Page 54 - Coffee County

f you spend a few minutes with Cindy Vickers and Fran Merritt, you will soon want to ask, “When do you ever sleep?” Over the years, the duo has turned their extensive list of hobbies into a thriving business in downtown Douglas. They produce children’s clothing in lines called Rae Rae’s and BFF and dabble in many other projects that are housed in the Mall of Douglas on Ward Street. Cindy and Fran met in 1988 when they started working together as hairdressers. They soon found out that they had a mutual love of sewing. This led to discovering other areas of interest such as painting, woodworking, and repurposing used furniture. A friendship developed and many nights after the workday was over, the pair would tackle whatever project was in progress at the time. As time went on, Cindy went to work for the family-owned business, Dixie Fence, Inc. and Fran became a full-time paramedic in Coffee County. By this time, Cindy was also fully involved in sewing for the public. She has always loved to sew. She actually can never remember a time when she did not sew. She was even making her own clothes as early as the seventh grade. She wanted to be different from the other students and this was her way of doing so. Having a wonderful role model at home certainly helped her to develop her personal style. Her mother, Mae Sears, would sew at home and would involve Cindy in her projects. She encouraged perfection. Perfection in the sewing world is never taking shortcuts, being careful to make good strong seams, and taking the time and energy to do it right the frst time. To Cindy, sewing has not only been a hobby but a way to share