Pick a pill, any pill. With eight medications to choose from, taking the right pill at the right time was often a game of chance for 86-year-old Stella Mazur. For her daughter and primary caregiver, Kathi Sitek, it was a problem in desperate need of a solution. Setting out to create a visual aid that would identify the many medications, Sitek taped and labeled samples of her mother’s pills to a flattened Kleenex box and inadvertently created the medication management system her family now markets as the Pill Pouch. “I was taking care of my mother and she had developed so many different …

Chloe Wisner wears her heart on her wrist. At 19 years old, Wisner is the owner and founder of June 1989, an online jewelry store inspired by the memory of her big brother Alex, who passed away in October 2000, at age 11, from spinal meningitis. “June 1989 is his birthday,” said Wisner, a Macomb Township resident. “His symbol is a dragonfly. I wanted (to create) something special that means something to me.” That “something” has become a fast-growing jewelry business in which Wisner creates and sells handmade bracelets based on her own original designs. “I was just going to make designs for …

Spend a few hours with John Cundy and there’s a good chance the Macomb Township father of four will start talking trash. Trash-ease that is. A GM sculptor and lifelong inventor, Cundy’s latest product goes by the name of Trash-ease. A metal hanger type device that connects to a table or extended counter top and holds a 13-gallon drawstring garbage bag, Trash-ease is “a creative solution to an everyday problem,” the 47-year-old said of his still patent-pending design. Inspired by a June 2011 high school track meet, it took less than three months for Cundy to bring his idea to fruition. “My …

The creative director and co-owner of Bizzy Fizz Bath Treats, Skylar Bisel has big plans for his homegrown business. By next year, he wants to expand his customer base, diversify his product line and corner the market on scented bath fizzies. Somewhere in between, the Macomb Township teen will turn 14. “It’s been really neat to watch him from the very beginning, because he was so excited,” said mom Laura Bisel, 39. “When he’s doing this, he loves it and he’s learning so much along the way. He’s learning how to talk to people ... (and) his confidence has really grown.” As Skylar tells it, the …

They say the best ideas can sometimes come to you when you least expect it. It wasn't that Dawn Tocco was looking to start a business when her son was born, she was just looking for a special candy bar birth announcement. But after searching the web for a company to produce her announcement, she came upon a business opportunity. With the ability all moms have to multi-task, she decided her son's announcement would be her company's first order. Speed up five years to today, past lots of hard work and genuine creativity, Tocco is doing much more than just multi-tasking. She is now working full …

She's the Martha Stewart of Macomb Township with every spice you can imagine in her cupboards. She's also the Hungry Wolf–the Hungry Wolf Gourmet that is. Stephanie Laubach never expected to be running a small business in the gourmet food industry, but you wouldn't know it by her seemingly effortless success rate. She's a natural–a true Martha! Laubach, her husband and two children, ages 7 and 10, have lived in Macomb Township since 2002. "I have a master's degree in clinical psychology and never dreamed I'd be developing cooking seasonings for a living," Laubach said. "My job was eliminated …

Colette Frederick is “The Apple Lady.” The owner of Colette’s Apple Creations, Frederick is a Macomb Township resident with a passion for all things sweet. It is Frederick’s unwavering belief that “everything tastes better with chocolate on it.” When not working as a dental hygienist, Frederick can usually be found baking. As a result, she said her house consistently smells like caramel. “I’m always cooking or baking something,” Frederick said. “I’m the 10th of 12 kids, so my mom was a great cook. We always had snacks. My mom was always baking and I’m always baking, too.” Frederick began …

From T-shirts to blankets and glow-in-the-dark lettering to rhinestones, if you can wear it, they can decorate it, say the owners of Macomb Township-based Sew Neat Creations. SNC started as the hobby of Macomb Township resident Paula Surdu. "It was something I could do at home," Paula said. "I have a creative streak in me and it just let me go. It was a great hobby for a long time." More than 10 years after purchasing her first embroidery machine, the hobby has grown into a full-time business shared with husband Dennis Surdu. "Together we make a pretty good team and we get the job done right…

Angie Daniel loves to accessorize, so when she discovered jewelry making, the attraction was instant. The namesake of Angie's Jewelry, Daniel has been designing and selling her own jewelry for five years. But even before the Macomb Township resident discovered her love for jewelry, her hands were never idle. "When I was 12, I got a sewing machine, then I did upholstery, needlepoint and stained glass," Daniel said. "I always liked doing handmade crafts and giving handmade gifts for Christmas to aunts and uncles." It was Daniel's sister-in-law who first introduced her to the art of jewelry …

Featuring pumpkins, snowmen, Easter bunnies and angels, Debbie's Designs has a floral arrangement for every season. Although floral arrangements are not the only items sold by Debbie's Designs, owner Debbie Brennan admits they are her favorite. "It's my creation," she said. "I can sit there and make it my way, how I think it looks nice. I see something at Michaels and I come home and try to recreate it, but with my design." Inspired by her mother's craft creations, Debbie has been practicing different crafts her entire life, but only recently transformed her favorite hobby into a small, part…

Mushroom fairies were all the rage last year, but dolphins seem to be the favorite for 2010, at least in the world of Gary and Sharon Schaffner, the owners of G & S Solar Lightscapes. The Schaffners, of Macomb Township, started crafting their "lightscapes"—ornate, handcrafted, sculptures that also function as lamps— in August 2009. "We haven't really been that talented, but I saw this concept at a garage sale and I decided to make my (wife) one," Gary said. So impressed with the gift, Sharon suggested Gary turn the craft into a small part-time business, and G & S Solar Lightscapes was born. …