Gratitude, Community & Shopping Small:  Shop Small This Thanksgiving With Adaptive Styles for All. Images of two woman and one man all wearing adaptive apparel with visible disabilities

Gratitude, Community & Shopping Small: Shop Small This Thanksgiving With Adaptive Styles for All

Posted by Spoonie Threads Staff on

As Thanksgiving arrives, we find ourselves reflecting on the heart of Spoonie Threads: you—our community of caregivers, parents, patients, advocates, and everyday fighters navigating life with disability or chronic illness. Your stories, feedback, challenges, and triumphs continually shape who we are and why we do this work.

This season is a reminder that gratitude isn’t just a feeling—it’s an action. It’s choosing to show up for one another. It’s choosing to support small businesses that exist because real families had real needs. And it’s choosing products that help people feel seen, supported, and comfortable in their own skin.

Where Our Story Began

Spoonie Threads didn’t start as a business idea. It began with moments of struggle—moments many of you know well.

In 2015, while working as a pediatric surgeon, Dr. Julie Sanchez met a mother who was exhausted from trying to keep her autistic son’s G-tube secure. Julie realized instantly that medical devices weren’t just medical—they shaped daily routines, confidence, sleep, school, and family life. Parents stayed awake guarding tubes. Kids sat out of sports or activities out of fear something might get pulled or exposed.

At the same time, fashion designer Saba Kamaras was watching her niece navigate life with terminal muscular dystrophy and a G-tube. She saw firsthand how small design choices determined whether a child could move comfortably, dress independently, or simply feel included.

These two perspectives—medicine and design—met in a shared mission: Create clothing that supports real bodies, real needs, and real life.

The Power of Community-Led Design

From day one, Spoonie Threads has been built with our community, not just for it. Every adaptive zip, hidden opening, soft fabric, pocket, panel, and silhouette comes from conversations with patients, caregivers, disabled and chronic illness advocates who trust us to listen.

Our work follows one guiding belief: You deserve clothing that feels good, looks good, and works hard to simplify your daily life.

We are endlessly grateful to the disabled and chronically ill individuals who test our products, provide feedback, and model in our photoshoots. 

Why Shopping Small Matters

When you shop small, especially during the holiday season, you’re supporting far more than a company. You’re supporting:

Women founders and leadership

Adaptive innovation driven by lived experience

A small team dedicated to comfort, dignity, and style

Real families who rely on adaptive solutions daily

Every purchase helps us develop new styles, expand size ranges, and improve accessibility in fashion—a space that still has so far to go.

Your support doesn’t just fuel growth. It fuels impact.

A Season of Gratitude

This Thanksgiving, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you for being part of our mission. Whether you’re a longtime customer or a new face discovering adaptive apparel for the first time, we’re grateful to walk this journey with you.

Your trust allows us to continue designing products that make life a little easier, softer, and more comfortable—one tee, hoodie, shacket, sleeve, or bodysuit at a time.

Join Us in Shopping Small

If you’re shopping this holiday season, we invite you to support small brands—including ours—that pour care into every detail. Whether you’re choosing adaptive apparel for yourself, a loved one, or someone in your care, we want you to feel the gratitude stitched into every piece.

Thank you for helping us build something meaningful. Thank you for sharing your stories. And thank you for reminding us every day why this mission matters.

With appreciation,

Dr. Julie Sanchez & Saba Kamaras
Co-Founders, Spoonie Threads

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