How the Zodiac Angels came to be
The Zodiac Angels are characters I originally created for my son, Miles, before he was born. I wanted my son to have unique toys that no one else had, and I thought it would be fun. I had a bunch of random fleece fabric scraps in a bag that I saved from high school (I was in a sewing class for 3 years) and found some affordable but good quality stuffing.
I started with the Pisces design, because my son's due date was March 17th. I made another doll after that because it was so fun. I ended up making all 12 Zodiac signs before his due date.
Miles decided he was not going to come out easily, so he was a week late and we had to have an emergency c section. It was a difficult birth that almost cost me my life and Miles. But we both pulled through.
Miles was born March 25, 2013, at 7:00pm. He was 7 pounds, 6 ounces, and 20 1/2 inches long. After recovering in the hospital for 4 days, we finally got to go home. What followed was 2 months of happy "Smiles" - the nickname my good friend's 4 year old daughter gave to my son shortly after his birth - because he did smile, a lot. Miles was calm, friendly, and bright.
Unfortunately at 2 months old, one horrible morning, my son passed away from SIDS. I was devastated and my whole life seemed like it just stopped. I still had the original Zodiac Angel dolls I had made for my son and I would look at them to find some kind of comfort...
Eventually one day the idea dawned on me that I could keep my son's memory alive by creating a business out of the Zodiac Angels idea. I can give other children the joy that Miles would have had from the dolls.