For Silver Spring’s Kristina Huddle, cork is useful for more than wine stoppers and bulletin boards—it’s a sustainable material for handbags and accessories.

“About eight years ago I got a small piece of cork fabric and was so intrigued by it—the feel of it,” says Huddle, who describes the texture as slightly squishy, bouncy and buttery. “Everybody that I showed it to was just loving it.”

Huddle’s home-based business, Bozie’s Bags (a nod to her childhood nickname), combines her lifelong love of sewing with providing a sophisticated, environmentally safe alternative to vinyl and leather. Cork fabric is a vegan product, is water-, scratch-, mildew- and bacteria-resistant, and can be spot cleaned. Although Huddle, 54, is not a vegan, she is an animal lover who prefers an eco-friendlier material for her products.

“I like the sustainability,” she says, “but the light weight and the fact that it’s washable are very practical.”

Huddle discovered cork fabric through a Google search for environmentally friendly materials. Since Portugal is the world’s largest cork producer, she says she began importing ethically sourced Portuguese cork fabric made from the cork oak tree, which can be shaved every nine years without causing harm. 

Huddle is so enthusiastic about cork products that she and the assistant to the ambassador of Portugal connected on their mutual love of all things Portuguese when she visited Huddle’s booth at the Olney Farmers and Artists Market. From there, the Portuguese Embassy in Washington, D.C. invited her to present cork products at a 2023 European Union Open House event in the District and again this past May. To highlight aspects of the Portuguese culture and economy, Huddle gave a cork presentation, sold her products, and donated goods for gift bags.

Customers appreciate Huddle’s variety of sizes, shapes and colors, and often field questions from curious friends. “The cork is so unusual—it’s a conversation piece,” says Silver Spring customer Michelle Bouchard. “The quality of her work is amazing; I have purses that I use daily, and they last for years.”

Longtime customer Suzie Friedman met Huddle seven years ago, when their kids attended James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring. Over the years, her purse purchases have expanded. 

At a wedding in Tampa last year, Friedman’s cork handbags turned heads. She brought a roomy, cranberry-hued satchel and a minimalist hunter green “Abigail” crossbody purse. One for lots of items; one for essentials.

“One of the women that I knew was like, ‘Tell me about these bags,’ ” the Silver Spring resident says. “I told her about the bags and she ordered a few—she was able to design and choose her own pattern.” Customization is a feature of Bozie’s Bags, with clients able to select a particular color of cork fabric for their order. 

Huddle, a mother of three and now an empty nester, worked as a social worker for 20 years and enjoyed sewing cotton bags for her daughters’ American Girl dolls as a creative outlet. She started Bozie’s Bags in 2014, but kept her day job until 2016, when she went all in with her small business. 

Huddle’s most popular items are the Abigail crossbody bag ($45) and the Jackie wristlets, which sell for $35. (She names bags after people in her life; Abigail is one of her daughters’ names.) Products are sold on Bozie’s Bags’ website, at the Olney Farmers and Artists Market, Locally Crafted in Gaithersburg, and area festivals and craft shows. Prices range from $15 for a simple card wallet to $150 for larger bags and backpacks. 

“They’re beautiful bags, and they aren’t expensive, or I don’t think I’d own five of them,” Friedman says. 

Huddle says she sells about 1,750 bags and accessories annually, personally sewing each one. When it comes time to make new inventory, she whips up a variety of bags in batches of 40 or 50.

“It’s definitely my go-to for a gift,” Bouchard says. “There can be anything from a small gift for under $20 or a large bag like the one I got for my sister—a new bag for her laptop.”

Working from a studio in her basement, Huddle creates bags with either of two industrial sewing machines. Two part-time employees help cut fabric for purse liners a few hours a week. The small business has grown exponentially over the past five years, and Huddle says she’ll need to make adjustments.

“I can’t keep being the only person who sews these bags—it’s not sustainable,” she says. In order to expand her business, she is considering becoming a distributor of Portuguese cork fabric in America, selling it online to fellow artisans in addition to creating her unique bags. 

“I believe cork is something that should be more readily available here because of its wonderful properties,” Huddle says. “I’ve loved bringing it to the States.” 

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With three graduates headed to Paris next month to swim for the U.S. Olympic team, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda is gearing up to celebrate its star athletes.

The private Catholic school announced this week it is planning a community “red, white, and blue Olympic Pep Rally” on July 25—the day before the Opening Ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Olympics—on its campus in support of Katie Ledecky, Phoebe Bacon and Erin Gemmell.

Head of School Catherine Ronan Karrels and Head Varsity Swimming and Diving Coach Bob Walker were among a contingent from Bethesda who were in attendance last week as the three graduates earned their spots on the team during the 2024 U.S Olympic swim trials held in Indianapolis. Ledecky, 27, graduated in 2015, while Bacon 21, followed in 2020 and the 19-year-old Gemmell in 2023.

Karrels, who graduated from Stone Ridge in 1986, said she watched as Ledecky and Gemmell competed in the 200-meter freestyle final and made the relay team together. “And when Phoebe made the team, within seconds of completing her swim I received a text from Katie with a ‘Wooooohooo!!!’ ” she said.

“I know they will be wearing their Stone Ridge blue and gold under their Team USA red, white, and blue,” adds Walker, who coached all three swimmers at Stone Ridge.

The summer games will mark the fourth Olympics for Ledecky, a superstar who burst into a global spotlight after winning a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2012 London games when she was just 15.

“I am extremely excited to be headed to Paris with Erin and Katie,” says Bacon of Chevy Chase. “I think it is just such a special thing to have three of us from the same area and the same high school all on one Olympic team together, competing with each other and cheering each other on—this definitely a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity.”

In total, 20 women were named to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Swim Team. With Stone Ridge alumnae earning three of those spots, Stone Ridge Gators make up 15% of the team.

“It is wonderful that three young women from our community are on the USA women’s Olympic swim team,” says Ledecky’s mother, Mary Gen Ledecky of Bethesda. “I have seen all three grow up in the sport, but I have also seen them grow as smart, wonderful women who are interested in their studies, in their communities and in doing good for the world. I’ll be cheering for them all, and for TEAM USA once the games begin.”

The trio of swimmers have long known each other. Ledecky and Gemmell met 12 years ago when Gemmell’s father, Bruce Gemmell, coached Ledecky at the Nation’s Capital Swim Club in Bethesda. In awe of the older swimmer, Gemmell says shedressed up like Ledecky for Halloween in 2013 at age 8, borrowing a Ledecky swim cap through her father’s connection.

Ledecky and Bacon also attended Little Flower School, a private Catholic elementary school at 5601 Massachusetts Ave. in Bethesda, at the same time. According to Ledecky and Bacon, when Bacon was in pre-kindergarten and Ledecky was in fourth grade at the school, they were assigned to be “buddies.”

