Steal Magnolia Blvd.

One local Burbank woman defies the odds after leaving a Fortune Top 20 company after ten years to follow the American dream and start her own business. Pamela Rondini, like a large percentage of women in professional careers, found herself consumed in a 100+ hour a week job leaving no time to start a family. Rondini, who held the title of Director of Operations in a pharmaceutical company, was the first woman and the youngest person ever to be hired in that position.

Although she had built up a successful career and made a huge leap for women in the workforce, it was the same job that began to slowly eat away at her health and social life. “I didn’t just clock out and go home to a family. My job was my life and it ran me 24/7; all hours of the night to the point that I had no clue who I was anymore,” says Rondini, who even says she worked all day in her hotel room while on a trip to Hawaii with her husband. “With the life I had built, having children was just not an option,” she adds.

After much consideration and an enormous amount of soul-searching, Rondini knew there was only one thing to do. A week after her last official day of work, Pamela hopped on a plane and met with her mother and a friend in Greece where she spent the next three weeks on a Mediterranean cruise. “For the first few days all I could do was sleep. There were so many thoughts going through my head it was hard to sort through them,” says Rondini. “I realized that I had no idea what I liked to do anymore. But what hurt the most is that I had neglected my mother and the people who loved me most of all for over ten years.”

On that three week trip in the warm waters of Greece and the historic ruins of Italy,

Rondini fell in love with life all over again. “I took over a thousand photos,” says Rondini. “I just couldn’t stop.” There in an ancient city, surrounded by handmade pottery, fine art, and the company of her adoring mother, Rondini discovered something she had no idea she was searching for. Pamela Rondini had found peace.

When she returned home, Rondini settled back down to her roots, finding things that brought her joy again and rediscovering elements of her life that had been lying dormant for so many years. “Crafts were always a part of my life,” says Rondini. “Since I was eight creating with my hands was a way to express myself and relieve stress.” So it was to no surprise that Pamela began experimenting with different handmade elements. “Soon I had a room full of colorful artificial flower arrangements. I couldn’t stop buying flowers,” says Rondini. “I wanted to surround myself with pretty things.”

In the beginning of 2011, an idea sparked in Pamela after hearing from multiple artisan friends that there were a lack of venues to sell their handmade art. Thus, Rose Ribbon Inc. was born. With the full support of her family, friends, and loving husband, Rondini grew her company from the ground up and immediately signed up for nine courses through Burbank’s Team Business. Now, almost a year later Rose Ribbon carries a handful of artists with handmade gifts ranging from photography, jewelry, crochet, home décor, wood design, burlap banners, and recycled paper gifts.

All artists are handpicked by Pamela, which allows for a diverse variety of items without being over saturated in a sea of sellers. Rose Ribbon focuses on highlighting each artist and works hard to promote their gifts on all of the leading social media websites. Rose Ribbon does not charge artists to post items on the site, which separates their online gift store from other artist vendor sites. “I want to do everything I can to help make them successful,” says Pamela who has created not only a venue for growing artisans but an entire Rose Ribbon family. They are currently recruiting new artists for 2012 and encourage interested sellers to visit the website for application instructions. “I look forward to adding more artists this year while inspiring people to stay in touch with all the little things they love in life.”

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