The story behind the mosaic and jewelry creations by Vicki Pohlman and her
daughter, Tiffany Pohlman, is about being special.
The word “special” creates various images or thoughts for us all. We
want that feeling of being someone special, of having a quality about us that
stands out. Yet for some, being special isn’t a choice; those who live with
Special Needs fight the stigma of the word every day. Holding Tiffany as a
child, whenever the tears of being different, of being special, filled her
beautiful eyes, Vicki would try to create a new meaning for her. “You are so
much more than special” became a daily mantra for the two.
When we lived in St. Louis, Tiffany worked in a wonderful Adaptive
Employment setting, and Vicki taught high school English. However, after
moving to Florida, they discovered that it is much more difficult for adults
with special needs to find work. This created a new challenge of finding a
way to continue helping Tiffany remember that she is not “just special” – and
a need to remind her that all adults have a responsibility to earn what they
want to spend. So we took our love of making jewelry and mosaics with
bright, fun colors, and our desire to make everyone feel special and created
our little company – More Than Special Custom Jewelry and Mosaics.