I have been,exhibiting selling and giving away my works of art in the forms of paintings, jewelry,pottery, photography since high school. I will create such things until I die. Oh my passion for fashion has been a trade mark of myself at birth. I was voted best dressed Hippy in 1974. Need I say more. I refused to wear jeans. Still avoid jeans but do break down on occasion I jhave super models as friends I was a B list model doing runway in the later 1970's and 80's I successfully jumped into dressmaking for 4 years and trademarked WANNAWEAR by Tina O.

You wont find me on the Champs-Elysees' but I started out on Rodeo Drive.
LOL.....I lived on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills for 5 years and I was appointment only, but how much better than that, having such a fortuitous address.

2. Your have been married for over 15 years and have raised to step daughters and a son. I know firsthand how difficult being a step parent can be. What's your secret to success there?

Uuuuhhm mmmm?

Excuse me, baby but the correct term is that "I am a mother". Their Mother. I am the adoptive parent. The children and I with their father are a loving family respectively, legally and spiritually.

I am not a step mother and had I not adopted my 3 children I still would not be a step mother. I love them to much for such a horrid title. I don't use step mother in my vocabulary, it sounds wicked. I stand by this rule, having many mothers in my life.
Now, there are step parents in this world, who do deserve this title but I don't point fingers either. Advise? I give it freely with understanding each situation is unique unto it's self.
Now, I do not expect my children to "call me Mom for that matter. That title is bestowed upon their birthmother, who unfortunately passed away. The children do address me as mom in-front of their friends as a salutation for an introduction and on Mothers Day, but thats by their choice.
That's the greatest gift on this earth that I have ever received. "Want" is not my master. I feel I have deserved that from them and their little hearts. Which by the way they are all grown up now and have really big hearts. (they also get that from their dad)

3. You had a fashion line called, "Wannawear by Tina O" that I absolutely loved. What happened to it and who inspires you in fashion?

"Wannawear" is a trade marked name that I came up with & I still own the name and I now license out a large fashion house, for 3 years. It's still mine.

I specialized in "the Dress" Tag Line' LETS GET DRESSED" was me!!!

Who inspired my dress line? Number 1 favorite as per decade

• 1940's Dior Chanel
• 1950's Ceil Chapman Givenchy,Pencil Dress
• In the 1960's it was Pucci, Geoffrey Beene Yves St. Laurent & Courages
• 1970 Halston
• 1980 John Galliano
• 1990 Thierry Mugler
• 2000 Lanvin

To be fair Chanel & Balenciga is every year. I myself have many pieces from Workers for Freedom" from London or Asian designers some of the most coveted pieces from Comme de Garson, Issey Miyake & or Local LA designers, Les Habitudes.
I never made anything remotely like those artists. I am a designer not an engineer. (wink)
I had 4 years of making dresses having ladies teas running a website successfully. That was enough then I got bored.

4. I know you are now most concerned about health given a near fatal bout with an illness that landed you in the hospital for quite some time and took you nearly a year to recover from. How did that change your life and what are you doing to stay healthy now?

When you slam the door on death, right in his face, you better do something about it so he doesn't come back to soon.

I had a 1 1/2 years of illness and recovery from a knock out punch from a viral pneumonia and I must admit, my life style contributed to my demise.You are what you eat and drink. So now, I not only eat healthy,rarely drink but I stay ahead of the curve with homeopathic and cutting edge ways, of medicine. Being married to the most brilliant of men, Dr Brad Hillstrom helps too. He is the main reason I am still here.

5. You recently traveled to Panama for stem cell therapy. What was this experience like and how do you hope to benefit from it?

I am right now doing stem cell therapy in Panama. Why Panama? Because they use Mesenchymal Stem Cells or Embryonic Cells
The reason you cannot get Embryonic stem cell it in America yet has to do with the Pharmaceutical Companies want you on their pills that dont regenerate your tissue and make you stronger they take away & cover up a pain that acutally can in some cases makes you worse. Do not confuse your self with your own stem cell therapy, which you can do anywhere in America. Thats quite different, as those stem cells are old and only
have a short shelf life to assist you in your overall health.
Essentially, stem cells are progenitor cells which are capable of regeneration and differentiation into a wide range of specialized cell types. Once injected, stem cells follow inflammatory signals from damaged tissues and have multiple ways of repairing these damaged areas. Just a few of the benifiets of Stem Cell Therapy are below: for more information go to Cellmedicine.

1. Repair injuries to the heart muscle of heart attack victims.
2. Reduce the clinical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
3. Improve the outcome of cancer patients.
4. Improve the quality of life in patients with Multiple Sclerosis.
5. Improve outcome for children with cerebral palsy.
6. Improve outcome for acute and chronic stroke patients.
7. Improve outcome for patients with acute and chronic traumatic brain injuries.
8. Improve outcome for those with muscular dystrophy
9. Improve outcome for those with Huntington’s Disease
10. Reduce symptoms of Diabetes 1 and 2
11. Improve vision, skin & hair
12. Improve symptoms in Down Syndrome
13. Improve symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
14. Improve symptoms in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
15. Improve function in Spinal cord injury
16. Reduce symptoms in Epilepsy
17. Improve symptoms in sickle cell anemia
18. Turn's back the hands of time
19. What are you passionate about now?

My passion lies with my number one love. That's my husband and our time together.

I have to then say almost matched to my children but they are adults and off ding thier own thing but they come 2nd. I have fortunately found a renewed love and passion for my best friend, my husband, that would take a a three part series to tell you about. Brad, is it. Period.

7. Where can we see Tina in the future?

Everywhere. Minneapolis to see friends family & make films with my husband and my son's new company 'Transparent Media" and "Generation Pictures".
Red Carpet events, for others.Ronn & Devin house. Oh yes, I am in a few movies this year. One is "The Haunting of Thornby". I play opposite Judd Nelson. This flick was directed by the hot, new handsome, talented up and coming in large, Matt Hish and the new powerhouse female producer, Autumn Federici.
I am also co-creating a half hour comedy TV show with the comedic genius CB Harding. He did Reno 911, Blue Collar TV and the reality show for MYV, "The Osbornes".

8. What is the best girlfriend advice you can give?

Best advise is the 4L-Club. Laugh Love Loyalty= equals longevity.
You know you have a best friend when,
you get pulled over by the police and they take you in for driving while under the influence of your old friend, Jack Daniels ( who you haven't talked to in years) and she's in the cell next door, tearing a piece of her shirt off her back because your cell ran out of toilette paper. All because she knew you were going to get in trouble when you got pulled by the men in uniform but they they hauled her ass in too because she got caught trying to switch seats with you and she went into a ditch, doing it.
Now those are my kind of girl friends and I have a few.

Laugh Loud Live Large
Tina