“[She] ended up on the 2021 Tokyo Olympic swim team with me, competing in the 200 backstroke,” writes Ledecky in her new memoir, Just Add Water: My Swimming Life. In the book released June 11, the seven-time gold medalist chronicles her prolific athletic career. “There must be, forgive the pun, something in the DMV water.”

When Ledecky wasn’t celebrating her fellow Stone Ridge friends’ swimming achievements, she lived up to expectations at the trials with victories in the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle events, securing her Paris roster spot. She is poised to become the most decorated female Olympic swimmer of all time.

Bacon, a fifth-year senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, finished second in the 200-meter backstroke to make her second straight Olympic team by .07 seconds. Gemmell, a sophomore at the University of Texas, finished fourth in the 200-meter freestyle, securing a spot on the 4×200 freestyle relay squad alongside Ledecky.

This will be the first Olympic Games for Gemmell, who earned a silver in the 4×200 freestyle relay on the 2023 World Championship team. Her brother Andrew competed in the 2012 Olympics in London.

“I’m honored to be able to go to Paris, and I’m especially excited to be going with Katie and Phoebe,” Gemmell says. “Going to the Olympics has been a huge dream of mine, and it’s astounding to me that I’ll be doing it with two other people from Stone Ridge, especially given how relatively small of a school it is.”

Stone Ridge’s pep rally, tentatively scheduled to run from 4:30 to 6 p.m., will be held on its campus at 9101 Rockville Pike. All community members and Stone Ridge Gator fans are welcome to attend and are asked to RSVP, the school said in a release. 

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After 70-year-old Larry Sprague retired from his computer science career four years ago, he began woodworking in earnest, ultimately choosing to create birds modeled after species found at the shore and others he has noticed at his feeder. As wooden friends accumulated in his North Potomac home, Sprague’s wife, Georgiann, gave him a gentle nudge to thin the flock in their increasingly cluttered nest.

Thus began Sprague’s second career as an artisan, carving wooden birds and crafting aluminum butterflies under the name LCSprague Artisan Crafts. “It’s a hobby-passion,” he says of his zeal to create more than 200 seagulls, swans, wrens and the like each year. “I enjoy making things.”

Most popular are his “comfort birds,” small wooden and colored resin creatures that can fit in the palm of a hand and cost from $35 to $40. Sprague began making them because his wife loved how they felt in her hands; she says each one has a different personality. Now customers scoop up these comfort birds—he estimates he’s sold well over 100 since starting in May 2023.

“I liked the idea of keeping a lovely little bird on my desk to play with and hold when I’m on video calls,” says Silver Spring customer Tacy Lambiase. “I work remotely and find myself playing with hair ties and pens while I’m on calls—I figured a comfort bird would be a nice upgrade from those.”

Sprague has had a lifetime love affair with woodworking. His father taught him the art as a child, and growing up on a lake in New Jersey surrounded by wildlife gave him endless subjects to carve. 

Sprague has collected wood over the years to fuel his hobby, and uses it for unpainted wood carvings. A woodworking friend donates leftover walnut, which Sprague uses in creating comfort birds. He buys wood from local lumber suppliers for the rest of his products and creates his masterpieces in garage and basement workrooms at his home. Comfort birds take about two hours across three days; other projects can take longer.

Knowledgeable birders give him props for the precision in his life-size carvings and painting of birds such as mallards, downy woodpeckers, chickadees, sandpipers, egrets, bluebirds, cardinals and hummingbirds.

“He’s scientifically accurate—that matters for us,” says Kathy Caisse, gift shop manager at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, one of the sellers of Sprague’s wares. “He is also very regional—who wouldn’t love it?” 

Customers can order custom items by contacting Sprague through his Facebook or Instagram page, and he ships or arranges for pickup. As a frequent exhibitor at local markets, he says he can sell 40 birds in a day. His smaller hand-painted birds and ducks start at $45 to $65. Larger birds and ducks run from $100 to $150. Depending on size and detail, some carvings can sell for $350 or more.

“I really like doing the markets because I meet the people who buy the stuff,” Sprague says. 

Butterflies made from repurposed aluminum cans have joined the artisan’s repertoire. “It’s actually soda pop and beer cans, but to be honest, most of mine are beer cans,” he says. “You can stick them out in the garden all year long.”

Rockville resident Larissa Johnson saw Sprague’s butterflies at Brookside Gardens and was hooked. She contacted Sprague directly, ordered butterflies and picked them up at his home. “I love them; I have them in so many of my plants at my house,” she says. Johnson bought large 4½-by-3½-inch butterflies with a 15-inch recycled aluminum stake for $15 each and a smaller 3½-by-2½-inch version with a 9-inch stake for $12 each.

The owners of Locally Crafted in Gaithersburg, which carries Sprague’s products, know the regional artisan landscape, and say the fruits of his labor are distinctive. “People constantly are commenting on the quality of the woodworking,” says Heather Luxenberg, co-owner of Locally Crafted. “You can tell each piece has been given attention and is a true labor of love.”

“I think what impresses me most about his work is that very few crafts are made entirely by hand,” says co-owner Stacey Hammer. “He literally takes a piece of wood and turns it into something else.”

This story appears in the May/June edition of Bethesda Magazine.

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In 2001, Raquel Godin contracted bacterial meningitis and had less than a 10% chance of living. She survived but her legs had to be amputated and most of her fingers were either partially or fully amputated. 

Today, the 49-year-old Gaithersburg resident tries to help other amputees adjust. Godin works as an amputee care coordinator with Hanger Clinic, a Washington, D.C.-based orthopedic rehabilitation center that co-sponsored Montgomery County’s first para-standing tennis clinic on Sunday at Rockville’s Georgetown Prep Tennis Club. She joined 15 other para-athletes who attended the pop-up clinic, and each had a volunteer helping develop their tennis skills. According to paralympic.org, there are eligibility requirements for para-athletes, including visual, intellectual and muscle power impairments, as well as limb deficiency. Godin wants to encourage others who have experienced profound challenges.

“These events show there is so much life after limb loss,” she said. “You don’t know until you try it.”

The event was also organized and sponsored by Chevy Chase siblings Bodi De, 16, and Maya, 18, founders of Adaptive Tennis DMV, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting and growing the para-standing tennis community. The two tennis enthusiasts are trained by College Park-based Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC), which also sponsored the free event. They learned about para-standing athletes by volunteering with JTCC’s adaptive tennis events. As a result, the siblings started Adaptive Tennis DMV in 2023 to share information, promote volunteerism and partner with local organizations to provide opportunities in adaptive tennis.

