Published: Tuesday, Jul. 19, 2005

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. This well-known cliche couldn’t be more appropriate for two Hampstead women. When Alyson Bruu almost died following routine surgery, near tragedy became a rally cry to create a line of
casual clothing with messages of inspiration and courage. Before long, the Liv’n Out Loud! Clothing Co. was conceived by Bruu and business partner Kristine Fichera.

“I underwent routine surgery that went bad with internal bleeding,” Bruu says. “Less than a day later, I was rushed into a second surgery to find the source of the bleeding. The doctors took out all my organs looking for the bleeder. After three hours, they pitched the table so I was standing (using gravity to locate the bleeding) and found the bleeder in my diaphragm.”

Bruu made a full recovery. She began taking stock of what nearly happened and gained a fresh appreciation for living through new eyes.

“It made me more aware of how fragile life is,” says Bruu, president of December Marketing and a 28-year veteran of advertising, a dozen of which were spent on Madison Avenue in New York. Bruu’s partner Fichera’s resume includes 18 years in high-tech sales and a five-year stint as a radio personality at the former WCGY-FM in Boston. Fichera left a job
with Geophysical Survey Systems in March to launch Liv’n Out Loud! Clothing with Bruu.

Selecting a company name was the easy part.

“It’s been one of my favorite sayings all my life,” Fichera says. “I said, ‘Why not call it Liv’n Out Loud?’ Within 45 minutes,
we were looking online. The name was available.”

Once a concept and name were decided, the product line was developed, featuring T-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts and hats,
all bearing the empowering slogan “Liv’n Out Loud!” More than a dozen items are available online at www.livnoutloud.com.

“We each picked our favorites, but it had to be cotton,” Bruu says. “Everyone has a favorite shirt. We wanted these to feel like that without having to wait 10 years to get there. We selected sun-washed tones, looking like you’d been wearing them forever.”Unique hues reflect the Liv’n Out Loud! palette of hand-selected, pigment-dyed colors, which include cracked corn, berry wash, waterslide, leaf, iris, cilantro and several others.

Just as refreshing are various sayings found on Liv’n Out Loud! items: “Defy mediocrity,” “Forget love. I’d rather fall in chocolate” and “It doesn’t matter when you do it. It matters that you do it.”

Bruu and Fichera are hoping to grow the Liv’n Out Loud! brand with an aggressive grass-roots approach.

“We’re using a very electronic marketing approach,” Fichera says. “Plus, we’ve mailed some to Ellen (DeGeneres), Oprah
and Kelly Ripa to let them see our line. We’re sending out lots of shirts to editors of magazines.

“We’re also pursuing the boutique and resort markets. Our first retail location is the Bead Gallery in Salem,” Fichera reports.

Genevieve Martineau opened The Bead Gallery at 100 N. Broadway last November, and it is the first bricks-and-mortar
outlet to carry some Liv’n Out Loud! products. Martineau has adapted the shirt’s slogans to reflect the store’s craft of beading.

“We made our own slogan from their ‘Lifestyle’ series that says, ‘She who dies with the most beads wins,’ ” Martineau says. “And we suggest to our customers that they apply beads to decorate them.” Her attitude and past work experiences closely reflect the attitudes of Fichera and Bruu.

“I was in the corporate world and just had enough of the games. I was doing a good job but was not appreciated,” she adds.

The “live a gutsy, self-aware life” motto resonates with women of all ages and career paths, including stay-at-home mother
of four Jackie Blanc of Sandown, who puts her own spin on the Liv’n Out Loud! message.

“We don’t take time to appreciate every day and tell people how important they are in our lives. I try to be involved with my kid’s school and in the community with Daffodil Days. I’m trying to make a difference,” says Blanc.

Many customers feel that fear is the one common element holding people back from breaking out of unfulfilled lives to find greater satisfaction in new career paths, which might mean leaving a secure job in the traditional employment market.

“I think they would (quit) if they were guaranteed a more fulfilled life. People seem afraid to take chances, but that’s the only way to grow,” says Marian Sandberg-Dierson, editor of Lighting Dimensions magazine in Long Beach, N.Y.
Sandberg-Dierson has faith that the Liv’n Out Loud! brand will be a success.

“Alyson and Kris have two of the most important things needed to succeed: savvy and heart. They really care about producing a quality product that makes a positive statement. It would be nice to have more businesses in the world like it,” she adds.

Desktop publisher and graphic designer Kitty Cole of Hampstead has given Liv’n Out Loud! products as gifts.

“I’ve purchased items as gifts to give to friends and relatives who’ve had ‘liv’n out loud’ events or to encourage others to do so,” Cole says.

Visitors to the online boutique are encouraged to share their “liv’n out loud” experiences on the “Live The Lifestyle” page, which includes stories of high school dating bravery, leaving bad relationships and career-related successes.

Eric from San Diego’s story is a perfect example of the company’s attitude:

“I went to college for business and finance (to follow in my Dad’s footsteps most likely) even though I knew my heart wasn’t into it. I graduated, got some job offers for good money, but turned all of them down because I didn’t want to become an accountant or a CPA. I wanted to become a firefighter. I have been with the San Diego Fire Department for 22 years now.”

Fichera sums up the Liv’n Out Loud! philosophy in terms everyone can relate to: “Live life for you . . . what makes you happy and not just the people around you.”