In 1979, my husband, Lonnie, and I started our company out of our home garage. We were young and naive, but we had a dream and were determined to make it come to life. We both had full-time jobs, so we could only work on our designs late at night. Lonnie visited local clothing stores in Los Angeles, begging their owners to take a chance on an unknown brand. Amazingly, some of them agreed.

40 years later, I feel like I'm dreaming when I walk into work and see my sister, my husband, my sons, and my new granddaughter in our office. Nothing makes me happier than working with family. My sons have been working with us for a few years, but, Birdie, my granddaughter, is a new addition.

When my first son, Michael, was born, I struggled leaving him at home. The solution I came up with was to bring him to work with me. He and his brother Robert grew up in our office. Choosing to have your children grow up in a manufacturing facility is certainly a different approach to motherhood, but as a new mom trying to run a company while also raising two young boys, it was the best solution I could come up with. I've always wondered if that was the right decision to make.

Last year, my first granddaughter, Birdie, was born. Michael told me he wanted to convert an empty space at our office into a nursery, so she could grow up at work, just like he did. I can't remember another time in my life I ever felt so happy.