“[The clinic] is giving more people a new community and love for tennis,” said Maya, a senior at Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C. “It’s been incredible to watch the players grow and develop and become more confident on the court.”

Adaptive Tennis DMV also provides players with such resources as court time, one-on-one practice, specially designed para-standing athletic equipment, competitive para-standing tournaments and a sense of community. 

Sunday’s clinic highlighted an emerging sport designed for those with physical disabilities who prefer to play standing rather than playing in a wheelchair. Tennis players with ambulatory disabilities are currently excluded from mainstream competition, including the Paralympics, according to parastandingtennis.com.

“It’s a very fun and rewarding position to be in, helping these players with their journeys,” Bodi said. Both he and his sister worked one-on-one with para-athletes during Sunday’s clinic.

Advocates say para-standing tennis is an important next phase in expanding the tennis community and making the sport more inclusive and diverse.

“Not a lot of people are aware that there is even an aspect of para-standing tennis—it’s always been able-bodied tennis or wheelchair tennis,” said Karl Lee, JTCC coach. “Through events like the clinic, we can actually show para-standing players what is possible, regardless of their prior tennis background.”

The tennis clinic was open to anyone wishing to participate. Future pop-up clinics in the DMV are expected later this year as part of an ongoing series focused on growing the community of para-standing players.

“We saw the need and decided to take the leap and kind of create what we call an adaptive sports program and turn it into something new,” said DJ Hughes, a prosthetist/orthotist assistant and certified athletic trainer from the Hanger Clinic. “Being able to have that outlet or resource for anybody is extremely important.”

The sport has been gaining attention and many believe that para-standing tennis deserves the same status as other sports that are already recognized in standing categories at the Paralympics, including table tennis and badminton. Individuals with amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, birth defects and cerebral palsy are welcome to participate in para-standing tennis events. The sport is supported by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and national governing bodies, with approximately 400 players from 31 countries, according to parastandingtennis.com.

In August 2023, the U.S. Open hosted its first exhibition match with para-standing players. UK native Nicky Maxwell, 27, who attended Sunday’s clinic in Rockville, was one of the athletes who competed at the U.S. Open exhibition match. Now living in Washington, D.C., he believes para-standing sports can open new doors for potential athletes. He admits that, although he’s been a competitive athlete his whole life, even he knew nothing of the sport.

“I was completely unaware that para-standing tennis existed until about 18 months ago—just think how many more people that are out that who have no idea,” Maxwell said. “There’s an entire organized discipline out there for them that could really change the way they look at tennis.”

Maxwell hopes the combined efforts of JTCC, the Hanger Clinic and Adaptive Tennis DMV build the para-standing tennis community.

“We’re trying to grow this—we just had our para-standing tournament here at JTCC—it’s only the fourth in the nation and we had players from as far away as Santiago, Chile,” said Lee. “Our core message would be: Realize your potential, no matter your condition.”

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The idea for Tasty Knots all started with a chipped tooth.

Bill Witkoski was told by a veterinarian that his rescue puppy, Jasper, needed softer toy alternatives to the brittle dog treats he was gnawing on. Witkoski, a professional ropes course builder and climbing instructor at Calleva in Poolesville, tied some old rope into knots to keep the Australian shepherd-Catahoula leopard mix busy.

“As a puppy, he was a menace,” Witkoski, 31, says. “He would tear up my shoelaces; he would tear up the carpet—he needed something to do.”

Jasper seemed to like the rope toys, which kept him occupied and out of trouble, so Witkoski upped the ante. 

“I started putting his puppy food inside the knot itself, and it was, like, game over,” he says. “He would play with it for hours at a time. It was the perfect thing—it was safe on his teeth and it kept him busy.”

Since creating the first one for his dog in 2019 and starting the business in late 2021, Witkoski and his team have crafted more than 4,000 Tasty Knots toys for canine and feline friends. A majority of the toys are made in Poolesville, though Witkoski and Jasper have since moved from Poolesville to Point of Rocks, Maryland.

Witkoski says most rope toys on the market are made from rope that is already frayed, while the strong inner core of the climbing rope he uses for Tasty Knots is protected by an outer sheath, making it much stronger and harder to shred. His toys for dogs include a Milk-Bone biscuit tied inside; kitty toys contain catnip.

Because Witkoski uses donated rope from rock climbers and area climbing gyms, Tasty Knots requires little overhead. Over time, climbing ropes are retired, meaning they can no longer be used for climbing. Tasty Knots gives local climbers and gyms a safe outlet for retiring their ropes while also ensuring they’ll get recycled rather than sit in a landfill.

“We love to support local causes, organizations and businesses that align with our mission and values and are making a difference in the world,” Krista Nickerson says in an email. Nickerson is the director of Movement, a climbing gym in Rockville that was the first gym to give rope to Tasty Knots, according to Witkoski. “Donating ropes to Tasty Knots is a great way to give our retired ropes a beautiful new life.”

Customers can choose from a variety of durable and colorful rope toys that are available in small, medium and large sizes. Dog toys range from $8 for a mini knot to $10 for the original knot and $12 for an advanced knot, appropriate for larger pooches. Cat toys are $6, or three for $15.

“I first learned about Tasty Knots when I was over at a friend’s house and saw his dog playing with one; I hadn’t seen a dog toy like it before,” says customer Nate Fosbenner, 31, an enterprise software salesman in Annapolis. “I loved the idea of a safe toy made from recycled climbing rope and decided to buy one for my own dog; I have been a repeat, happy customer ever since.”

Customers say they appreciate the durability of the items and the use of retired rope. Products are available at tastyknots.com, at Locally Crafted in Gaithersburg, at the Calleva store in Poolesville, and in a few stores in Frederick and Pennsylvania.

“My first experiences with Tasty Knots involved my dog, Dempsey; he is a destroyer of toys,” says customer Grace Hassler, a 28-year-old grad student in Philadelphia. She rescued the mutt from a shelter. “Tasty Knots are the only thing he can’t destroy.” 

Witkoski has trained a handful of Montgomery County locals to tie rope knots at their homes to keep up with demand. He pays the part-time team by the knot, offering flexibility for the side gig. The toy master says he has used more than 28,000 feet of rope to make his masterpieces since starting the business. Each quarter, Witkoski says, Tasty Knots donates 10% of its profits to local animal shelters. 

“That first shelter [we donated to] was the shelter we got Jasper at,” Witkoski says, referring to a site in New Jersey. “Jasper is 5 years old, and 100% a good boy.

This story appears in the March/April issue of Bethesda Magazine.

