It can be hard for parents to separate work and family life especially when your office is your dining room table!

It can be hard for parents to separate work and family life especially when your office is your dining room table!  One Traverse City area woman is learning the ropes first hand, by turning her hobby into a growing home business.

"I've always loved to do creative things and I was just making stuff and getting requests for different items that here and there," explains Debbie Schmuckal. She took that creative drive and is now a business owner. Schmuckal started "Pursis" about two years ago but was sewing products for friends long before. "It was just something I was doing as hobby and then one day I looked in the bin that I'd been collecting and it was a little bit overwhelming what I'd made."

It was that revelation that sparked this mom of three to launch a new career. "I have diaper bags, tote bags, over the shoulder bags and clutches. There's about seven to eight standard types and from those I can kind of customize them so they can serve multiple purposes."

As Schmuckal's customer base grows so does her drive to learn more about being a small business owner. "If you are doing this all on your own you have to stay on top of all aspects of it. I can't just dedicate all of my time to sewing or to searching for fabrics," Schmuckal explains. "I do everything from home, I've had to just kind of learn as I go from the business side of it, to the marketing side of it, to just being out and about doing home shows. When I look back I realize it's come a long way it's been a lot of work because doing anything with three small children around it's time consuming."

Some of the bags can be found out The Red Dresser in downtown Traverse City.  For more information click on the link provided below: