jodi's jems.... you can never have too many! 
Local women run businesses from their homes
By Caroline Dufault
Wed Jul 16, 2008, 03:09 PM EDT
Amid the chaos of school meetings, family dinners and doctor’s appointments, three local mothers take time out of their hectic schedules to run businesses right out of their own homes.
Not only are the entrepreneurs with self-made businesses that transform their passions into vocations, they are also a close-knit group of friends.
Jen Murphy, Jodi DiNatale and Jill Cuomo of Scituate have turned their creative passions for cooking, design and photography into local businesses for which the main form of advertisement is simply word of mouth.
For Murphy, “Feel Good Food” began as a whim this past winter when she decided to turn her love for healthy cooking into something that could be shared with others.
“Even though I have a hectic schedule, I’ve always tried to feed my kids healthy food because that’s the way I like to eat,” said the mother of four. “I thought that there may be other busy people who would like to feed their families healthy foods, but they just don’t have time.”
Murphy began with homemade tomato sauce, then expanded her “Farmers’ Market Menu” to include homemade pesto, flatbread, apple and walnut cake and an orzo salad filled with chickpeas, tomatoes and feta cheese.
“I just started making the foods that my kids have always loved,” Murphy said when asked about how she chose which recipes to use for her menu.
Not only does Murphy use natural ingredients that are rich in nutrients and contain no preservatives, she also uses biodegradable containers to package her foods.
Murphy sells her Feel Good Foods at the weekly farmers’ market in Cohasset and hopes to eventually partner with local farms that will add her line of products alongside their fresh produce.
Murphy’s good friend Jodi DiNatale also knows what a hectic lifestyle is like. The busy mother of three young girls began her interior design business, Caneel Interiors, in 1994 when she lived in Atlanta. After moving back to her hometown of Scituate in 1999, she wondered what she could do with all the leftover fabric remnants she had laying around. Soon after, she began making reversible ribbon belts and handbags and named the business Jodi’s Jems, after her three young daughters.
“I wanted to stay ahead of the trend and be a little more edgy. That’s when I first started experimenting with embellishing belt buckles,” said DiNatale, whose signature piece is the jeweled starfish belt buckle. After wearing her unique designs around town, her friends and family begged her to make more.
Inspired by the beach as well as her three girls, DiNatale began making an extensive collection of ribbon belts and embellished belt buckles that would appeal to all ages and tastes. Her designs range from the starfish to a jeweled skull and crossbones. Customers can come to DiNatale’s recently renovated backyard studio to handpick every detail of their custom-designed belt. Her designs are also online at jodisdesigns.com.
When asked about the future of Jodi’s Jems, DiNatale said, “I just take it year by year. I would love to eventually expand and try new products but right now I’m happy with what I do.”
The photographs on DiNatale’s Web site were taken by Jill Cuomo. Cuomo’s business, simply called Jill Cuomo Photography, started when she began taking photographs of her two children when they were young. After studying photography in college, Cuomo discovered her passion for portraits, and knew that she wanted to focus on taking photos of children.
“I just started taking pictures of my kids at school and then parents began asking me to take pictures of their children. I would go to birthday parties and take photos of the kids and give them out to their parents,” said Cuomo. “That’s how everything started.”
Cuomo, who shoots in both black and white and color, now takes preschool and senior school portraits in Scituate, Cohasset and Milton, as well as family portraits and occasional modeling shots.
“I just like to do my own thing,” said Cuomo when asked about her personal style. “I think people like my photos because they can tell that I love what I do.”
Describing her photos as candid, comfortable, low-key and happy, Cuomo tries to bring out every child’s personality through her photography. Donating photo shoots at silent auctions for the Scituate Animal Shelter and for causes like cystic fibrosis, Cuomo uses her photography to give back to her community as well as to foundations that are important to her.
These three Scituate friends often benefit from each other’s talents. After a long day managing her children and her business, DiNatale often prepares a meal using Murphy’s food. In Murphy’s home, there are photographs of her children taken by Cuomo scattered throughout the living room, and both Cuomo and her daughter sport DiNatale’s designs.
Below: Patriot Ledger Article, Aug. 2008
Jenifer Hoffman launched Emotional Armor in an effort to change the world, one T-shirt at a time. Proceeds from sales benefit violence prevention and children's empowerment programs. (Mark Wilson/Globe Staff/file 2006) From forgiveness comes an empowering message
The year 2005 was perhaps the worst in Jenifer Hoffman's life. An athlete, she had finished the swim portion of a triathlon in Newburyport and then jumped on her bike. Heading downhill at 35 miles an hour, another biker bumped her, knocking her off her bike. Hoffman suffered a concussion, broken ribs, a shattered elbow, and lost five layers of skin on her left side. But somehow, she got back on the bike, finished the ride and the 5K run that followed - and then went to the hospital.