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This story, which was originally published in the March/April issue of Bethesda Magazine, was corrected to reflect the real estate agents involved in the Long Acre Court and Wellington Drive sales. Hans Wydler and Dina Miller of Compass and Lauren Davis of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty were involved in the Long Acre Court sale. Lauren Davis of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty and Carolyn Sappenfield of RE/MAX Realty were involved in the Wellington Drive sale.

Montgomery County homebuyers must dig a little deeper in 2024, as home prices are on the rise. From November 2022 to November 2023, the median home price in MoCo rose 4.7%, says Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant.

“The biggest constraint continues to be a lack of inventory,” she says. If there were more homes for sale, I bet we would have more homes sold.”

Montgomery County’s median home price is $580,000, Sturtevant says, but the single-family home, townhouse or condo you’ll find for the price tag differs wildly among communities.

So what will you get for your hard-earned money? With the help of Bright MLS, here are examples of homes that sold for around $580K, $1 million, $2.5 million and $4 million in 2023 in MoCo communities.

What can you get for $580K?

• $583,000
• 4208 Sandcastle Lane, Olney
• 1,632 square ft.
• 3 bedrooms
• 1 ½ bathrooms

Porter and Diana Olsen scrolled through listings on Zillow for entertainment, so they knew what they were looking for when they started to search for a single-family home as a step up from their Olney townhome. On the plus side, the house had been on the market for more than 80 days, and the homeowners had finally dropped the listing price to the Olsens’ price point of $583,000. On the minus side, the dated Olney Oaks Colonial home, built in 1986, had only one full bathroom, and the home’s size—1,632 square feet—was comparable to the Olsens’ townhome. But, the Olsens reasoned, the backyard was lush and wooded—just what they were looking for. They pulled the trigger.

“It was a combination of curb appeal and an opportunity,” Porter says. “The real kicker at the end was the backyard—it’s just this gorgeous view that you wake up to in the morning.” 

Real estate agents: Galen Roop, Cummings & Co.; Ken Abramowitz of RE/MAX Town Center

• $580,000
• 4956 Sentinel Drive, unit 9-105, Bethesda

When unit 9-105 was put on sale in the Sumner Village condominium complex, just off Sangamore Road in Bethesda last November, real estate agent Tony Calkins, with The Calkins Group at Compass, knew it was special.

“Sumner Village is really sort of a hidden gem—it’s 27 wooded acres in the middle of Bethesda, which is hard to find,” Calkins says.

The buyers work in Washington, D.C., so the home’s proximity to their jobs was a motivating factor in their purchase. Offered at $569,000, the dated 1,491-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath unit built in 1975 came with an added incentive—a lovely patio overlooking a lush, wooded area that Calkins’ clients loved. The $1,053 monthly HOA fee disclosed on the Redfin listing fit the buyers’ budget.

“The key here was the spaciousness, the view and access to the outside,” Calkins says. “I think that’s what got them.”

Real estate agents: Trish Sweeney, Compass; Tony Calkins, The Calkins Group at Compass

• $575,000
• 9913 Tenbrook Drive, Silver Spring

When Daniel and Ndidi Alvarez moved from Chicago to the DMV for work, they had their eyes on Silver Spring for its schools and proximity to D.C.

The couple rented to start and looked for about six months before purchasing the three-bedroom, two-bath single-family house on Tenbrook Drive in the Argyle Club Estates neighborhood last November. To their relief, there were not multiple bids on the home—something they had experienced several times in their homebuying journey. Plus, the circa 1948, 1,700-square-foot Colonial with an updated interior was in the same school district as their rental, so their two sons were not displaced. And commute-wise, Ndidi could easily travel to her job in D.C.

“The neighbors came out and were greeting us, inviting us over for dinner. There were kids playing outside—I really did not expect that,” she says. “It was a pleasant surprise.”

Real estate agents: Jaime Willis, Compass; Hillary Balogh, The Schiff Home Team of eXp Realty

What can you get for $1M?

• $1,010,000
• 11827 Emerald Green Drive, Clarksburg
• 5,319 square ft.
• 6 bedrooms
• 5 ½ bathrooms

Samantha He worked as the selling agent for a couple who purchased this million-dollar property in Clarksburg. She says the new homeowners, formerly of Gaithersburg, looked in Bethesda and Potomac but were enticed by the Clarksburg Village neighborhood as well as the brick-front, Georgian-style house, built in 2013. Such features as a custom wine wall and outdoor fireplace sealed the deal.

Multiple buyers bid on the home, pushing the price tag from its $939,990 list price to the winning bid: $1,010,000. He says seven other potential buyers competed for the home, with two bids exceeding $1 million. Her clients, who offered a cash deal, won out, and soon settled into their six-bedroom, 5 ½-bath home.

Real estate agents: Donna Pfeiffer, RE/MAX; Samantha He, DMV Landmark Realty

• $1,002,000
• 10910 Old Coach Road, Potomac

Patricia St. Clair and her husband raised two sons in their 3,197-square-foot Potomac Colonial home, built in 1966. After 36 years and the death of her husband, St. Clair decided it was time to downsize and move closer to a son and his family in the Atlanta area.

Though the house had been meticulously cared for, the family had not updated the original kitchen or bathrooms. Displaying wallpaper, vinyl flooring and laminate countertops, the home was priced conservatively, comparable to other nonrenovated homes in the area. 

Real estate agent Jared Russell’s low pricing gamble paid off. He listed the four-bedroom,
2 ½-bath home at $800,000, received 30 offers, and sold it in a matter of hours for $1,002,000. 

 “I still can’t believe the price I got for that beautiful home,” St. Clair says. 

Real estate agents: Jared Russell, DMV Living; Zhang Tian, Signature Home Realty

• $1,005,000
• 4110 Denfeld Ave., Kensington

Joshua and Michelle Boyd purchased their 2,972-square-foot Craftsman home in Kensington last year for just over $1 million. Moving from a half-mile away, the couple needed more space now that they have a child, but they wanted to live in the same general area.

“There were probably easily 50 to 100 houses that we looked at over the last year and a half,” Joshua says. “When we both toured the house…it was pretty damn near perfect. There were a few things that we wanted to change, but it’s move-in ready.”

The Boyds gained a one-car garage, two additional bedrooms (four total), two more bathrooms
(3 ½ total), a walk-in shower and a family-friendly neighborhood. The home’s location was important since Joshua’s parents and aunt live nearby. Joshua works from home in cybersecurity, and Michelle is a nurse in Rockville Town Center.

The Boyds offered $30,000 over the asking price of $975,000 to purchase the 2-year-old home, but have no regrets. 

“It just felt meant to be,” Joshua says.

Real estate agents: Suzanne Parmet, Compass; Wendy Gowdey, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

What can you get for $2.5M?

