our sewists

* colette palamar *

i started UB2 in 2008, just 8 months after my daughter, Sabine, was born.  although it started small, as just something fun for my gal, it quickly became more than that-- growing into something artistic and creative for me.  and in those early months of motherhood when i was barely sleeping at all, having a creative outlet was sooooooo important.  it's definitely one of the things that helped keep me sane while i was figuring out how to be myself and a mom at the same time.   now, my sewing is more limited than it was.  at first, i was sewing everything... for etsy, for wholesale, for my gal... and it really got tiring!  sometimes i would sew for 12 hours straight!  that's when i brought some more folks onto the team.  now, with the help of these wonderful women (and men) i'm able to focus a lot more of my attention on other aspects of the business (such as my website!).  although i still sew everything for etsy and almost all of the product samples, the wholesale work has been taken over by these talented women.

* lisa rondeau *

my name is lisa and i joined the UB2 team in the spring of 2010.  i am a proud member of the "sandwich generation," raising three children (and a husband :-) ) and caring for my live-in, elderly parents.  being able to work out of my home affords me the opportunity to have an income and also provide the attention my family needs.

i started out making the adorable UB2 bonnets and then made the switch over to the ever-so-cute dresses.  each little dress i make brings back memories of when i was a little girl and my mother made all of my clothes.  she always said you could tell the handmade dresses because of the little touches of love that were put into them.  i hope the girls that wear the dresses i make for UB2 can feel those "little touches of love" that my mom taught me to appreciate so many years ago.

 * hwa cha & jen walti *

hwa cha and jen are a mother-daughter team.  they're great together!  working out of a small town in ohio, they sew bonnets, dresses, mittens, skirts, samples for new lines, party flags, bibs, and more.  they divide the work-- and even mr. walti gets involved! 

 * janus koziuk *

my sewing career started when i was five, and found an old sewing machine in my barn. i instantly fell in love with the entire sewing process. at 16 i began working for a jacket factory in my home town of indian lake ohio. over the past 16 years i have worked for bridal gown boutiques, sporting good stores, dry cleaners, and even spent 5 years as a tailor for the columbus police department. i joined ub2 while pregnant with my daughter scarlett.

working for this company means i have more time to spend with my family. it means my infant daughter doesn’t have to go to daycare. it means i can volunteer at my son nikolai’s school. it means i can be there for my 16 year old foster daughter when she gets home from school. it also means i can help provide for my family in a way that makes me proud.  in the evenings, after i tuck the kids into bed, i love heading down to my basement sewing studio, cranking up my headphones and sewing away. the bright colors of the dresses really inspire me, and i love the finished product.

* pat zic *

my great grandmother was a tailor (she made men's suits), and my grandmother started as a sewist and became a designer in the NY garment district.  my mother, aunts, and some couisins all sewed, some for a living.  i came to UB2 after many years of owning my own business.  although i did not sew much while i was working for myself, it was always my real passion.  over the years, i sewed beautiful, special-events dresses for my daughter-- dresses where every little detail was perfect.  after my husband and i sold our business and moved back to southwestern ohio, i was looking for part time work.  but i really wanted to get back to my first love-- sewing.  i began sewing mittens, bonnets, and dresses for UB2.  now, i am sewing only the dresses.  i know i would miss making them if i couldn't make them anymore!