Rita Patel: New to Michigan

Greetings!

My name is Rita and this past year I changed my life and gave up my apartment and sold all my things in NYC and moved to the Detroit area. The best decision of my life.

I came here because my friends (best friend from high school in NJ) offered me a place to live and work in their home - to start my own business. So now I have a studio and live and in a supportive, creative and beautiful environment. I've met the most interesting people and my life has grown in so many unanticipated ways. Two aspects that have become significant in my life is children and cooking. On a more global level, I find it both interesting and exciting to be in the state of Michigan at this point in time because with the all the economic and social events affecting the state I feel there are many changes coming along with great opportunities. The present may be difficult but the possibility & potential is very positive.

I am an artist and designer and am building my first product to launch through my design company - VataLife. As part of my creative process, I make a lot different things that I end up selling online to support myself. Most of my work is custom, one of the kind either for the home or for wear. I found one of the best ways for me to give back while I build my business is to take a percentage of the sales and place into a fund to help other entrepreneurs in developing parts of the world through my 'shop here, help there' program. The organization I do this through is kiva.org.

I welcome any input or questions you have! I hope to share more once my product sample is completed.