I like to live in the moment. When I plan things, nothing goes the way I want it to. I don’t plan things so I don’t get disappointed. As the daughter of Colonel Dan Garvey, I’ve lived all over the place, from Kansas to Germany, to Italy and Virginia. As a child, I remember moving a lot. I didn’t like the fact that we didn’t stay in one place for long. I didn’t keep close friendships. As an adult, while studying fashion merchandising at Virginia Commonwealth University, I realized that it was not so bad after all. I remember being in history classes, art, geography, and many of the places that we discussed in the book, I had been to already. Not too many of my classmates had experienced the world as I had, so that’s when I realized it was actually cool.
After I graduated from college, I packed up my belongings, put them in my car and moved to New York City. I had no job, but I was full of dreams. My first job there was waiting tables. A position opened at New York & Company, where I was able to use my college knowledge. I was in product development, where one of my main tasks was to review the color of the fabrics to make sure all the stores had the same colors. I left New York & Company and went on to work for The Limited also in their product development department. One of my main tasks there was to test fabrics, and make sure they were up to The Limited standards. After living in the Big Apple for six years, I felt like there was something else out there for me that I wasn’t finding so, I moved again. I ended up here in Lafayette, LA.
I started working odd jobs until I was discovered by Bob Cox, former VP of Sales here at Stuller. Prior to joining the company, I had no idea what Stuller was. I joined Stuller in 2014 as a Diamond & Gemstone Product Manager. In this role, I helped develop and manage our fashion lines, while at the same time I was learning about the jewelry industry. I am currently a Diamond & Gemstone Senior Product Manager. In this role, I’m in charge of researching trends, design, develop and approve design concepts, figure out ways to market our product, attend tradeshows to sell and get inspired, make catalogs, manage inventory, forecasting, just to name a few. Needless to say, I am pretty busy all the time. I love this position. This is my dream job, and what I had been searching for that I couldn’t find in New York. All along it had been here in Lafayette, LA.
My dog Roux keeps me sane. She’s a golden doodle that I got in November. When I’m with her nothing else matters. I’m happy. Animals have a certain way of making humans feel relaxed and calmed. Roux is a great companion, and I adore her. With all the moving around I did as a child, I’ve learned to adapt easily and be very independent. Change does not scare me and I consider myself a packer pro. Contrary to other people, I love the weather here in Louisiana, there is no snow! My dad is now retired but is still in touch with the army. My family lives close by in Texas, so I feel like I’m centrally located. It’s funny that there are drive-through alcohol places here. I’m telling you, this place is like no other. I’ve learned that in life you’ve got to take chances, and that the early bird, gets the worm!
