Our Story

Designed to Dine's story began in 2018. My Uncle was in an assisted living facility with end stage bone cancer and resulting dementia. Despite the pain and confusion, he was quite proud to invite my mother, son and I to the dining room where he would treat us to supper "with ice-cream for desert!".

It was a lovely dining facility and his friends all greeted us warmly. Once seated, one of the dining room attendants began putting bibs on some of the patients. My Uncle was among them. He tried to joke it off (he had a brilliant sense of humor) but there was a definite mood shift. My 6'4" hero, once a doctor, boy scout leader, marathon runner and commodore of his yacht club, was embarrassed.

If you're reading this, you are probably a caregiver yourself, and can imagine the helpless feeling I was struggling with. I couldn't help him stand, I couldn't help him get a good night sleep, and I couldn't soothe his feelings of guilt for not being there for my Aunt when she passed the year before. What I could do was eliminate this one source of discomfort.

I searched online for alternatives to adult bibs. I found some dining scarves on Etsy that seemed perfect. I paid for express shipping and proudly presented him with an alternative to that giant baby bib. He loved it for a couple of days but then admitted that the fabric that was used bothered his neck. Sure enough, when I looked, the paper-thin skin on the back of his neck was red and irritated. He passed away before I could find a better solution.

For whatever reason, that brief occasion of my Uncle's shame continued to haunt me. I was ready for a career change (I'd been a realtor until that point). My priority was not only to come up with a soft (yet durable), luxurious feeling (yet stain resistant) bib scarf but I also wanted to keep it affordable. I have friends who have quit their jobs to care for a loved one and I know the financial strain that can cause.

I won't bore you with the details of my entrepreneurial journey other than to say I'm mighty glad it began long before the covid lock-downs struck. I was able to travel to China to meet the producers of the micro-suede fabric I wanted to use (there are no micro-suede manufacturers in the U.S.A.). I inspected their factories and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. I found a network of other entrepreneurs with whom to learn from and work with. I feel truly blessed to have assembled a team with amazing skills where I was lacking (Excel & I do not get along).