• $2.495 million
• 5504 Mohican Road, Bethesda
• 5,330 sq. ft.
• 5 bedrooms
• 4 ½ baths

Andy and Saira Spicknall were living in Bethesda but needed more space for their three elementary school-age children. 

“We love the community here. We love the school district. So we wanted to stay in the area,” Saira says. 

An open house was held over the Easter weekend at the 12-year-old 5,330-square-foot, five-bedroom, 4 ½-bath Craftsman on a quiet cul-de-sac in the Mohican Hills neighborhood. The Spicknalls were out of town and missed it but made a beeline to take a look the day after. 

“The proximity to where we were already living was a plus, but also this neighborhood feels quieter,” Saira says. “It feels a bit secluded…like a little bit of your own personal getaway compared to where we were living before.”

The fact that the home was listed over a holiday weekend may have worked to the Spicknalls’ advantage, Saira says. “Had it been on the market for longer, I think that it would have been more competitive to get than it was—we jumped on it very early.”

Real estate agents: Jim Begg, Compass; Abby Schulten, Washington Fine Properties

• $2.6 million
• 4819 Wellington Drive, Chevy Chase

The Hidaka family had lived abroad with their two children, calling Tokyo, Singapore and London home. But when it came time to move back to the States, Masaki Hidaka, a part-time professor at American University, told her husband she “really wanted to be able to walk,” after living in such pedestrian-friendly cities.

The family started with a townhouse, and last year purchased a 4,464-square-foot Colonial home, built in 2015. 

The five-bedroom, 5 ½-bath home touted a landscaped backyard with a gas fireplace and spacious patio. The 9-year-old house is steps from shops and restaurants, and a short commute to the Hidakas’ jobs and to their children’s high school. 

Real estate agents: Hans Wydler & Dina Miller, Compass; Lauren Davis, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

• $2.495 million
• 8603 Long Acre Court, Bethesda

With two kids and a need for two home offices, Eric and Lindsey Aberg had outgrown their three-bedroom condo in Northwest D.C. The District-based attorneys were tired of urban living, desiring less traffic, more quiet and a bigger home.

“The curb appeal is unmatched,” Lindsey says of the 4,731-square-foot traditional Georgian brick home that was built in 1926 and caught her eye when she did a drive-by through the Hillmead neighborhood. And with its six bedrooms and 5 ½ baths, there was more than enough room. 

Since an open house was set for two days after the day she did her drive-by, the couple sprang into action. They did a walk-through a day later and offered the list price. Lindsey even wrote a letter to the homeowners, sharing their story. The sellers could have gone through with the open house to see if they received any additional interest, but instead chose to cancel it and accept the Abergs’ offer. 

Real estate agents: Lauren Davis, Hans Wydler and Dina Miller, Compass

What can you get for $4M?

• $4.025 million
• 5306 Kenwood Ave., Chevy Chase

Jennifer and Rob Keller moved back to Montgomery County from the San Francisco Bay Area, where Rob’s in-house legal position at Cisco is based. The couple, parents of two school-age daughters, transplanted the family to the Kenwood section of Chevy Chase, within walking distance of Washington Episcopal School, which one of the girls attends. 

“We feel very, very fortunate because it was kind of a tight market here last summer,” Jennifer says. “There weren’t that many houses available, and also we really wanted a swimming pool.” 

The Kellers’ 6,636-square-foot brick Colonial, built in 1941, has six bedrooms, 6 ½ baths, a library, exercise room, and in-ground pool and spa combo. The home underwent a renovation in 2002 and offers custom shelving, an updated kitchen and custom cabinetry. The Kellers were so convinced that the Kenwood Avenue home should be theirs that they made an offer within 24 hours of viewing photos of the house—without ever walking through it, not even via video. 

“We like a traditional house,” Jennifer says. “It was the style, the size we needed—as soon as I saw pictures and the pool, I was like, That’s it.” 

Real estate agents: Ralph Nichols, Fairfax Realty Premier; Dana Rice, Compass

• $3,850,000
• 10809 Red Barn Lane, Potomac

Christopher and Lena Bryant fell in love with an 11,840-square-foot, six-bedroom, 7 ½-bath English country manor in the heart of Potomac. 

“We really loved the layout,” Lena says. “When we walked through, we were like, This feels like home to us.”

The couple, their 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, along with their two black Labrador retrievers moved from Seattle last summer to be closer to aging parents and Lena’s work headquarters. Finding a place nearby for their equestrian daughter to ride and board her horse was a factor.

“We were drawn to this street, oddly enough, through another house in our initial search,” Christopher says. “This house came up for sale and we quickly jumped on it.”

As the price tag indicates, the massive home offers many amenities. The Bryants can go for a dip in the saltwater pool, enjoy a meal in the gourmet farmhouse kitchen and gaze at the 100-year-old reclaimed beams from a Pennsylvania farmhouse in the great room. At this 2.79-acre estate, guests can also grab a bottle of vino from the wine cellar or get a sweat on in one of multiple workout rooms.

“There’s something for everyone in the house,” Christopher says. “The kids have their pool and the trampoline. We’re really happy with the choice we made.”

Real estate agents: Gary & Lisa Rudden, Rudden Bobruska team, RE/MAX Realty; Joshua Baumgardner, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

• $4,000,000
• 5120 Wessling Lane, Bethesda

Compass realtor Margie Halem’s out-of-state client wanted to live on Bethesda’s Wessling Lane because he had lived on it years earlier—and loved it. So when this home at 5120 Wessling Lane went on sale last year, Halem brokered the deal. Originally listed for $3,850,000, the 6,710-square-foot Craftsman in the Bradley Hills neighborhood garnered multiple offers and sold for $4 million.

“They loved the space, the warmth and the location—the location was huge,” Halem says about why the new owners chose the six-bedroom, six-bath home. “It is a really nice house—it was perfect for his family.”

Located within walking distance of downtown Bethesda, the home was built in 2015 with every bell and whistle, including a chef’s kitchen, floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, a home theater with built-in projector, a bathroom with heated floors and a freestanding soaking tub. The modern, open floor plan seamlessly integrates with the landscaped backyard and built-in firepit.

 “It doesn’t feel like you’re in an urban setting,” Halem says. “It’s just a peaceful, quiet street but literally you’re a stone’s throw from everything—that’s the appeal.” 

Real estate agents: Emily Sower & Robert Crawford, Washington Fine Properties; Margie Halem, Compass 

This story appears in the March/April issue of Bethesda Magazine.

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What does lounging on a sun-drenched Caribbean island smell like?

Coco House Candles conjures that scene for its popular Sel de Mer fragrance, a fresh beachy scent that combines coconut milk, sea salt, sandalwood, cedar and jasmine to evoke a warm, sandy paradise.

