ROCKPORT — Most children open a lemonade stand when they want to earn a little extra spending money, but two of Rockport's newest and youngest entrepreneurs dared to dream bigger this summer, and so far, their efforts have paid off.

Olivia Keating, 12, and Cally Tibert, 10, started their own business making "FriendClips" — decorative refrigerator magnet and chip clips — in August and haven't looked back since.

A package of five FriendClips are sold for $5 at Sandcastles, a shop owned by Cally's mother, Kim, and also at An Artful Touch Gallery, a Rockport gallery owned by Cally's aunt.

After a successful day selling the whimsically decorated, decoupaged clips from a table at the Rockport Harvest Festival last month, the girls decided to purchase space to sell their product at tonight's Boutique Night at East Gloucester Elementary School and Rockport's PTO fair at Rockport Middle School on Nov. 22.

Both girls decided that for every package they sell at these fairs and any others they attend this holiday season, they will donate $1 to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute for brain tumor research — the type of cancer Keating lost her father to in March.

The girls got the idea for the FriendClips while doing crafts at a playground group over the summer.

"It's just been a neat little business experience, they've figured it all out as they've gone along," Cally's mother, Kim Tibert, said yesterday. "They've sold quite a few, people were really excited about them and even more interested when they see (the clips are produced by) two young girls."

Cally and Olivia discovered which magnets and glue worked best for their clips the hard way — through trial and error — but after a few rough batches, they've perfected an assembly line system in their Rockport office, a spare bedroom in Cally's house.

The girls both keep meticulous operating costs and revenue records and have learned time management is essential to keeping up with demand.

"I work on them every weekend," Cally said, "they take three days each because we have to put three coats over the (clips)."

It may take a lot of time and effort, but both girls are artistic, their mothers say, and love being creative; they already recognize their hard work is paying off.

"My brother is jealous of all the money I make," Olivia said, chuckling.

"I'm putting (profits) in my bank account to save for when I'm really, really looking forward to something," said Cally, who also pays her older brother $1 for each set of clips he is able to produce in a week.

Beginning tonight, a portion of the proceeds will go to cancer research in memory of Olivia's father, Kirk, who was diagnosed with a grade four brain tumor in February 2007 and succumbed to the cancer on March 27, 2008. The beloved Rockporter was 47 years old.

"(Olivia) really likes to feel she's a part of (honoring Kirk); her dad is very important in her life," said Ann Keating, Olivia's mother. Ann said the girls hope to be able to donate a significant amount of money to the institute as a result of their sales at the upcoming fairs.

So far, the community's response to the clips have been better than any of them expected.

"They have done really great, people have responded very well to them," Ann said yesterday, "people are excited for them, there has been so much positive feedback from people."

Olivia said for a time during the end of summer, it was hard to keep up with demand as the FriendClips would fly off the shelves of the tourist-crowded Rockport stores.

Members of Cally's family, including an aunt who works at a Boston hospital and her grandmother in Florida, have requested shipments of the clips to sell.

Recently, a New Hampshire business owner showed interest in carrying the clips in her store as well — Cally exclaimed "we're going international" when her mother told her about the woman's interest in their product.

The girls have 250 sets of clips — decorated with all sorts of designs — packaged and ready to sell tonight; they're hoping it's not enough.

The girls don't have a Web site yet, but think they will have one soon. For now, people can place orders for the clips by e-mailing the girls at friendclips@yahoo.com or pick them up in person tonight in Gloucester.

Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.

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