Evonne C. Fawley
Product Development/Wholesale and Retail Operations
evonne@eyecandycoolers.com
Evonne brings nearly 25 years of retail merchandising, design and marketing experience to her role overseeing product development and sales operations for the eyecandy product line. For the past 15 years, she has built a successful business as an interior design consultant/home stager, working side-by-side with clients and various retail outlets. Evonne has a unique eye for color and creating interest and style in merchandising spaces and products. She is passionate about the success of eyecandy/EVLooks, the growth of a productive sales machine, and creating unique retail opportunities for a rapidly expanding product line.
Valerie C. Pressley
Marketing and Business Development
valerie@eyecandycoolers.com
Leveraging her extensive experience in public relations and corporate marketing within the technology, health, and social networking industries, Valerie is responsible for the business development and marketing efforts of EVLooks and its products. Previously, Valerie owned her own recruiting business with staff and operations in SF and Seattle. She loves to be aligned with innovative and quality products, and is motivated by the daily challenges of business management, product marketing, and entrepreneurship.
What We’ve Been Asked…
What’s the story behind your company name, EVLooks?
The ‘E’ is for Evonne, and the ‘V’ is for Valerie. When we were kids, our
parents would always refer to our blue eyes as ‘looks’. So when we were researching business names (and tossing most into the circular file), we simply went back to our roots, combined that with our goal of creating products that are ‘lookers’ in terms of their cuteness and feel-good glam factor, and the name of
EVLooks for our company just seemed to make sense.
Where did the idea for eyecandy come from?
Truth be told, ever since college, we’ve each been known to use chilled cucumber slices to do a little ‘de-puffing’ around and under our eyes from time-to-time. Before going out one evening in 2009, we decided to whip out the cucumber slices from the fridge and ‘chill’ a bit beforehand. Long story short, it wasn’t a very ‘spa-like’ experience – the slices slid down our cheeks and cucumber seeds stuck to our cheeks. In unified frustration, we decided it just wasn’t worth the effort. Then the ‘aha’ moment hit. After multiple design and prototype changes, we agreed on what we thought would make a fun n’ sassy, portable, and reusable way to achieve the same cooling, de-puffing results as a cucumber…without all the mess! Essentially, we have a garden fruit (a cucumber is a fruit!) to thank for the launch of eyecandy and an exciting new business.
What are you most proud of in your business?
After many years of brainstorming different business ideas to work on together, we finally pulled the trigger on something we were both passionate about. We researched, designed, laughed, re-tooled again, and many times nearly threw in the towel. But after all the starts and stops, we both said ‘yes, this is it!’, moved into production mode, brought it to market, and continue to learn something new every day. We are humbled by the journey and excited for the future!
What is your favorite type of candy?
Evonne: “Hot Tamales and Sweet Tarts.”
Valerie: “Red Vines and Butterfingers.”
What’s your company motto?
That’s an easy one…“Laugh out loud.”