Her life couldn’t have been better. Not only did she have her own fashion line made for and by baby boomers, she had 54 stores and sales that peaked at $100 million. Then, suddenly, it was all gone.

The Sigrid Olsen fashion line was shut down by its parent company, Liz Claiborne, which still holds the rights to her name. That means she can’t even take the line that bears her name anywhere else.

Sigrid believes that in turning its back on the boomer generation that the Claiborne conglomerate has made a big mistake.

On top of her business issues, in 2005, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Instead of folding, she just got more determined.

“Every challenge makes me stronger!” she tells Growing Bolder.

Instead of launching a series of never-ending lawsuits, she has chosen to launch a whole new career, this time as an artist and an entrepreneur. There’s no question the experience rocked her, but listening to her explain how she took it as a whole new opportunity is nothing short of inspiring.

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