Dot-com this.

Thetford Web Development just launched eight new business Web sites and three makeovers. Talk about Hollywood glam, cyber-style.

Stacy Thetford, president of the Cathedral City home-based company, says she conducts Web-related services for about 150 clients, among them: El Paseo Bank, Pinkies Toys, Specialized Nursing Solutions Inc., Wonderstar Productions and Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce.

She tells clients an online presence is an essential business tool. “If potential customers can't find you in a Web search, they will most likely find one of your competitors to fill their needs,'' Thetford says. “It used to be the Yellow Pages; now it's the Internet.”

What's Thetford's proof in the pudding? Bras.

Hours after Women Supporting Women kicked off a wellness bra campaign at wswfashion.org, onsite clicks rose dramatically, Thetford says. That's heartening because 10 percent of all sales support breast cancer research.

Other new launches noted by Thetford: Audio Video Simplified, Cabinets by Precision Works, Decoboard Inc. and How To Throw a Golf Club.

Throwing golf clubs in the drink won't necessarily make a big splash on a scorecard, but

Curve appeal

Look for fashion designer Edward Allen to make a splash with his new Mudflap Girl clothing line this month at the Greater Palm Springs Pride Festival.

Allen says his father, Hugh Allen, was the inspired truck driver who first stenciled the curvy silhouette of a seated woman often found flapping behind the tires of 18-wheelers.

References on the Internet credit the creation to Bill Zinda of Wiz Enterprises in Long Beach, which sold auto accessories. Allen said his father's drawing was appropriated by the now-defunct company.

The 42-year-old Washington, D.C., man is now adorning polo shirts for women and men with the vivacious image. The playfulness creeps up under shirt collars, too, with “Mother Trucker” on guys' shirts and “Drivers Wanted” for the girls.

It's “a little bit of the road with a college education,” he said of the idea of putting the sassy mudflap girl on a preppy polo. He is considering expanding application of the image to thermal clothing next fall.

Who does Allen say that va-va-voom vixen is? Rachel Ann Allen — his mother.

“I know the picture that was based on. She was in a bathing suit, lakeside,” he said. “She really is part of the great American culture.”

Allen will launch his ground sales effort at the Pride Festival because of the “retro appreciation” Palm Springs has. He said, “The more you think about it, it's a great place to launch.”

Digging it

Talk about a launch, and the new El Paseo Village by Evanston, Ill.-based Davis Street Land Co. comes to mind.

Ground will be broken Monday on the new 41,000-square-foot shopping center near The Gardens on El Paseo. Signed retail stores for the single-level, upscale speciality center scheduled to open in fall 2010 include: Juicy Couture, Banana Republic, Kate Spade, Bebe, Lucky Brand Jeans, Janie & Jack and Mastro's Steakhouse.

El Paseo Village is on the south side of El Paseo in Palm Desert between San Pablo and Lupine. That's right next to The Gardens, which welcomes Eileen Fisher in November and will open its doors to Louis Vuitton in spring 2010.

Black Business Expo

Jerry Green has lined up nearly 30 African-American business owners from the Inland Empire to Washington, D.C., to showcase their goods and services on Saturday at the Southern California Black Business Expo in Moreno Valley.

The Expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Moreno Valley Holiday Inn Express.

Green is also encouraging individuals who are looking for a new job to attend to “learn about business opportunities.”

Sponsors include the Black Business Resource and Networking Directory, PQ Enterprises, TheUltimateProfessional.com Sales Training, the Inland Empire African American Chamber of Commerce and Dameron Communications.

While the Expo is under way, something “Fresh” has cropped up in the Palm Springs' art community. Dezart One Gallery hosts Tony de Carlo and Susan Byers will offer an artists reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday in the backstreet art district of Palm Springs to showcase their “Fresh” new works of art. The reception will take place in Dezart One Gallery, and promises to be one of many strokes of genius galas planned in this creative nook of the city over the tourist season.

Gallery of talent

The recent Women Leaders Forum at Miramonte Resort & Spa in Indian Wells drew 200 forward-thinking women looking to lead with optimism.

After opening remarks by forum president Christy Majors and a round of motivational speeches, emcee Patti Gribow presented Col. Pat Webb with the 2009 “Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling” award.

Webb, an adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was recognized for trails she blazed in military and civilian service.

Palm Springs Life associate publisher Michael Evans accepted the Community Spirit Award for the magazine's commitment to the Coachella Valley community; while the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Broadway producer Jane Treacy, creator and co-chairwoman of the Young Woman Ambassadors high school outreach program. As Dr. William K. Larson might put it, the event was an “Upspiral” of positivity.

Want more?

Thetford Web Development Inc. of Cathedral City: Phone, (760) 902-2842 or www.thetfordwd.com

Mudflap Girl polo shirts, www.mudflapgirl.us

Greater Palm Springs Pride Festival, www.pspride.org

Davis Street Land Co., Evanston, Ill. Online information, www.dslandco.com

Black Business Expo at the Moreno Valley Holiday Inn Express, 24-630 Sunnymead Blvd. Admission is $10. To buy tickets or get vendor information, call Jerry Green: (951) 313-1919 or visit www.scblackbusinessexpo.com

Dezart One Gallery, 2688 Cherokee Way, Palm Springs. Phone: (760) 328-1440. Visit, www.dezartonegallery.com