Ten days later she went for an evening walk around the block. It was her first "big outing" since the accident, recalls Hoffman. As she rounded the block, a neighbor's drunken son jumped out from behind a fence and assaulted her. Hoffman managed to break free and run into a nearby home.
A judge sentenced the man, who was already on probation, to two years in jail.
Then Hoffman did what most of us would consider a strange thing. She went to the other neighbors on the street and asked them to write letters to the judge asking for leniency.
"There were a lot of kids on our street," says Hoffman, who has three young children. "I knew he'd be angry after being in jail and that he would be coming back to live on our street. I thought it would be better for all of us if we gave him the opportunity to rehabilitate himself."
The neighbors finally agreed, and wrote their letters. The judge acquiesced. But the man had to wear an ankle monitor, could only leave home for work or therapy, and could not contact Hoffman or her family. He had to maintain regular contact with a probation officer.
"He got a job and is doing really well," says Hoffman, a chirpy, upbeat woman of 38.
After the assault, she was asked to serve on the board of the Jeanne Geiger Center for domestic violence in Newburyport. A stay-at-home mother, Hoffman began brainstorming for something unique that she could contribute.
And that's when she began her crusade to change the world, one T-shirt at a time.
In 2006, Emotional Armor was launched out of her home. Hoffman began with $2,000 and 60 messages she'd scribbled out and put on bright, fruit-colored T-shirts. She calls it a "lifestyle messaging company." Before long, one Newburyport shop was selling 60 shirts a day. Hospital gift shops picked up the line.
"Princess, Not in Need of Rescue," quickly became a top seller, as did, "My Scars Are My Favorite Tattoo," "Write Your Own Happy Ending," and "Happiness Is Free." Buoyed by the success of the shirts in boutiques on the North Shore, she expanded her line to include men, children, and infants. Among the baby mottoes are: "Destined for Greatness" and "Milk and Love. Any Questions?"
Hoffman kept none of the profits herself, instead channeling the money to the Jeanne Geiger Center and to a self-esteem program for elementary children in a Newburyport public school. If kids feel good about themselves, she reasons, they're less likely to turn to bullying and violence.
Last August, Hoffman and her family moved to Cohasset. On the soccer field one day, Hoffman met Tracy Thomas, another mother of three. Hoffman told her about Emotional Armor, and Thomas, who has a marketing and communications background, knew she'd found what she'd been looking for.
"Emotional Armor resonated with me because of my three daughters," says Thomas, 44. "My husband and I want them to be confident and compassionate." Thomas loved the concept, but could tell that Hoffman's venture needed some organizing. She signed on to become the unsalaried chief operating officer.
"Everyone who sees these has someone in their life they want to give one to," says Thomas, whose own girls wear the shirts all the time.
The line has now expanded to include whimsical belts with empowering messages engraved on the inside of the buckles, made by Scituate artist Jodi Dinatale. Emily Kuvin Jewelry Design of Newton makes beautiful necklaces for Emotional Armor with "love," "strength" and "beauty" among the engraved messages.
And recently, Hoffman had dozens of prototype sneakers designed by
One of Hoffman's favorite messages is: "Off to Save the Dragon." It reminds her of her assailant. "If people are treated with love and kindness, they won't breathe fire," she says.
Each product comes with a card that explains that the net profits go to violence prevention and children's empowerment programs. "This company was founded on the unshakeable belief in the goodness of people. . . . Thank you for helping to remind all of us that the power of positive thinking and a kind heart can change lives."
Emotional Armor now operates out of Hoffman's Cohasset home, and so far on the South Shore, her products can be found in Ports & Company in town. She's turned down offers from large department stores, including Macy's, because "we'd get lost."
Hoffman, who speaks at colleges and schools about social entrepreneurship, hopes to take her self-esteem program from the Newburyport school to a Cohasset school, and then maybe statewide.
She recently designed a T-shirt for a very special occasion: the second annual Cohasset Triathlon to benefit juvenile diabetes. A year ago, triathlon participant Joe Lyons suffered a fatal heart attack during the swim portion. He was 38 and left a son, Sam, who has diabetes. His widow, Karen, will participate next Sunday with a 60-person Team Lyons. Hoffman will be there, too, participating in a triathlon for the first time since her bike accident three years ago. The Team Lyons T-shirt says: "We Will Finish What You Started." As Hoffman would say, simple, yet empowering words.
For more information about Emotional Armor, visit emotionalarmor.com. 
