Since I've become an adult my life has been a series of addresses all over America. For the most part, throughout that time I have worked mostly in the Cosmetics industry in Research & Development and Manufacturing / Distribution. Although in between jobs I also did work as a graphic artist, assembler, office worker and janitor. It's been a heck of a journey thus far.
I began my professional career at Revlon Cosmetics in Edison, New Jersey in 1987 in, of all places, the Mail Room. Having had some education as an Electrical Engineer coupled with a long interest in Science and an artistic flair I secured a transfer into Research and Development in 1988. I worked for the samples lab as an entry level technician. The sample lab was responsible for producing small quantites (up to 1500 units) of all the products that Revlon made for use by sales and marketing. During this time I had the opportunity to work with all the divisions at Revlon as well as acquire the knowledge of how to formulate and produce many of the products created at Revlon (including, all color cosmetics, skin care and personal care items from many of the following brands: Revlon, Ultima II, Max Factor, Germaine Monteil,Charles of the Ritz, Alexandra D'Markoff, Princess Marcella Borghese, Halston and Hugo Boss). During this time I was also able to develop my ability as a color matcher and further my understanding of mechanics.
In 1991 Revlon sold Max Factor to Procter & Gamble ( also the owners of Cover Girl and the now defunct Clarion Cosmetics). I took the opportunity to move with Max Factor to Hunt Valley, Md. where I was originally assigned to process engineering and later to powder development as an Associate Scientist. In this position I was able to further develop my skills as a color developer and formulate products as well as have direct contact with both the marketing process and the manufacturing process of cosmetics.
My experience at Procter & Gamble taught me that I never wanted to work for a large corporation again and after being 'downsized' in 1994 I moved to the Pocono Mountain area of Pennsylvania to have the opportunity to live in the country and avoid dealing with large companies while I reconoitered my situation. I pursued interests in graphic arts and writing until I was contacted by a former supervisor 'who hated P&G more than me' to do quality control work for a company called Jane cosmetics. With them I worked throughout the Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey areas with many of the vendors that supplied their products. In this capacity I was able to further my understanding of the manufacutring and distribution process and continued to develop my color abilities. It was also through this period that I began to understand the nuances of skin tones and fully understand how to create true skin colors, which won't appear ashy or orange on their users.
After completing my contract with Jane cosmetics and wanting to pursue screenwriting, I secured a position in California with a small contract manufacturer of cosmetics in the San Francisco Bay area as a color chemist in 1997. During this time I furthered my abilities as a Chemist, accumulating my experience to include many hundreds of products for numerous companies.
Wanting to further my pursuit of screenwriting, I accepted an offer to work with a makeup artist in Hollywood, California in 1998 as an operations manager for a budding cosmetics company. After accepting that offer, they moved me to Orlando, Florida for two years but in 2000 I managed to get back to California. In this time I furthered my experience to include packaging design and distribution as well as using all my previously acquired knowledge. During this time I began to consider the possibility of creating my own line of cosmetics.
After completing work with that company in 2002, I continued my pursuit of screenwriting and my own cosmetics company while living in Los Angeles, California. The idea for By Jove was first hatched in December, 2002 and solidified early in 2003 and developed independently while I continued to offer my services to many companies. Throughout this time I have been responsible for creating many more hundreds of products, many of which have been introduced to the global market as well as having assisted in the formation of many product lines.
