This Mother’s Day, we’re celebrating the women at the heart of Spoonie Threads: Dr. Julie Sanchez and Saba Kamaras. As co-founders, mothers, and creative forces behind a woman-led brand, their personal journeys are deeply connected to the mission of empowering families navigating medical challenges. In their own words, here’s how they’ve built a brand with compassion—and how motherhood has shaped every step.
Julie: What inspired you to start Spoonie Threads?
It was a mom who inspired me and still does. Her child needed a g-button and she was very concerned about him pulling the button out. You see, he is Autistic and he doesn't like to have "things" touching him. She already struggled with keeping his clothes on, now she had to worry about a button. A button that if pulled out could harm him. I really struggled with this. For the first time, I understood that my patients and their families had challenges that carried well beyond the hospital doors. I wanted to create fun and fashionable clothes that would keep devices safe. Hence, Spoonie Threads was born.
Saba: As women and founders, what challenges did you face early on—and how did you navigate them together?
In the early days, the hardest part was figuring out what to do when we had so many different directions we could try. We wanted to make every adaptive idea we had come to life and it was a struggle to decide what to focus on. Once we had more sales history we could look back and see what was resonating with our customers and what we could realistically bring to market on our small self-funded budget.
Julie: What lessons has being a mother taught you that have carried over into your work?
My son has taught me many many lessons. He has taught me now to be more patient, that I can't always have control, how to be present and how to be a better communicator. He has also shown me what unconditional love and acceptance looks like.
Saba: How do you balance being a mom with leading an innovative brand in the adaptive space?
It’s very tough! I had my first child less than a year after I started working with Dr. Sanchez. The company was still in really early stages and we were just establishing new structures and systems as the company grew. It was hard to spend full days away from my baby so I spend a lot of days breaking up time at home with work at the office, work at home during naps, and in the evenings after he went to bed. Luckily our team was really flexible and supportive so I was able to spend time with family when it was important. I won’t lie though, it was really exhausting, especially since my first kid was not a good sleeper! Having a fledgling company and a human baby is HARD. When I had my second kid, our company was more established and we had hired more team members, so I was able to have a better balance of work tasks and family without having to work from 9pm-12am!
Julie: How do you hope to empower other moms—especially those raising kids with medical needs—through Spoonie Threads?
First I want to tell moms, especially those whose children have special needs or chronic medical conditions that "YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB!" Your strength, dedication, love and determination is endless. I—Spoonie Threads—sees you. I feel that we can empower one another by being honest about our struggles and fears that come with being a mom. It takes a village to raise a child. Spoonie Threads is part of your village.
Saba: What does it mean to you to be part of a woman-founded, woman-led company?
I love being a part of a company that is supportive of one another. The majority of our team is women and Julie and I made a conscious choice to listen to everyone’s voices, regardless of what part of the team they are on. Some of our best points have come from team members that are commenting on a totally different area of work than their day to day. It makes me feel like our team members are empowered to speak their minds.
Julie: If you could share one piece of advice with fellow moms this Mother's Day, what would it be?
Take a few moments each day to be kind to yourself. Do something nice for yourself. We all do the best that we can but, I feel that we tend to be most critical of ourselves. Learn to love yourself, let go of any guilt or regrets. You are amazing!
Saba: If you could share one piece of advice with fellow moms this Mother’s Day, what would it be?
To give yourself grace when managing priorities. Not everything is going to be perfect or even okay all the time, but knowing what to prioritize each day can help to keep from burning out. I think about a quote attributed to author Nora Roberts, “the key to juggling is to know that some of the balls you have in the air are made of plastic & some are made of glass. And if you drop a plastic ball, it bounces, no harm done. If you drop a glass ball, it shatters, so you have to know which balls are glass and which are plastic and prioritize catching the glass ones.”
