Madison Heights mom wins national award for snap tool

A young mother in Madison Heights sewing for her two children turned a question into a thriving business and has earned national attention for her hard work. Jeanine Twigg won the prestigious PCM Award of Excellence, named after Profitable Craft Marketing magazine and sponsored by Craftrends/ SewBusiness trade publication. Winners for 1995 were announced in January at the Hobby Industries of America trade show in Dallas. Out of 317 entries, 95 finalists were selected in several categories covering many facets of crafts, needlework and sewing.

Twigg's product, a snap-attaching tool, captured the attention of industry leaders who made up the panel of judges. She was there to accept the award for "outstanding achievement in creation, packaging and marketing." Jeanine Twigg's company in Troy is called The Snap Source®, Inc. In five years, it has become an international corporation with products distributed in Australia, Canada and the United States. It's a remarkable and inspiring story of hard work, dedication to a goal and true entrepreneurial spirit.

In 1991, as a mother sewing for her two children, Twigg questioned why the snaps on the sewing market weren't as durable as those used on ready-to-wear garments. She researched the answer, sending for information on industrial products and consulting with people in the field. She read books on starting a business, took classes and worked with the staff at the Business Enter-prise Development Center in Troy. She wrote a business plan and borrowed money to get it off the ground. With her husband Christopher's encouragement, she went on to find a mold-maker and designed a tool prototype. The high-impact plastic tool uses the force of a household hammer to set the snaps permanently.

For three years, Twigg visited trade shows and taught classes to create consumer awareness. Then she successfully put her patented products on store shelves and in mail-order catalogs, along with attractively packaged snaps in assorted sizes and colors.

Today, orders for the 150 products of The Snap Source are processed in Troy by eight part-time employees. When she's not traveling to consumer and trade shows, Twigg is there to supervise the business.