February WAHM of the Month

“Dream it then do it” 

Deniece Blasko is not a seamstress, she is an artist. Take a look at her web pages with pictures of her work, and there is no doubt that creativity as well as skill has helped her to create a beautiful line of preemie clothing, cloth diapering, Mom products, ice skating outfits, formals and more.  I don’t think there is anything that Deniece cannot create either with a pattern or without.  One of her favorite sayings is “Dream it then do it”.  She sees many people dream of doing but never even take that first step to making it happen. Deniece is proof that you can dream and then take it to the next level with the small business she has single handedly created from her basement.

No doubt that growing up in a world of sewing had a huge influence on her passion. Her mother worked in a sewing factory for 25 years. As a child her Mom shared her passion for sewing by having her cut her own patterns and fabric.  As she got older she honed her skills, practiced, tried new techniques and experimented. She prides herself in having the confidence to tackle projects others may not be comfortable with and calls that her niche’ in the market.  

As an adult she joined the Navy, working  with large machines and equipment.  Working her way from machinist to Marketing manager in the Aerospace industry honed her people skills, and brought her out of severe shyness. Now she can’t wait to meet people, talk to new people, and teach classes related to sewing, which she does at a local Wichita Boutique.

“Create“

Above her work space in her basement office/sewing room/studio/fabric wonderland, is the word “CREATE” in large letters. Vague, and perhaps only meaningful in one way to most people, Deniece looks at this as a multi-dimensional word.  “Creating is not just making something with your hands, it’s creating something special in your life. Create can mean your children, your home, your business.”  She thinks it’s the most perfect word in the dictionary, and a word that has nothing negative about it.

10 years ago after her first daughter was born, she started a company called Shabby Stitches after making the hard decision to leave her career with a company had become family. It started as a way to contribute as a stay-at-home Mom- to continue to have a sense of purpose in her life. Shabby Stitches started as sewing custom, one of a kind garments for babies, bedding, weddings, and even producing inventory for other designers and boutiques. She grew, very quickly, by word of mouth.  After the birth of her 5^th child a year ago, and experience with cloth diapering, Wee La Mode was also born.   She wanted to bring  fun, cute, simple baby and Mom products that were all natural, sustainable and could be reused again and again.  Made from Organic Bamboo fabric, its silky feel is breathable and naturally hypoallergenic.  She makes cloth fitted diapers and wipes, as well as Milk Leaf Nursing pads, and menses pads.  This also led to finding a niche’ for products for special needs infants, and preemies. She has clothing that has that “boutique look” that is just their size, and sweet baby kimonos that are cord and monitor friendly.  Her Leaf products were bred out of her love for nursing, and seeing the lack of support for breast feeding moms.  Her personal lack of support in her experience and the experiences of other Moms led her to get involved in education and products meant to facilitate a new nursing experience for Mothers.

“Live In The Moment”

The recent attention to nursing by the US Legislature gives her a lot of hope that our society is maybe “growing up”, letting women know that this is okay and it’s not against the rules to breast feed. She still says that a Mom’s choice to breast feed or not is up to them and okay whether or not they decide to. She feels more support and education would change Mothers minds to nurse and extend nurse. She weaned her first few children at 12 months, not because she wanted to, but because she felt pressure and influence by family and others around her that it was not appropriate to go past a year. Now with her youngest one, she is nursing her as long as she wants to. She advises other Moms not to worry about what other people think, and to focus on your baby when nursing, make it about you and the bond with your child, and not how others may react around you. She recently was involved in a “nurse-in” at Sweet Cheeks Boutique in Delano where Moms could bring their infants and nurse with other nursing moms, getting support and education from all the others around them. Plans are in the works for another “nurse-in” soon.

“Organized Chaos”

Married for 12 years to Sascha, a German/American Air Force Soldier at McConnell, she is grateful for his support to do what she loves, and taking over the whole basement to do it. She calls him her “opposite”, but one that works in the most perfect way.  Her five children, a son (17, from a previous marriage), and 4 other children with husband, Sascha, (Payge-10, Evan – 7, Hannah – 5, and Lennon -1) have always been the number one influence in what she does. They are the reason she decided to make her passion a business. Not looking to be famous, or even make lots of money, she is just happy she gets to live her dreams, and wants to live a legacy for them. Someday, she hopes her children can join in on her business carrying on what she has started.

Her #1 tip for Moms who try to juggle it all is try not to do it all at once and don’t worry if something doesn’t get done. Let some things go and learn how to manage your time: everything else will fall into place. She calls her life “organized chaos”. As long as they all survive at the end of the day, it’s alright. The house doesn’t have to be perfect.  She has been known to warn visitors that if they don’t like toys on the floor and laundry around, don’t come over. 

Trying too hard makes you miss out on the little things, Deniece has learned.  You can’t get it all done in one day. Sometimes you miss the little things that are most important by trying keep up with all the big things. Although, life is going to keep going by, if you don’t try something you are excited about then you will always wonder. Not trying is the failure.  She doesn’t fight with perfection, she feels she’d be bored if all worked out perfectly. And even through the failures, at the end of the day: there are always lessons to be learned.

Thank you Deniece for being my Mom of the month for February!  Deniece's dedication, passion and caring spirit inspires me to not only not give up, but to slow down sometimes and just enjoy the little treasures of being a Mom!

You can see Deniece’s products and services at www.shabbystitches.com, and www.weelamode.com

You can also find her on facebook and twitter. 

*Through February 5th receive 20% off your orders through Wee La Mode's facebook page shop now orders. Wichita City Mom readers can get that offer extended to the end of February by mentioning "CITYMOM". Note: this will be good for purchases through the Facebook page for shop now orders only. You will need to send a message at the "contact me" page to let her know that you are getting the discount before placing your order!