STYLE - In Matt's Memory

Grieving over her brother’s death, Michelle Buelow launched charities and a thriving business that clothes babies

- MICHELLE BOUDIN

IN 2005, MICHELLE BUELOW was in a deep depression two years after her brother, Matt Tunno, died from an accidental drug overdose. She had just found out she was pregnant with her first child and wanted a venture that would allow her to honor Matt. “I would have sold tires or toilet paper if that’s what it took,” she says. “It was the mission I was committed to—the product was just the vehicle to get there. My endgame was to start a memorial fund in my late brother’s name.”

Her mom bought her a sewing machine to occupy her mind. “I awkwardly taught myself to sew, but I was terrible,” she recalls. “I was making burp cloths and changing pads because I could only sew straight lines.”