbornness to compensate for my lack of 15 designs. And so, How TO Live began…
I am neither a sales person nor a business person. Although I have a lot of training in writing, I have none in drawing (well, I’ve taken one adult school drawing class). I know I had a good idea when I did the island design. But , honestly, a lot of people have good ideas.
I do believe that an idea is just a door. You have to open that door and walk and walk through it and keep walking. I mean, on and ON… and on…. Most people give up in the doorway. They read the books about how you need 15 designs, or a business card or a degree, or a room of their own, and they get stopped in their tracks. Or else their fear starts telling them they’re not qualified or talented or just plain good enough. Or life just deflects them.
All these things are real, and all these things have happened, and continue to happen to me. I am a shy person, I have fears and insecurities, and I can procrastinate with the best of you. But I’m smart, I’m creative, and perhaps most importantly, I am like a dog. If I do something good, I gave myself a reward. If I write a page, I get a cookie (sometimes metaphorical, sometimes not). I’ve trained myself to take action, complete tasks, and get rewarded. “Treat yourself like a dog,” I tell people who want to start a business. Don’t worry about having courage or strength or fighting your fears. Just action-cookie, action-cookie…. And your life moves forward.
After 10 years, How To Live sells over 100 products to over 400 stores across the country. I’ve written 6 books and started a retail store. I’ve designed everything from clothes to pens and have dealt with manufactures in 3 countries. Still, I didn’t think I knew what I was doing. I didn’t think I had a real business. It’s OK. I just keep walking… doggedly… trying to figure out how to live…
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Sandy, Ellen II, Rob, and
their friend Gracie
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After tiring of the business end of the company, Sandy decided it was time to sell. I (call me Ellen II) had worked for Sandy for almost all of the ten years she had her company. I was her neighbor, her friend – our kids played together (her only son and my oldest this year, the two of them will be seniors in high school!) went to school together, happily tromping in the marsh together often, as their end of day activity( Sandy and I often tromped along, too.. usually with the dogs). I always believed in what “How To Live” stood for. I liked the way Sandy thought and operated. We stood on openness and honesty and enjoyed working with all of our customers. So when she was seriously talking selling, what could I do but…..
“You should be the one to buy the business”. That was my husband (John) talking when I told him Sandy wanted to sell “How to Live”. “It only makes sense.” he said.
From that statement, things kind of snow – balled (in a good way), and “How to Live, Too” was born. It’s kind of amazing what you can do when someone believes in you – someone who helps you believe in yourself. When Sandy was ready to focus her energy on creating, we were glad to be able to help her move forward. But we couldn’t do it alone. Always counting our blessings, John and I were able to turn to family: his sister Ellen (we call her Ellen I, she was born first) and her husband Rob. Excited, and nervous, the four of us plunged in…and we did it.
We took the pressure off Sandy, and put it on ourselves, and here we are! Ellen I took “friendship, creativity and inspiration” from Sandy to use as our motto. We keep that behind everything we do, to help carry on the How to Live philosophy, working with family and friends the whole way. Rob and I (Ellen II) run the day to day, and Ellen (that’s Ellen I) and John are a great support system.
When you call on the phone, you talk to us (that’s me, Ellen II, and Rob!!). When you email, we answer you back ourselves, and when your orders are packed, we are the ones doing the packing. It is a true family business.
We will continue to bring you Sandy’s wonderful designs, as well as some new products.
And we will continue to be as we have always been ~ caring, thoughtful, and thankful.
We hope that you will journey with us, and you will see how to live, too.
Ellen II and John
Ellen I and Rob
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