The Rockville-based business owned and operated by Jess Calloway, 37, aims to take customers on a scent-inspired journey with every lit candle or spray of room and linen mist. Coco House Candles also sells wax melts, reed diffusers and accessories.

“People get really excited when they smell something that either smells really good to them or it reminds them of a memory—a good memory—and they want their home to smell like that,” Calloway says.

The company name, Coco House Candles, is a nod to the products’ coconut wax blend and Calloway’s hometown of Cocoa, Florida. It’s a busy side hustle for Calloway, who works full time during the day as a hospital-based radiation therapist for cancer patients.

“It’s very stressful, very emotionally draining, sometimes physically draining, so I come home and [this is] my creative outlet,” says Calloway, who started the company in 2021. “Creating the blends and the smells and how they interact with my mental health really is what started it for me.”

Calloway dreams up what she wants her products to smell like and experiments by mixing a variety of fragrance oils. She says there is plenty of creativity in the task, but also a lot of math and chemistry—which she enjoys. 

Coco House Candle products are created in Calloway’s home, which she shares with her husband, TJ, and their cats, Peanut and Minnie. Customers seek out her wares on Etsy, at Gaithersburg’s Locally Crafted store, in several Frederick stores and on the company website, cocohousecandles.com.

“People appreciate the simplicity and the cleanness of her line,” says Locally Crafted co-owner Heather Luxenberg. “She creates a collection; if you like a scent, you can have it in a candle, you can have it in a reed diffuser, or in wax melts, or in room spray—if a customer is drawn to a scent, they can have it in many different forms.”

Calloway says the business sells about 800 candles annually. She creates her products by hand-pouring small batches of a proprietary coconut-apricot wax blend for an aesthetically pleasing, slow-burning product that leaves no soot. Calloway says her candles are scented with custom-blended fragrances and toxin-free oils. Striking the perfect balance for just the right scent is no simple task. 

“I’ve been working on a vanilla candle that has gotten the better of me—so far I’ve been working on it for six months,” Calloway says. “If you grew up in the ’80s and ’90s like I did, Bath & Body Works really ruined vanilla for some people. I want to make it upscale—I want to take it to the next level.”

LaDonna Williams, of Germantown, worked with Calloway in health care in 2021 and embraced being a product tester for the fledgling enterprise. She went on to become a loyal customer.

“She would bring in samples of scents and little candles for us to smell and see how we liked them,” Williams says. “That’s how I got addicted.”

In addition to Sel de Mer, Coco House’s most popular signature candle scents are Serenity and Forbidden, Calloway says. Serenity infuses lavender with bergamot for a citrus touch, sugar plum for a dash of sweetness and vetiver for a fresh, earthy note. Forbidden evokes a sultry mood, Calloway says, combining amber, milky coconut, nectarine, night-blooming jasmine and sugar. Seasonal scents are also popular choices—winter-themed Spice Berry, Holiday Vacay and Fireside are just a few of the get-’em-while-you-can scents available now.

Travel candles are $12 each, and larger glass-encased candles range from $24 to $40. Though Calloway wants to maintain consistent sales, she says she doesn’t want to grow too large too fast.

“I would want to be in a few more stores, but I wouldn’t want to go nationwide,” she says. “I feel like I would lose some control with quality if I were mass-producing.”

For now, customers say the candles are a form of therapy. 

“It just gives a soothing environment around you,” says longtime customer Yunnetta Porter-Aeo of Laurel. “It’s just an experience—it’s like perfection.” 

This story appears in the January/February issue of Bethesda Magazine.

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As other teens were glued to their PlayStations or focused on racking up friends on their MySpace pages, a young Shannon Ho was discovering her passion for greeting cards.

“My love for snail mail started back in middle school,” says Ho, who grew up in Olney and attended Farquhar Middle School and Sherwood High School. “My friends and I would always be the ones in charge of making cards for the graduating seniors in our youth group, and I always thought it was so special to be able to create and give from the heart.”

Fast forward to 2017, when Ho put her career in public health communications on hold to start Peach & Paperie, a wedding stationery company. Three years later, she expanded her product line to include greeting cards. “Peach” in the company name is a subtle nod to summertime—seasons spent with best friends creating those cards. 

“I think it is kinda fun and unexpected to receive a card in the mail these days, especially with technology,” says Ho, now 32 and a calligrapher and stationery designer who lives in Gaithersburg. “My cards are meant to bring a smile to whoever sees them.”

Peach & Paperie’s products offer lighthearted messages, often with puns, and original, whimsical art (picture a graduation card with a grinning llama wearing a mortarboard and diploma, along with the words “Congrats on Your Dip-Llama!”). There are cards for birthdays, holidays, graduations, thank yous or just because. Even a get-well card emblazoned with a frowning waffle wearing a hot water bottle and the message “Sorry You’re Feeling Waffle.”

“My most popular one is probably a birthday card that has a corgi on it that says ‘Go Shorty—It’s Your Birthday,’ ” Ho says. “People also love a baby card that says ‘Congrats on the Little Dumpling’ and it has a picture of three little dumplings.”

Though she never studied art formally, Ho says it was always a creative detox from her 9-to-5 jobs. Many of her cards revolve around her Chinese culture, with a number of her illustrations based on Asian food, such as sushi stickers on a sheet titled “That’s How We Roll,” and sushi notepads that say “Soy Many Things To Do.”

Juggling her daughter, Millie, who was born in June, Ho works alone out of her home, first compiling ideas for products and sketching out illustrations on her iPad. Next, she uses Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to lay out everything on her computer before sending it to her printer. 

“My husband usually helps me behind the scenes and at the [craft] markets,” she says of Joe Ho, her spouse of five years. “He’s also the pun approver of the business.”

Peach & Paperie products are available at Gaithersburg’s Locally Crafted store, at the website peachandpaperie.com, at online wholesale marketplace Faire, and in various shops across the country. The company sells about 1,000 cards a year, and Ho hopes to expand to more shops across America in 2024. In addition to greeting cards, wedding stationery, notepads, gift tags, magnets and stickers, Ho offers watercolor paintings of homes and customized stationery. Cards cost $5 each, and bundles of six can be purchased for $25. 

Look for Ho’s cards at the Locally Crafted Makers Market on Nov. 11 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Rio in Gaithersburg. Peach & Paperie will also have a booth at outdoor markets at Mosaic in Fairfax, Virginia, on Nov. 18-19 and Dec. 16-17. 

“People just pick them up and giggle—they think they’re adorable,” says Heather Luxenberg, co-owner of Locally Crafted. “They’re punny without being offensive.” Adds co-owner Stacey Hammer, “Customers smile when they see her products.”

