About Us
TissueTops was founded by three women inventors who saw the limitations of traditional ceramic tissue box covers.
They were heavy, bland and relegated to the bath section of most home goods retailers. They were also expensive; costing upwards of $40.00! We would then see those same old-style, uninspired covers collecting dust on the shelves of consignment stores.
Like so many people, we want our homes to reflect the changing seasons. We alter our decorative accessories, such as candles and pillows, accordingly. Why not tissue box covers as well? We wanted to make tissue box covers a regular go-to design element for any space.
We believed tissue box covers were due for a makeover and so TissueTops was born.
Jeanne brought her background in engineering, Julie brought innovation and streamlining, and Sherrie brought inspiration and insight.
History
Our story begins with this ordinary brown tissue box cover that we purchased from a favorite home goods store.
It was designed with fabric encased between glass panels and held together in a metal frame. Nice enough, but…
- We wished we could somehow change the fabric from time to time
- We wished it wasn’t so heavy and rigid
That led to some basic questions:
- Why can’t tissue box covers come out of the bathroom?
- Why can’t there be more design options to appeal to more people?
- Why can’t they be made so that people could have fun and change their covers more often?
- Why should anyone be stuck with a look because of the high cost of just one cover?
- Why can’t they be made lighter and less rigid?
Wait! Less rigid …. Bingo!
That was the breakthrough idea which led to this first little sketch of TissueTops.
If covers were made of lightweight, foldable materials, all that wasted bulk and space could be saved! The covers could be made with printable patterns in unlimited designs!
We realized that this innovation could take tissue box covers beyond the bathroom into more spaces in homes and even into the huge untapped potential of the corporate, promotional and custom markets.
If a large part of the retail market was being overlooked, the corporate market was being completely ignored. What company wouldn’t present better with their professional logo displayed on a tissue box cover rather than a plain, unadorned tissue carton? We knew we were on to something, so we worked together to envision a new type of tissue box cover.
Together we created TissueTops.
Our Team
Jeanne Etem
Jeanne has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. She worked for Seagate Technology for 21 years as a Product Engineer and Project Manager. She completed studies to became a Certified Tea Consultant and in 2007 she founded FeliciTea; a 501(c)(3) organization catering tea parties to seniors in nursing homes. She is a co-inventor of TissueTops and resides in Jacksonville, Florida.
Julie Etem
Julie has a B.S. Degree in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Minnesota and has worked with children with special needs in schools throughout the Minneapolis metropolitan area. In 2015, Julie began work with, SMARAS, an animal rescue organization dedicated to helping abandoned and abused domestic animals. Julie is a co-creator of TissueTops and currently resides in Northeast Florida.
Sherrie Sullivan
Sherrie is retired from the medical field working with seniors and Alzheimer’s patients. In her work she saw firsthand the need for a lighter, less bulky tissue box cover. For twenty years she has been active in social ministry in her community serving children and volunteering with the homeless. Sherrie is a co-inventor of TissueTops and resides in Shakopee, Minnesota.