Crowns Give Wearers Royal Feeling

Sister From Another Planet sells Elegance

By Barbara Ponder
Correspondent

Marjorie Pingel of Pasadena Hills wears a crown with confidence, whether attending a party, marching in a parade or running errands.

People usually notice and are eager to talk about her crown. Occasionally, there is no comment.

“I wore it to the post office and not one person said anything,” said Pingel, vice-president of Sister From Another Planet, which sells crown kits and ready-to-wear crowns.

Aspiring royals, children and adults, are invited to participate in a free workshop at 2:00 p.m., August 19 at Borders Books and Music, 11745 Olive Blvd. Kits, which retail for about $15, may be purchased there or at other outlets, including Spicers 5 & 10, 8859 Ladue Road. To reserve space, call Borders after August 1 at 432-4326.

Pingel also will sponsor a free workshop at 2 p.m. Sept. 2 at the Natural Bridge Branch of the St. Louis County Library, 7606 Natural Bridge Road.

Kits, with a Johnny Appleseed theme, will be provided. Call 382-3116 to register for the event.

At all workshops, adults must accompany children under 8.

Pingel and her sister, Mary Brown of Louisiana, launched their company last fall. Brown provides the creative drive. Pingel markets the products.

Brown moved to the New Orleans area about 10 years ago and began creating custom crowns.

“New Orleans is a city that understands crowns,” Pingel said.

Brown in 1996 presented Irma Thomas Ð the Soul Queen of New Orleans Ð with a hand-painted crown featuring musical notes, gold points and other details along with an elaborately decorated box to store it in.

Pingel said her sister was driven to create this wearable art and that each crown took at least two weeks to fashion. She holds a crown that Brown made among her most prized possessions.

The palace of St. Nicholas rises from that piece, which Pingel sports during the holidays. St. Nick stands in welcome near stained glass doors. Two bead pulls activate the doors. Pull one and out pops Pingel. Pull another and her husband, John Odell, appears.

“Mary’s mind is kind of on the cutting edge creatively and she’s real meticulous,” Pingel said. “I know in fifty years, IÕll still be wearing my crown to my St. Nicks’ dinner.”

Like other pieces of art, Brown’s custom crowns could be expensive so her customers were limited. The kits expand the market and spread the royal feeling around.

“We think everybody needs a crown,” Pingel said.

Brown developed the Imperial Crown Kit over about a year and engineered it to fit ages 5 and up.

About 16 different companies provide components for the kits, which then are assembled at Alpha Industries in Illinois.

The kits include an ample supply of materials like crown points and tiara foil, glitter, and sequins. People also festoon their crowns with photographs and other objects.

“I love high tech/low tech,” Pingel said. “It just takes some ingenuity. You can have spinning planets or a 3-D thing. IÕm right now into wires, beads and bells so they move when you walk.”

The company in late August is slated to release new kits. A less expensive kit catering to schools and camps will be available directly from Sister from Another Planet. The new Imperial Crown Kits will offer a greater variety of materials like bells and pom-poms.

Pingel said women who entertain frequently comprise the largest group of customers for the Imperial Crown Kits. Repeat customers are common.

“After you do one, you get what we call ‘mad crown disease,’” said Pingel, whoÕs created over 100 Signature Crowns for customers. “It’s fun.”

The workshops, which Pingel also holds in homes, attract people of all ages but children at least 10 seem to particularly enjoy them. Pingel watched self-esteem bloom in one young girl as she created two crowns.

“She said, ‘I’ve never been good at sports but you know, I’m really good at this,’” Pingel recalled. “It was just a pleasure to see that. It’s being a creative jock.”

One couple, expecting their first child, commissioned Signature Crowns for themselves and the baby, she said. They plan to don their regal headgear for a photograph on the birth announcement.

A crown, whether made from a kit or purchased ready-to-wear, is a thoughtful gift because it focuses on the recipient.

“When you give somebody a crown, you’re saying ‘you’re really special,’” Pingel said.

Imperial Crown Kits are available at stores in Illinois, Missouri and Michigan and over the Internet.

Pingel and Brown, who have eight other siblings, plan to expand into other areas. Houston, Los Angeles, Denver, St. Paul and Memphis offer logical starting points because the women have brothers and sisters living in those cities.

“I’ll go to one city at a time, set up workshops and visit shops,” Pingel said.

Sister from Another Planet may be reached for more information at 389-5381 or www.sisterfromanother.com.

This story was reprinted by permission of the North County Journal.