We Miss You, Arlene!

Arlene and Zidi at 'da beach'...is it snow or sand, grandma?

Arlene recently retired as our San Francisco sales rep and moved to Florida to be closer to her family. Arlene was much more than a sales rep (and good friend!), she was actually very instrumental in getting things ‘off the ground’ for us. She is originally a New Yorker, but transplanted here so early that she has a very California kind of vibe – but with a NY edge! She always pushed for us to move forward – seeing the potential that Paul brought to the table.

When Paul first started le•top, he literally had 5 t-shirts in a briefcase (made by our family’s factory in Malaysia.) They had silly animal screens, or goofy sayings like “I can’t help it – I’m cute!” Arlene saw beyond the silliness to the manufacturing potential of the beautiful, high-quality cotton fabric that is one of the hallmarks of our company. I will never forget it – I was still working at a ‘real job’ (with a paycheck) and Paul called me to say, “I hired our first rep today!” I said, “Great! What is she like?” He responded, “She looks kind of like that model, Cheryl Tiegs.” I said, “Oh. Maybe not so great!” But we became great friends and co-workers in the ’cause.’ Arlene is very savvy, doesn’t mince words and was an incredible force with whom to work. I really miss her!

Our loss, however, is her family’s gain, as Arlene is one enormously devoted and doting grandmother to her granddaughter, Zidi. It’s an odd twist that “grandma” goes to Florida to be with her grandchild, instead of the other way around, but the photos Arlene sends to keep us updated lets us see how happy and thriving they are in sunny Florida. We’d love to hear from all the grandparents who want to show off their grandchildren!