Stacey McBride-Irby Shares Prettie Girls Fabulous Year on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

As the 2014 draws to a close, join Living Your Best Life  as we profile businesses, serial entrepreneurs, and non-profits that will empower, inspire, and motivate you to love your BEST life.

On Saturday, December 27, 2014, tune in to hear from designing woman, Stacey McBride-Irby, creator of Prettie Girls Multicultural Dolls.  Prettie Girls Dolls are now available at retailers around the country and online and  have been a hit with girls long before the Christmas buying season started.

After designing for an international toy company for nearly two decades and launching the successful So In Style Dolls, Stacey took a leap of faith and decided to start her own line, One World Doll Project. Stacey created Prettie Girls to celebrate global diversity. Stacey McBride-Irby and the Prettie Girls have feature been in the media throughout the year as the popularity of the dolls caught fire.

Tune in to hear Stacey McBride-Irby share her inspiring story and hear what is in store for doll lovers, old and young, alike in 2015.

 More About Stacey McBride-Irby

As a child Stacey consistently played with dolls.  Barbie was her favorite.  She loved mixing and matching her clothes, and styling her hair.  Not long after Stacey stopped playing with Barbie™ dolls at the age of 13, she made the decision to enter the fashion world.  She started sketching fashion and going to the library and checking out books about fashion.

Stacey’s father had saved a newspaper article that featured Kitty Black Perkins, a Mattel™ designer.  With the encouragement of her father and her instructor of a fashion computer course at El Camino College, Stacey called Perkins.  In addition to showing her portfolio and resume during the interview, Stacey had to design a Barbie™ fashion.  It was approved and she was hired as an assistant designer which begin her career in the world of toys and doll design.

Stacey was a Project Designer for Mattel™ in El Segundo and was with the company for 15 years.  She is the creator of the So In Style™ line of African-American Barbie™ dolls which were released in 2009. While at Mattell, Stacey was tapped to design the sorority Barbie, Celebrating the Centennial year of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first African-American Greek Sorority, founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.  She designed a one of a kind take on the 1980’s Black Barbie.  She also designed some of the 2010 Barbie career dolls, including Pet Vet Barbie, Rock Star Barbie and Bride Barbie.

Stacey has been interviewed for magazines and newspaper articles such as Ebony, Essence, Heart & Soul, LA’s Beauty Beat, Upscale, Chicago Sun Times and Daily Breeze.  Stacey McBride-Irby made the front cover of Wall Street Journal Personal newspaper.  The So In Style ^TM dolls have been featured in Barbie and Jet magazine.

Stacey has appeared on CNN Prime News with Richelle Carey “New Barbies Look More Like Black Women”.  And on May 2, 2010 Stacey appeared on BETs My Black is Beautiful, Episode 1:  Celebration of Black Beauty.  She is currently a featured designer in the Barbie Exhibit at The Children’s Museum of  Indianapolis.

Stacey’s motto is, “A happy, inspired childhood creates happy, inspired and powerful women.”  She also loves the Lord with all her heart.  She knows that without God that none of her accomplishments and success would be possible

Stacey McBride and Kara Thompson on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

As 2013 year is drawing to a close, join Living Your Best Life  as we profile businesses, serial entrepreneurs, and non-profits that will empower, inspire, and motivate you to love your BEST life.

On Saturday, November 30, 2013 tune in to hear from designing women, Stacey McBride and Kara Thompson. Both women turned their love of fashion into entrepreneurial ventures that are making young and old fashionistas alike say "ooh" and "aah".

Stacey McBride's Prettie Girls are now available in time for the Christmas buying season. After designing for an international toy company for nearly two decades and launching the successful So In Style Dolls, Stacey took a leap of faith and decided to start her own line, One World Doll Project. Stacey created Prettie Girls to celebrate global diversity. Tune in to hear her inspiring story.

