I've always been creative. My favorite gifts to give have always been handcrafted. One holiday season a friend asked why I didn't sell the things I made. One thing led to another and The Mendez Group, Inc. shifted from a marketing and training consulting company (with me traveling way too much) to the design, development, and production of contemporary crafts.

Calling my first website Contemporary Crafts was an easy decision. My husband and I have always decorated our home in a contemporary style -- so country crafts never really fit in. I love bright, vivid fabrics and textures. Tropical prints are a favorite as are bold geometrics, along with what I call understated elegance. I started off making aromatherapy eye pillows and heating pads/ice packs. Before long I was making beaded lanyards and watches,and then purses.

I have always been intrigued with aromatherapy and the soothing effects it can have on you. When one of my Too Cool Collar customers asked if I could make an aromatherapy collar for her dog -- the concept of Calming Collars was born! Dog anxiety is fast becoming ancient history.

In 2008, I began to really focus my time and energy on Calming Collars. In 2009 -- It became my "only" focus. I still enjoy beading, but the demand for Calming Collars has really taken off. When you personally design and manufacture what you sell, you only have so many hours in the day. It became too cumbersome to keep so many supplies for all of the people products products I was making -- when the majority of my sales were Calming Collars.

Although I am a one-man (okay, woman) shop, you'll see I use we and us quite a bit through out the website. Sometimes it just sounds better than I, I, I. Or it could be that my cats help me out so much, that I feel inclined to include them! Actually, since my dear Aunt Patty died in 2008, we are up to seven inside cats! Yipes. Click here to meet them.