About

I created Take My Hand after having my first baby. As a woman who had never even changed a diaper before, the transition to motherhood was surreal. Every moment my daughter was asleep, I was obsessively Googling what color her poop was supposed to be, how much sleep she was supposed to be getting, and how, for the love of God, to get her to breastfeed. It felt like my mind would never be at ease again.

When my daughter developed a full-body Mystery Rash one week in, our pediatrician suggested dressing her in organic cotton. Overzealous, I bought her a whole new wardrobe, but the cotton was still too scratchy. I was in graduate school at the time, and thirteen days after giving birth, I returned to the classroom. I couldn't focus; all I could think about in class was my daughter's itchy little body. I felt like I had failed her.

I was desperate to help my new baby be comfortable. I found a few clothing options that worked for her skin, but with my background in fashion, I knew that the fabric they were made from was terrible for the environment. Modal would be the perfect sustainable fabric for super soft, durable baby apparel, but there were barely any options available. Unable to find the clothing I needed for my baby, I set out to design my own. Take My Hand is sewn from OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified fabric, and proudly made in the USA. At every step of production, these products are created by people who are paid a living wage, and work in a clean, safe facility under ethical working conditions. 

As my daughter grew, nurturing her curious mind became one of my favorite things about being her mom. My daughter is always asking "why, why, why," and the more she asked, the more we learned about the world together. I wrote these board books in honor of her constant questioning, and I wanted them to match the clothing to create a little extra bit of connection during our bedtime reading. My board books are printed in the USA.

Take My Hand is the perfect marriage of my pre-baby pursuits. After graduating from Indiana University with a degree in Apparel Merchandising and Marketing, I worked in luxury womenswear. I started at The Row, where I learned to define luxury as "something that makes your life easier." That's a lesson I've always carried with me. After several years in the fashion industry, I burned out, and decided to pursue my other passion: literature. I got an MFA from The New School, where I studied Creative Writing and Gender Studies. Writing children's books and designing the matching apparel has been enormously fulfilling. And as a busy working mom, I am always striving to create products that bring you luxury: to make your life easier, and to finally, finally put your busy mind at ease. 

x Julie