quadangles@uri.edu

Anne Marie Blackman ’82, in Oldsmar, Florida, tells us how she started a quirky business that has ended up defining her working life (and her holiday parties). We hope this comes just in time for your party planning. “I graduated from URI with a B.S. in Computer Science and worked in that field for a decade, leaving to raise my two boys. “When they were in high school, I was looking for something to sell on eBay to help pay for college. I researched search trends on Google to see what was projected to be hot for the 2008 holiday shopping season, and came across ugly Christmas sweater parties. There were a limited number of creative sweaters on the market at that time, so I up-cycled 50 sweaters to be as ridiculous as I could make them and put them on eBay. “The CS classes I took at URI were a key to my success, as I deciphered eBay’s search algorithm and always had items on the first page of search results. My sweaters sold out. The next year, I started getting press inquiries and was asked to give a fashion show on The View. Since then, I’ve done many press appearances, including the Today Show, at top. I have to mention a speech class I took at URI. I tend to talk very quickly. The class taught me to talk at half speed; plus how to stand, how to enunciate, and how to tell a story. It was the most valuable life-skill class I took. “I created an e-commerce website and have grown my business exponentially every year. I now have a book in print, Rock Your Ugly Christmas Sweater. This season, we are introducing a line of brand new sweaters that I designed; we’ll have more than 10,000 sweaters in inventory. “Each year we donate sweaters to U.S. troops serving overseas. This year, we hope to send more than 300. Themed road races and parties are a popular holiday diversion on the bases.”

www.MyUglyChristmasSweater.com

Today Show: How to design your own ugly Christmas sweater