Solarbrations??
- I love celestial things.
- The first services I offered were party planning and catering for celebrations.
- I love puns and wordplay.
The full name of the company is Solarbrations…and other Lunarcies. It is a privately held hobby company. I (Marie Novicki) am the owner. I started the business in November of 1995 to handle the taxes collected from Christmas boutiques held for my daughter’s high school cheer squad. I continued it after she graduated to sell my consulting services and small products.
Past Licenses
The full name of the company was a bit long, so I used Solarbrationsfor the business license and for California State Sales tax. Solarbrations was licensed in the city of Sunnyvale, California from 1996 through June 2021. Solarbrations was also registered with the California State Franchise Tax Board until June of 2021.
In the beginning…
In 1985, I started Marie’s Catering. As Marie’s Catering, I provided party planning services and catered weddings (including my own!) and parties. In addition, I created special invitations and menus using vi and troff on a UNIX operating system (System V). I also compiled and created a Family Reunion Cookbook in 1987 using our MacPlus.
As I got into different writing areas, I created Southwestern Dreams to handle the writing work. As Southwestern Dreams, I created a recipe and cookbook database using the UNIFY DBMS and the Accel 4-GL language.
Southwestern Dreams evolved into Deco Designs, SW to encompass FrameMaker work, more recipe compilations, and the beginning of my craft business. I ported the recipe database and cookbook library to a Smalltalk OODBMS running on a Windows PC. I compiled a 300-page cookbook of chocolate recipes as gifts for friends, using FrameMaker on a Mac.
In 1995, I explored the craft boutique business. I decided to bring all of my business entities—Marie’s Catering, Southwestern Dreams, and Deco Designs, SW—into one company. As Solarbrations…and other Lunarcies, I ported the cookbook library to FileMaker Pro. I also created a needlework inventory database and a fiber inventory database in FileMaker Pro.
Solarbrations participated in several craft boutiques, where my customized Christmas gift bags were popular. I also created a cookbook of gift basket recipes in 1997, called “We Whisk You a Merry Christmas.”
I made some pattern sales and did the occasional consulting side-gig for Solarbrations while working full-time through Expert Support Inc.
I retired from full-time work in December 2019. Between the pandemic and dealing with my mother’s end-of-life issues, I no longer had time to take on for-pay jobs through Solarbrations. I dropped my city business license in 2021. I’m keeping the hobby company alive through this website.
There could be another evolution at some point…watch and see!