July
27, 2006 Southlake
Southlake sisters' ingredients for success include beauty, style,
grace, experience, marketing and most of all faith.
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Paula Masters and Lori Norwood
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Paula Masters
is coming home to Southlake after a career in retail
merchandising. She has literally traveled the globe
from the United States fashion centers of New York, Los
Angeles, and Miami, to foreign destinations such as India,
Thailand, and Hong Kong.
When experiencing the beauty, style and grace of Paula
first hand, one understands how she rose to a top position
in the fashion world when she was named President and
Chief Merchandising Officer for the 430 Gadzooks retail
chain.
Confirming it must be in the genes, younger sister
Lori shares the same traits, but took a somewhat different
path in the fashion industry.
Lori, now mom to two children, spent part of her
career in the fashion industry in retail, but also gained
experience in wholesale at her position in the Dallas
Apparel Mart. Later, Lori decided to participate in
a part-time role after the birth of her
children. |
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Paula
Masters, 1in3 Trinity President
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Starting off as a merchandiser’s assistant for Mervyn’s department stores in
Plano, Paula soon became assistant buyer for Margo’s, a Dallas woman’s specialty store in 1986. Margo’s was a subsidiary of Elder-Beerman department stores. After 10 years in the Dallas market and moving her way up to Senior Vice President of Merchandising, Paula
went to work for Elder-Beerman in Dayton, Ohio, overseeing the chain of department stores where she served as Vice President of Juniors for the operation.
Commuting and traveling for business was exhausting, so Paula returned to Dallas in 1999 to help administer a branded merchandising strategy for Gadzooks, a trendy specialty store targeting teenagers. She served as Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Officer, then as President and Chief Merchandising Officer for Gadzooks before the company was sold to Forever 21.
Paula is quoted on the company's web site as saying,
“I have always believed if you do what you love and are passionate about
it by faith, the rest will follow. In my heart, my hope and vision for our company is to offer people relevant fashion that impacts their lives in a positive way. 1in3Trinity is the perfect place where fashion meets truth—and where art expresses God’s love.”
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Lori
is not only familiar with the world-renowned apparel markets in New York, Las Vegas and Chicago, Lori has had first-hand experience on the showroom floor at the Dallas Apparel Mart for more than five years.
She attended the University of Oklahoma before coming to Texas in the early 1990’s. Following marriage and work at the Dallas Apparel Mart,
her first daughter Brianna was born. Lori was then active in a local Presbyterian church, serving in the church’s children’s ministry and attending Bible studies, both of which helped her get through some difficult times during the early loss of her mother and challenges in her marriage.
“I want others to know if my husband and I didn’t have Christ in our lives, we would not have made it through the rough times,” shares Lori. Soon after all the challenges, Lori and her husband were baptized and joined Fellowship Church before their second daughter, Trinity, was born. “Fellowship Church has strengthened our walk with Christ. I did not become a Christ follower because Christians are such grand examples; today I choose to follow because of Christ and what He personally did for me.”
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Lori Norwood, 1in3 Trinity, V.P
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Confident of the positive impression 1in3Trinity is going to make on others, Lori works closely with many fashionable boutiques and innovative churches all over the country. In addition, Lori is well-known for her creative ability to produce high-impact Fashion Shows for charities and many other organizations that raise money for worthy causes. |
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According
to Lori, the sisters have always wanted to have their own
retail store. After Gadzooks was sold and Paula
decided to take some time off, the two prayed about what
direction they should choose.
Drawing on their mutual faith, the sisters decided to go
with a faith based product line. "We felt we
could go to the secular market but still spread a faith
based message to youth groups...you can be cool and still
spread the word," explained Lori.
They just launched their business officially on July 1st,
after taking about a year to get matters in order, at
"Celebrate Freedom" the largest Christian
concert in the area, sponsored by local radio station 94.9
and Interstate Batteries. |
The
entrepreneurial sister combination includes the
merchandising and retail experience and contacts of
Paula. She is familiar with buyers of multiple chain
outlets from her years as an apparel buyer herself.
Lori's wholesale experience was one of the reasons the two
decided to limit their initial efforts to wholesale and
Internet e-commerce. "This was a quicker startup
and speed to market," said Paula.
However, the sisters made sure to point out that
"1in3Trinity" is trademarked for retail as well.
Paula decided to design a line consistent with the faith
based theme that would be easiest to sell such as t-shirts
that would engage the youth market. At the launch, the
initial line is designer t-shirts, caps and belt buckles. |
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The
wholesale marketing plan is based on attracting boutique shops to
their line. They said the approach is one of caution at the
beginning in the selection of retail outlets. "We want to
protect the retailers by having only one outlet in each city at the
beginning," explained Lori.
In line with the faith based business, every t-shirt has a verse
from Galatians 5.22 printed inside; " The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control." Paula said that she
realizes some retailers may become sensitive about the faith
messages and they may be asked to remove some or part of the
message. "We are not going to remove the message, this is
our plan from the beginning and we will not change," pointed
out Paula.
The
company is already supplying items for various Christian theme style
shows, however was thrilled to be notified that their product line
will be included at the Teen Choice Awards televised on Fox in
August. Fox requested an assortment of hats that will be part
of the celebrity baskets.
There are already plans to be involved in the Music Billboard Awards
and to encourage performers to wear and display their merchandise at
various Christian musical events and concerts.
Toasting each
other with a can of 1in3Trinity Energy Drink, Lori and Paula
said they came up with the formula after many attempts and
trying it out on their family and friends. Pointing out
the market for the drink, Lori said there are more than 600
Christian Cafes throughout the United States. |
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In
addition to the 1in3Trinity apparel line, the top executives
of the company announced that their Energy Drink is expected
to be
available to the public this year.
The drink is described as having a pleasant fruity grape
taste and is an excellent stand alone beverage with only 10
calories, versus other energy drinks, like Red Bull, known
for being
mixed with alcohol. |
When
asked about the marketing research on the 1in3Trinity drink, Paula
explained that it was limited to friends and family. Pointing
to the sky, Paula said, "God will direct the way."
As if Paula's contacts and Lori's knowledge were not enough to put
this company on the road to success, they have placed their fate in
a much higher authority than earthly marketing experts.
Asked what they would like readers to come away with from this
article, they said, "We want people just to know how great
God's love is; by seeing our merchandise hopefully those who are
lost might pick up the Bible and find their way."
You can immediately find your way to the 1in3Trinity merchandise by
clicking
here and visiting the website.
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