Critter Corner: Local Businesswoman is 'Sew' Into Cats and Dogs
Close knit family offers ideas and support.
It is not often that opportunity knocks — sometimes it pants, barks and wags too. Not many years ago Marsha Hotchkiss was working in an office and would go home to be with her two- and four-legged family and enjoy her hobbies of knitting and sewing in her free time. When the office was downsized, Hotchkiss, like many others, started looking at the job market, but nothing beckoned. One day she was brainstorming with her son, and he said offhandedly "Why not sew coats for dogs?" The rest may be called history for this burgeoning home-based business. Although it may seem a straight forward progression, the beginning of the business started with a good deed several years before. When the Hotchkiss Shelties were getting older they asked the …