Also on the show will be Kara Thompson of  Kara's Creations. Kara Thompson is an attorney, public relations professional, and event manager by day who turned her hobby of designing jewelry into a business. Family and friends were her initial customers but it was not long before her handcrafted semi-precious stone custom pieces were in hot demand in Atlanta and beyond. Listen as Kara share how Kara's Creations was launched and hear her plans for her line in 2014.

Stacey McBride and Kara Thompson will help ignite your fire to do something you always dreamed of accomplishing and how to face the "what ifs" that may be holding you back to having the best year yet in 2014.

Living Your Best Life, a radio show that empowers, inspires, and motivates us to live our BEST life, is heard on 760AM The Gospel in the Middle-TN area, Tune In, Inspirational Networks, military bases and on Ustream.TV worldwide from 9:00-10:00am CST.

More About Stacey McBride

As a child Stacey consistently played with dolls.  Barbie was her favorite.  She loved mixing and matching her clothes, and styling her hair.  Not long after Stacey stopped playing with Barbie™ dolls at the age of 13, she made the decision to enter the fashion world.  She started sketching fashion and going to the library and checking out books about fashion.

Stacey’s father had saved a newspaper article that featured Kitty Black Perkins, a Mattel™ designer.  With the encouragement of her father and her instructor of a fashion computer course at El Camino College, Stacey called Perkins.  In addition to showing her portfolio and resume during the interview, Stacey had to design a Barbie™ fashion.  It was approved and she was hired as an assistant designer which begin her career in the world of toys and doll design.

Stacey was a Project Designer for Mattel™ in El Segundo and was with the company for 15 years.  She is the creator of the So In Style™ line of African-American Barbie™ dolls which were released in 2009. While at Mattell, Stacey was tapped to design the sorority Barbie, Celebrating the Centennial year of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first African-American Greek Sorority, founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.  She designed a one of a kind take on the 1980’s Black Barbie.  She also designed some of the 2010 Barbie career dolls, including Pet Vet Barbie, Rock Star Barbie and Bride Barbie.

Stacey has been interviewed for magazines and newspaper articles such as Ebony, Essence, Heart & Soul, LA’s Beauty Beat, Upscale, Chicago Sun Times and Daily Breeze.  Stacey McBride-Irby made the front cover of Wall Street Journal Personal newspaper.  The So In Style ^TM dolls have been featured in Barbie and Jet magazine.

Stacey has appeared on CNN Prime News with Richelle Carey “New Barbies Look More Like Black Women”.  And on May 2, 2010 Stacey appeared on BETs My Black is Beautiful, Episode 1:  Celebration of Black Beauty.  She is currently a featured designer in the Barbie Exhibit at The Children’s Museum of  Indianapolis.

Stacey’s motto is, “A happy, inspired childhood creates happy, inspired and powerful women.”  She also loves the Lord with all her heart.  She knows that without God that none of her accomplishments and success would be possible

More About Kara Thompson

Kara L. Thompson is a strategic, team-oriented professional with more than 16 years of experience in legal advocacy, workforce management, public and community relations.  Kara has a passion for interacting with people from all walks of life and has created Kara Thompson Enterprises to create a business that capitalizes on her superior interpersonal skills and talent for connecting people and problem solving.   

Prior to launching Kara Thompson Enterprises, Kara was an employment law attorney in Ogletree Deakins’ Atlanta office.  Before joining Ogletree Deakins, Kara practiced in the Atlanta offices of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker and Jones Day. Kara is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and Purdue University.

Kara’s experience includes representing and counseling both large and small employers in all facets of employment law, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, discipline, terminations, wage and hour, and Sarbanes-Oxley Act matters. She also assists employers with state and federal employment law compliance and in drafting employment policies and procedures.

Before attending law school, Kara worked for six years as a public relations professional for Spelman College, JacksonHeath Public Relations, and the American Red Cross. As a public relations professional, Kara created comprehensive public relations programs, successfully pitched numerous stories to the media, wrote press releases, collateral, newsletter and magazine articles, created and managed special events, and organized community relations activities for various organizations. 

