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Pretty in Pink with Precious Paws
By Heather Gaghan
This month’s artist, Elizabeth Frechette, knows first hand
the life changing effects of being diagnosed with breast cancer. Her story is a
bit different in that she was only 30 years old when she was told she was
already in stage III of the cancer. As devastating as the news was to
Elizabeth, her life since then has become a story of hope and inspiration and
her company, Precious Paws Inc. has shared that hope with people all over the
country.
“Some businesses just take off. Some fail. Others take years
of hard work and persistence. Precious Paws is taking years of persistence, but
my customers keep me inspired because they truly love my designs.”
These words spoken by this month’s artist, Elizabeth
Frechette, could not speak more clearly to the persistence that is evident not
only in her business, but in her personal life as well. You get the sense of
this artist’s true optimism and unwavering commitment to what she considers not
just her business, but her life’s mission, as you browse through her website, www.precious-paws.com. She talks about
her life and the way she feels destiny has played a hand on one of her site’s
pages. “The turn of the century was quite an event for everyone in the world,
but to me it was extraordinary because at the stroke of midnight I had just
entered into my fifth year of surviving breast cancer.”
Five years prior the artist was stumbling through her
twenties—as most of us do—trying to figure out just what she should be doing
with her time here on earth. After her father gave her a copy of “The Celestine
Prophecy” she recalls one of the insights in the book really standing out for
her. It said, “…you will meet just the right person at just the right time in
your life.” And it turned out that way.
Right before Elizabeth turned 30, she unknowingly met the man, Mark, who would
become her husband and his dog who would become her inspiration—a black Lab
named Paige.
After enduring two operations and six months of chemotherapy,
Elizabeth returned to school and earned her degree in civil engineering.
Destiny, however, had different plans. She started doing temp work at Baystate
Medical Center—the same hospital that helped save her life, and wound up
getting hired full time. And every October, the hospital would hold a
fundraiser called Rays of Hope to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer.
It was during one of these walks on a beautiful fall day that changed
everything for the artist.
Elizabeth remembers at the spur of the moment, deciding to
take Paige along with her for the walk that year. While on the drive over, they stopped at a Walmart where
Elizabeth picked up some pink ribbon to place around Paige’s neck. She also recalls, “I thought it would be
cute to have my dog show her support, since she was there for me throughout my
chemo, when everyone else needed to work and go about their daily routines.”
It was on this walk in 1998 that the vision of ‘Precious
Paws’ was born. The business started to take off a year later when the fist
T-shirts were produced and were either given to family members or sold by word
of mouth. Elizabeth has never been one to feel comfortable asking people for
donations for the cancer walks, so the idea of selling T-shirts with a
percentage going to breast cancer research was a perfect fit and a perfect idea
for a small business. “This is my way of helping with fundraising.” And a way
for her to help animals too. “I thought since I was using a logo of a dog, I
should also donate to help animals.” When she opened her shop in Northampton,
MA, it was the surrounding community and her neighbors that inspired her “Colors
of Hope” logo with the colors of the rainbow. Precious Paws continues to be her
inspiration and passion to this day.
For a woman who started her working career putting the
orange caps on Elmer’s glue tubes, life has managed to balance the sweet with
the sorrow. “To this day, every time I see a tube of Elmer’s glue it brings me
back to 1980, and I think to myself, ‘where did all the years go?!’” says the
artist. It is Elizabeth’s gentle but determined nature that not only helped her
survive breast cancer, but create a vision of hope and community of care
through her designs. She works with a graphic designer in the creation process
of all her work and is constantly inspired by her customers. She says, “many of
my logos such as the cat, horse, and golden retriever were created based on
customers’ requests.”
The artist currently resides in Russell, MA a hill town in
the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, with her husband, their 14 month old
son Sam, two cats, Joseph and Emily, Paige’s daughter Addie and granddaughter
Lily. Paige, the Precious Paws mascot is
still bouncing along at the ripe old age of almost 14!
All Labs is proud to carry the Precious Paws’ Colors of Hope
t-shirts and hats to honor all those women who continue the fight against breast
cancer everyday. For more information on Elizabeth Frechette’s story and Precious
Paws products please visit her website at www.precious-paws.com.
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