This story appears in the November/December issue of Bethesda Magazine.

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Swimmer Katie Ledecky has done it hundreds if not thousands of times. This time, it’s July 29, 2023, she is in Fukuoka, Japan, and she is in lane four for the 800-meter freestyle final. It’s the 26-year-old Bethesda native’s favorite event, one she hasn’t lost since 2010. A win would make her the first swimmer to win a gold medal six times in the same event at the World Aquatics Championships.

Longtime observers—and Bethesda has plenty—know her secret. 

“It’s not some God-gifted natural ability; she’s not tremendously talented in any particular way,” says Bruce Gemmell, Ledecky’s coach from Nation’s Capital Swim Club. “The success comes from her heart and her head and her wanting to compete and wanting to get better, and she wants to get better every day. The consistency of that is what sets her apart.”

Swimming has taken Ledecky far from her hometown, where her parents, David and Mary Gen, still reside. She has competed at Olympic Games in London (2012), Rio de Janeiro (2016) and Tokyo (2021), amassing 10 Olympic medals, seven of them gold. The prolific athlete holds the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle world records, and 18 of the 20 fastest 1500-meter freestyle times ever. 

She wants to keep the streak going. Next up? Paris in 2024 and hopefully Los Angeles in 2028. 

“I’m confident that I’m not going to be done in Paris—L.A. 2028 is definitely in the cards at this point,” Ledecky says in a phone call from Gainesville, Florida, where she trains year-round. “L.A. is very appealing. It’s truly exciting that there’s going to be a home Olympic Games—Summer Olympics. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. …I don’t think I could pass that up.”

But for now, she is stepping up on the starting block in Japan and pressing her goggles to her face one more time. It’s the last moment any of her competitors will be anywhere near her. 

On the other side of the world, Ledecky has left an indelible mark on Bethesda and the Montgomery County area. From setting the athletic tradition at her alma mater, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, to popularizing a namesake, protein-packed omelet at Ize’s Deli & Bagelry, to visiting countless patients at Children’s National Hospital, the Olympian might travel the globe but says, “Bethesda will always be home for me.”

She still nurtures those relationships.

Ledecky’s swimming career started at the age of 6 at Palisades Swim & Tennis Club in Cabin John. She went on to attend Stone Ridge in Bethesda and would frequent Ize’s in Rockville, grabbing breakfast between early swim practices and high school classes. Her mom would preorder an omelet for her with tomato, cheese and bacon; a bagel; hash browns; and chocolate milk, and pick up the meal on the way to school. The deli eventually renamed her favorite dish “Katie’s Gold Medal Omelet” and newspaper clippings chronicling Ledecky’s successes line the walls.

“She’s like family to us,” says Lee Greenberg, the owner of Ize’s for more than 20 years. “We got to watch Katie grow up and go through her first set of Olympics—it’s been a great ride and an exciting story to watch her grow into the amazing person she is.”

Ledecky says Greenberg and company “are really, really nice, so we always try to stop in and say hello.”

Her perfect day when she’s back in town would include practice with her club team at Nation’s Capital Swim Club at the Georgetown Prep location in North Bethesda, and maybe a visit to the coaches and students at Stone Ridge, Ledecky says. She also prioritizes grabbing lunch with old high school friends and home time with family.

Her mom, Mary Gen Ledecky, adds that her daughter’s other favorite spots include Whole Foods and Ledo’s Pizza on River Road and Millie’s Spring Valley. Over the summer she also visited the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, “which was a family favorite spot growing up,” says Mary Gen.

Ledecky competed in her first Olympic Games in London while still in high school, winning a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at age 15. Across the Atlantic, classmates and teachers attended a watch party on campus.

“You’ve never seen a room explode the way that this room exploded,” says Stone Ridge Head of School Catherine Karrels, describing the crowd the moment Ledecky won. 

She graduated from Stone Ridge in 2015, and her coaches credit her rise to swimming fame as one reason the athletic department at the PK-12 school has churned out more extraordinary swimmers, including fellow Olympian Phoebe Bacon (class of 2020) and Erin Gemmell (class of 2023). There is a chance that all three could be swimming for Team USA at the 2024 Olympic Games.

In 2020, Ledecky and Bacon sent Stone Ridge swim coach Bob Walker a photo of the two of them in their Stone Ridge shirts at the Olympics training camp. Walker had it blown up into a life-size cardboard cutout, which the team brought with them to national Catholic championships last year so that Ledecky and Bacon could be seen cheering the team from the pool deck.

“Her influence survives—even in cardboard,” says Stone Ridge assistant coach Paul Boman.

Gemmell, a University of Texas freshman, competed with Ledecky in July at the World Championships, both a part of the U.S. women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay.

“I actually got to dive off of her—she went first and I went second—that was a really special moment for me,” Ledecky says. “I’ve known Erin since she was 7.” 

Gemmell, an 18-year-old from Potomac, hails from a powerhouse swimming family. Her brother, Andrew, swam at the 2012 London Olympics for Team USA, and her father, Bruce, coached women’s swimming for the 2016 Olympics and has coached Ledecky for years. In 2013, 8-year-old Erin dressed up as Ledecky for Halloween. 

“My parents and my friends made fun of me one time because someone asked me who my favorite Olympian was and I said Katie instead of my brother,” Gemmell says. 

Walker remembers Ledecky as “a competitor who is fierce, and with a smile. She’ll be done with the race and congratulate anybody who is next to her, pat them on the back, tell them they had a good swim—very modest in her victories.”  

Upon graduating, Ledecky took a gap year to prepare for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil where she earned four gold medals and one silver and set two world records. She continued swimming while majoring in psychology, with a minor in political science, at Stanford University and graduated in 2021.

When she comes home to Bethesda, Ledecky still enjoys visiting patients at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.—a habit she’s had for years.

“I think it’s one of the first places I’d been to post-London in 2012,” Ledecky says. “I try to go back and visit, especially around the holidays. It’s important to bring good cheer around that time around the hospital to young kids and their families.”

Ledecky signs autographs, makes bedside visits and gives patient-led interviews that are broadcast to every hospital room. She once went to the hospital on the day a long-term patient was being released, just to say goodbye before that person, a swimmer, went home.

“Her commitment to caring and healing is so genuine, authentic and priceless,” says Dr. Kurt Newman, president emeritus at Children’s National, in an email. “As she won more races and medals and became more famous, her routine did not change. She would call when she was in town and ask if she could come over, see a few kids, maybe play bingo with them. It would just totally transform the experience for these kids and also for the doctors and nurses who were caring for them.”

Ledecky’s fan club may have started in Bethesda, but it’s grown over the years, particularly with fellow Olympic athletes, including gold medal gymnast Simone Biles who says in an email that she is a “big fan,” adding “She’s a great athlete but even better person!”

