The Making of RonWear

I just came back from Allentown, Pa, where our factory is that is making the future RonWear garments. What an experience it is to see the designs that come out of your head onto paper, then into reality! I worked with the sewers in making each piece to my specifications until it was the 'perfect' jacket and pant! Now to order fabric and we are ready for selling. You will see these garments for sale in early March. A true tribute to my brother Ron, who in fact, passed away March 6 (2005).
I have spent 32 years in retail as a merchandiser and manager. I have been a seamstress since I was 10 years old; sewing everything I wore in high school and college! My first love was fashion design but changed my major to merchandising at Kent State due to the fact that jobs in the 80's were more prominent in retail clothing! Unfortunately, I saw my retail experience and my caregiving come together through my family's illnesses. In 2001 my husband was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the blood in he bone marrow; he began chemotherapy immediately. In 2004, my brother (Ron) went into the ER on March 3, and our mother, with whom he lived with, went into the ER on March 4. He had complications of diabetes, and she had congestive heart failure. His diabetes led him to renal failure and dialysis in that year, and my mother getting multiple blood transfusions. My husband started chemotherapy and I found this need for a garment to keep them warm, dignified (not having to disrobe to connect to their port) and a need for easy access to the machines. I actually purchased a fleece pullover for my brother, put a slit in the arm and inserted a zipper so he could stay warm in the treatment center, and unzip easily to connect to his fistula. The first day he wore it he said to me "Deb, you HAVE to manufacture this! The patients all want one and the nurses love the idea!"..."you'll be a millionaire" ! I'll never forget that conversation. My reply was "how can I develop this when I am taking care of you, mom and my husband?" But nevertheless, I went home and started working on the designs...deciding to call it RonWear, after my brother, who was consistently was bugging me to create this line of clothing!!! As all three got more ill, I put the RonWear down for a couple years, and resumed it after my husband passed away in January 2008. As my 13 year old son says "we can still help people, but we don't have to take care of them". We lost four of our relatives one after another in a short time, my husbands father passing away 10 days after my husband. My son and I are hoping we CAN help people with ports make their lives easier with RonWear, a legacy that was meant to be....for my family, and now others.

Watch My RonWear Video Clip!

The Soul of A New Company

My name is Deb and I want to share my company's evolution with you.  How does any new company begin?  With a feeling in your gut, a hint of how to solve a problem, an ideal you want to fight for, a way to change the world, a desire to make the world a better place?

This is the story of how I began.  In 2004, my brother Ron suffered from complications due to diabetes which required him to undergo dialysis three times a week.  Ron was cold and the hospital gown he had to wear for easy port access, didn't do the trick.  I wanted to help but didn't know how.  So I did what I knew how to do.  I sewed.  I sewed zippers into a fleece shirt where his ports where located.  I felt the shirt would keep him warm, comfortable, upbeat and fashionable.  He loved it!  The nurses found it convenient! And the other patients wanted it!  My "aha moment"! Conceived out of necessity and born out of love. That was how Ronwear began.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be tracing Ronwears' evolution from 2004 to the present.  I'll be talking about how a labor of love has become RonWear Port-able Clothing, a lifestyle apparel brand offering men and women in treatment warmth, dignity and ease without sacrificing their style or comfort.

I hope you'll join me!

Deb