Kara is very active in the community and has a passion for philanthropic endeavors. Currently, she serves on the board of directors for Dress for Success Atlanta, the National Black MBA Association Atlanta Chapter and the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (“GABWA”).  Additionally, Kara is a member of Women’s Legacy Council of the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, the Atlanta Women’s Foundation Destiny Fund Class of 2009, The Girl Friends, Inc., The Buckhead Cascade Chapter of The Links, Inc., and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.   Kara has served on the boards of the Juvenile Justice Fund, Camp Fire USA Georgia Council, and the Samuel L. Jones Boys and Girls Club and is a graduate of the United Way’s Volunteer Involvement Program.  Kara is also a member of the American Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association, National Bar Association and the Gate City Bar Association, and served on the planning committee for the National Bar Association’s convention that was held in Atlanta in July of 2007. Kara is also the founder of a dinner club in Atlanta that was featured in the June 2007 issue of Essence Magazine.

Stacey McBride-Irby on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week." Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as "Women’s History Week." In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month." Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”

Join Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes along with Mocha Market Magazine as we celebrate women who are redefining power and influence. From celebrities to authors to leaders to educators to mom-next-door, hear from women who are impacting the world around them while empowering others to do the same.

Tune in on Saturday, March 10, 2012's for an interview that has been a year in the making! Hear from internationally renown creator of Mattel's So In Style Dolls, Stacey McBride-Irby. Stacey designed the most diverse cultural line of dolls ever created for the world's most premiere toy company. During her fifteen years at Mattel, Stacey also designed numerous fashions for the Disney Princess Collection and for the iconic Barbie line.

In addition to designing for Mattel's Disney Princess Collection and the Barbie, Stacey designed the highly sought after AKA Doll in celebration of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority's Centennial in 2008.

Stacey's creation of the So In Style dolls marked Mattel's first line of African American dolls that closely resemble today's young girls and women. The dolls were not just toys to play with but showcased the stylish diversity of the African American community and strongly encouraged education and mentoring.

Stacey will share about her new business venture with the One World Dolls Project and how her partnership with Trent Daniels will give her an opportunity to use the power of play and collector dolls to reflect genuine diversity and not limit her creativity to one group of people or organization.

Living Your Best Life, a radio show that empowers, inspires, and motivates us to live our BEST life, is heard on 760AM The Gospel in the Middle-TN area, Inspirational Networks, military bases and on Ustream.TV worldwide from 9:00-10:00am CST.

For more info on the One World Doll Project click here.

To Purchase Limited Edition Obama 2012 Dolls click here.

Previous post about Stacey McBride-Irby here.

To learn more about why Stacey McBride-Irby's doll are such an inspiration to me click here.

To win a trip to LA to meet Stacey McBride-Irby click here.

TEXT pictures of your favorite doll or your favorite doll story to INSPIRE to 99000.

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Smiles, Dolls and Cars, Hugs and Tears...My Day as Ms. Santa

I started my holiday duties long before the first wreath went up this season. It takes a PhD in organizing to pull off my last month of the year, every year. But this time of year makes me so grateful for the little things in my life even when some things are not going great for me. I get to wear my Ms. Santa suit for the next three weeks and hear first hand from children all they want to share about their lives. On Wednesday, I visited six day-cares/after-school programs and 654 children, between the ages new born to 4th grade, had their picture made with me as Ms. Santa.

My day began at 7:00 am and ended at 7:00pm. I made two stops at department stores as a trade out for toys in exchange for Ms. Santa spending a few hours in their store. Free toys? I could not get there faster enough. Everyone was gracious and kind and volunteers were in good supply. My being Ms. Santa is not about the suit but the heart of spreading cheer and goodwill. It includes soothing crying babies, mediating between two brothers who were not getting along, promoting dolls (SIS) over cell phones for 4th grade girls, encouraging good grades and being respectful to elders, bringing back “yes ma’ma” and “no ma’ma” answers, straighten clothes, slicking down hair, tying bows, and checking diapers to name a few.

