Dealing with your in-laws is something that most people dread. But not sisters-in-law Yana and Jennifer Wieckowski. The two West Ashley residents have combined decades of sewing experience, attention to detail, and creativity in design  to form Hemming Birds Boutique, an online store specializing in beautiful, high-quality products for kids, such as bibs, jewelry, and bags.
“We originally started sewing and designing bags for adults, however the market for such items is really saturated,” says Yana. In February I found that my then 14-month old daughter really enjoyed playing with my purses.  That was really the moment when, as they say, the ‘light bulb went off.’  Why not design bags for little girls?”
After a bit of research, Yana and Jennifer found that most purses for toddlers and little girls were made overseas from “plasticky” materials, and worst of all, were “spot clean only.” Yana says they became inspired to design modern, colorful purses for little girls that were well-made keepsake items, as well as machine washable.
In May they launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their first production run, and were encouraged when it was fully funded in only 17 days.  Since then they’ve continued to sell their “little girl purses,” as well as infant/toddler bibs in their online store www.hemming-birds.com.  Over the summer they added another item, a fabric statement necklace for women, and in the next few days they will add toddler art smocks to the lineup, just in time for the holidays.
“We very carefully design our patterns and choose our fabrics to be both modern and beautiful, as well as functional,” says Yana, who admits they are both somewhat perfectionists so everything is made with extreme attention to detail.
According to Yana, the goal for the next few years is to continue building the business, making more contacts (especially other makers, small business owners, and small business supporters), and introduce more people in Charleston and the rest of the country to their adorable handcrafted products.

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