ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. (WCAX) – Monika Ursiny has a talent for textiles. You might even say it’s sewn into her DNA.
“I grew up with a grandfather who was a tailor,” Ursiny said. “I learned a lot from my grandfather.”
Those inherited sewing skills kept her on-trend during her teenage years in central Europe.
“I grew up in then Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic,” she said. “Then, the selection of clothing was not great, it was expensive. So, if I wanted to have something different, I just made it.”
That was up until 35 years ago when Ursiny defected from the country amid Communist rule. That’s how she wound up in Vermont. For a while, she put her hobby to the side. But in 2019, a new addition to the family meant new clothes to be made.
“Then with my granddaughter, I kind of came back to my roots and rediscovered my passion for making clothes,” she said.
From three months to three years, Ursa Style is all about kids’ clothing with an edge.
“High quality, unique,” she said. Everything is made by hand in her Essex Junction workshop. As winter winds whip outside, Ursiny is focused on making warm winter clothes for kids.
“I came to realize that in Vermont, nine months out of a year, kids need something warm to wear,” she said. Stitch by stitch, these super soft fabrics transform into clothes kids love. Some of her other prints are one of a kind, as Ursiny hired a graphic designer to help her make custom fabrics.
“At least a couple of my fabrics are inspired by Vermont nature,” she said, pointing to a print with cows, skiers, and mountains.
Ursiny sells her clothes at markets and craft shows around Vermont and online. But in-person business is her favorite, so people can see and feel her plush and playful designs.
“I had a 3-year-old girl who came over with her dad, and she looks around and she picks an outfit. And then she convinces her dad to buy it. She puts it on, and walks away,” she recalled. “Those are like, the best moments.”
These styles are hardly something you’d see at a big box store, and that’s the point. “People if they want something special, something unique, a good gift, those are my customers,” she says.
If nothing else, her talent and love of the craft is proof that Ursiny and her grandfather are cut from the same cloth.
“I wake up in the morning like, oh my god, I’m going to make something,” Ursiny said. “And, I just get excited.”