Spending the day as Ms. Santa gave me an opportunity to serve others in a small way. The photos with the children to be given to their parents showed me it is truly the small things that stir the soul to motivate others to give of themselves. Ole Time Pottery donated picture frames to Grace Eaton Day Care for me to give to the parents with a photo of their loved ones. Several grandmothers made sure they were there for their grandchildren FIRST Christmas photos and they did not mind getting in the picture too! Teachers and childcare workers were elated and everyone had fun. The visit to the schools confirmed what I already know, teachers are miracle workers. My elves, my children, were patience as the lines seemed to get longer with each passing minute and made sure I did not mispronounce a name by whispering to me if there was a name I needed to say slowly. Nothing is worse than Ms. Santa fumbling over a child’s name.

While visiting a department store, several parents asked to have their children photo made with me. “By all means”, I said to everyone from the parking lot to lay-way pickup. Ms. Santa even faced a few culture issues with a smile. While one Kurdish family was shopping with their children, their son stumbled upon me buying Barbie cosmetic bags for some of the older girls. He looked as if he had seen a ghost and looked nervously over his shoulder. A few seconds later, his family turned the corner and we all stood awkwardly sizing up the situation. The mother and my eyes met and I understood perfectly. I broke the silence by extending my hands to her and saying hello. I complimented her on her handsome son and asked if I could shake his hand. With her permission, I shook his hand and gave him a big smile. At that moment, it was not about religion or faith for the child; I was the lady standing there with a flatbed filled with toys. Some things in life are so simple. I saw him later as I was checking out and he beamed brightly as he waved goodbye to me. Diversity is alive and well in Tennessee.

I will return to the day-cares who are longtime customers of Holmes Pest Control with the requested gifts for my little friends. My “official” wish list has three hundred plus names, nearly double from last year’s count. Many gifts have been bought but I still have many more to purchase. The children were painfully aware of the economic climate that is gripping our country and many repeatedly said, “I only want ONE gift”. Dolls were at the top of my list as usual (I was pushing the So-In-Style Barbie line big time), anything that cried or pooped, Transformer cars, bikes, and one request for a lap top (I was impressed).

Many of the requests were not things 5 and 6 year-olds should be stressing about; jobs for their parents instead of gifts for themselves, hoping their family members will make it home from Iraq safely, worrying if Mom will be able to make her mortgage payment this month. The financial headlines of the day were being shared with me on my lap by children dealing with very real problems. During those conversations, my Ms. Santa hat was switched to counselor and consoler to ease heavy hearts that were so young and breaking. There were a few who cried as they spoke of economic hardships facing their families. I was glad to hold them a little longer and give them a tighter hug. No toy could fix those issues but letting a child know that I will remember to pray for their family calmed a few little worried souls. My Ms. Santa duties also include ministering as well.

I want to say "thank you" to those who helped get me to the halfway mark of my season by donating monetary gifts or giving of their precious time; Mrs. Perry, Publisher of the Tennessee Tribune, Inspired Living, Hal Cato and the Oasis Center staff and teen volunteers, Randy and Jennifer Wolcott, Dr. and Mrs. Jimmy Sheats, Dr. and Mrs. Frist, Julie Stevens, TSU's Men Track and Field Team, Rev. Janiro Hawkins, April Eaton and News Channel 5’s Urban Outlook and Gary and crew at Performance Studios.

I will close by sharing some photos with you from my very fun filled, very long, shopped out, incredible, big grateful day. Have a Happy Thanksgiving weekend. Don’t forget to pick up a few extra toys for my friends at Grace Eaton Child Care, I need you.
(permission given)