Marlene Pendleton a creative force in Carnegie

Marlene Smith Pendleton is the most creative person her brother, Ray Brooks, has ever met.Even during Pendleton's youth, he said, his sister was moving in that direction."She has a way of touching things and turning them into something from nothing. She has a magnificent gift. She knows how to create things with her mind and her hands," Brooks said."Ever since I have known her as a young child, she has had a way of looking at something, taking it and doing something with it that none of us would have thought of. Extremely incredible, I always thought."Pendelton, of Carnegie, is using those gifts in numerous ways to benefit the borough.In Carnegie, Pendleton has volunteered for the Carnegie Arts & Heritage Festival (2008-2011); the Andrew Carnegie Free Library Music Hall Space Planning for Events and Fundraising Committee; and the Carnegie Shade Tree Commission."I always believed Carnegie is very quaint and beautiful and the people are extremely friendly. We should always work to improve the borough and there are several ways to do that. I think one of the main ways to see more (improvement) in Carnegie is to have more small businesses in Carnegie. I think we can have that," said Pendleton, who will be 63 Friday.Maggie Forbes is the former executive director at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall. She has known Pendleton for about five years, she said.Pendleton has helped to raise funds for the library and music hall, she said."Marlene is a free spirit. She is great fun to be around. But she also cares about Carnegie and its people. I really can't say enough about her," Forbes said.Leigh White, executive director of the Carnegie Community Development Corporation, said she can always depend on Pendleton."I can't say enough about her. When I need her, I can call her and she is there. Marlene is more than business person, she is a kind person who is always willing to help," White said.She is the president and owner of MS Designs Inc., an independent commercial design furnishings procurement company. The business, which she operates out of her home, designs commercial interiors; some clients include American Eagle Outfitters, Brooks Associates and Alpern Rosenthal.A South Side native, Pendleton grew up Marlene Przyborowski. She attended high school at the former St. Adalbert's, a Polish-Catholic High School. She then attended the Pittsburgh Arts & Heritage Institute."Even then, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to create things," Pendleton said.Her brother is not surprised Pendleton is using her natural gift in her adult life, he said."Not at all. I mean, her she is, she could have done anything, really. She could have been a doctor. But here she is, doing what she is doing, and she is happy."