Even her competition has nice things to say:

“Katie Ledecky is an amazing role model,” Summer McIntosh, Canadian Olympic swimmer, world record holder and world champion wrote in an email. “It is truly an honor to stand beside Katie on the blocks and race at the highest level of our sport.”

Ledecky continues to compete in that echelon, training with male distance swimmers at the University of Florida (UF). Twelve-time Olympic swimming medalist Dara Torres visited UF’s pool and watched Ledecky work.

“I had to pick my jaw up off the floor last time I went to UF watching all the kids training—she’s right there with the guys, or beating them,” Torres says. 

Ledecky’s UF training partner is two-time Olympic gold medalist Bobby Finke, 23. 

“I never want Katie to beat me and Katie doesn’t want me to beat her,” he says, noting that he nervously watched videos of her outswimming her male counterparts when she swam at Stanford. “I’m like, I can’t let that happen!” 

It has happened, though, Finke notes. The two are all business in the pool, but since both pro athletes are sponsored by sportswear company TYR, they end up horsing around at photo shoots together. 

 “We’ll push each other into the pool—there’s a couple videos going around where I push Katie into the pool and Katie gets me back,” Finke says. “I’ll just be standing there for one of the photoshoots and Katie just runs by and pushes me in.”

Back at the 800-meter race in Japan, Ledecky has spent eight minutes and 16 lengths of the pool pulling away from her competition. Even the NBC Sports announcers marvel at her impressive pace and huge lead over what they call “the best 800 field in history.”  

As she touches the wall, she has more than four seconds to watch the next swimmer, China’s Li Bingjie, finish. Ledecky’s win breaks a tie with fellow Maryland native Michael Phelps for most golds at the World Championships by earning her 16th individual world title.

“For me, during the race it felt like any other race and then yeah, of course, afterwards there was a little more excitement around that,” she says.

“My grandpa used to tell my mom, ‘Take the lead, keep the lead,’ and my mom has always joked that that’s how I swim my races,” Ledecky says. “I think it’s a good mantra, not just for swimming but for really anything, to not rely on other people to set the pace—to go out and be a leader. Go out there and do your own thing and don’t wait for someone else to do it, and then continue on. That’s what I’ve been doing in my career—continued on. I haven’t looked back since 2012.”

This story appears in the November/December issue of Bethesda Magazine.

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Becky Sher uses her crafting skills to bring a little color to the world, through customized pencils and whimsical buttons.

“I always joke that my shop is sort of like a window into my soul,” Sher says. “I really only do things that I like.”

The Bethesda wife and mother of two teens sells tiny products with lighthearted messages on Etsy through her craft company, Ruth & Dottie, which is named after her grandmothers. Among its products, Ruth & Dottie creates custom pencils that have earned a huge fan base, especially at the start of each school year. Customers order pencils with tailored messages or themed around kindness, girl power, chocolate and more. Think “Chase Rainbows” or “Good Vibes Only.”

“There really isn’t one that is the most popular—we literally sell out of all of them,” says Connie Cissel, owner of The Blue House in Bethesda, which carries the line. “It’s very fun, happy, can’t-walk-out-without-it stuff.”

Sher painstakingly hand-emblazons each pencil message using a hot foil stamping machine in her basement craft room. Six customized pencils go for $10, and six themed pencils are $9, each displaying up to 25 characters. 

“They are really awesome,” says Megan Andrew, a psychologist at Bardstown City Schools in Kentucky who hands out Ruth & Dottie pencils to students caught being good. “They all say kindness things on them, so if I see a kid in the hallway doing something, I just pop a pencil out and say, ‘Here. I like how you handled that.’ ”

Sher won’t reveal specifics but says Ruth & Dottie’s revenue has grown significantly over the years, more than doubling since 2021, when she started selling wholesale and in local retail stores. Advertising is practically nonexistent: Sher purchases a few Etsy ads to highlight products in search results, and hands out free pencils to teachers and neighbors. Other than that, the entrepreneur relies on repeat customers for sales of the amusing creations she masterminds.

“It’s just me—designing, assembling, shipping and inventory,” says Sher, 46, who grew up in New Jersey and has been living in Montgomery County since 2001. “I tell people I am a one-woman show—90% of the time, I like it that way.”

Ruth & Dottie’s product line includes buttons representing a wide variety of cultural phenomena: fans of ’80s movies, The Golden Girls, quilters, yarn lovers, plant lovers and more. Button topics run the gamut, but kindness-themed products are most popular. Sher says she has made over 300,000 of them by hand, using a “really good printer and an old-school button maker” machine. Customers clamor for her creations, and pins with cheerful messages such as “Be Nice First” and “Kind People are My Kinda People” are snapped up by school districts, teachers and positive-minded patrons. A package of eight buttons costs $7.50, and a set of 24 is $18.

“The pins are a hit at our middle school,” says Andrew, who has ordered more than 1,000 kindness buttons since discovering the colorful items on Etsy. “They just have such good meaning behind them.”

A former journalist and journalism professor at The George Washington University, Sher started making buttons as a Girl Scout leader in 2016 and realized there might be a market for her wares. She works out of her Bethesda home, usually at her dining room table, coming up with the sayings and artwork on her buttons, which are about the size of a 25-cent coin. 

“I’ve become known as the pin lady,” Sher says, noting that her products are available at The Blue House in Bethesda, Locally Crafted in Gaithersburg, and SW7 in Kensington. Ruth & Dottie products are also sold in over 500 shops in the U.S., Europe and Australia through an online wholesale marketplace called Faire.

“I have purchased several items from Becky, including pencils, stickers, and pins,” says Gwen Brown, owner of Gwen Erin Natural Fibers in Hubbard, Ohio. “Having these clever and affordable items at the counter are a great add-on purchase—folks love to dig through the little dish of buttons to find just the right saying.” 

Sher enjoys the autonomy her business allows her, and regularly connects with other local small businesses to swap ideas and occasionally collaborate. In the early days of the pandemic in 2020, Sarah Dwyer, owner of Gaithersburg-based Chouquette Chocolates, contacted Ruth & Dottie on Etsy. Sher agreed to create a button of Dr. Anthony Fauci to coordinate with Dwyer’s Dr. Fauci chocolates, both of which turned out to be popular items for the two small businesses. Sher continues to tap into popular themes, whether they’re about voting, reading, tacos or Harry Potter.

“The buttons and the pencils—they’re very old school—it makes me happy that other people still value those things,” Sher says. “It’s sending little bits of happiness out into the world every time I send out an order.”

This story appears in the September/October issue of Bethesda Magazine.

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