MONROE - To Deb Vande Hey, aprons can be more than just something to wear while cooking. They can be something to pass on from one generation to the next.
Vande Hey makes apron to sell, but they are more than a means of income to her - the aprons are "pieces of art," she said.
"No two look alike," Vande Hey said.
The aprons she makes are cut from "time-aged" tablecloths. The tablecloths are brought to her by customers and friends who want to use the fabric they remember from happy times in the past.
"It's a great idea for a gift," she said. "They can pass it on to their children."
One man recently bought an apron to give to his young daughter. Vande Hey hopes that one day the little girl will pass it on to her daughter or maybe a granddaughter.
There's more than just cutting up a tablecloth to make an apron. It takes creativity to know how to make the aprons look "just right." She puts a lot of herself into each apron, Vande Hey said. It's important to care about the finished product, she said. She even takes a picture of each person who buys an apron, so she can have a reminder of the person and the apron.
"Each apron I make becomes a child to me," she said, with a smile.
With each apron that's sold she gives out a poem about aprons. The poem talks about how a grandmother's apron may have held wildflowers or a crying child's face.
A line of the poem reads, "Imagine all the little tears that were wiped with just that cloth."
Some of the aprons she's made since last winter took her up to three days to make. Vande Hey makes them all in her home. When an apron is sold she starts to work on another, so she always has about 30 aprons available for sale.
She's so proud of her aprons' uniqueness that Vande Hey mentions it on her business cards.
The card has the words "Nobody cooks like you. Nobody looks like you," printed on it.
Vande Hey started her business, "Heirloom Aprons," last winter and so far she's gotten positive responses from her customers, she said. She sells them Wednesdays and Saturday's at the Farmer's Market on Monroe's Square. Prices range from $20 to $80.
Aprons are as much a part of cooking as an oven or a cake pan to Deb Vande Hey.
Vande Hey has always worn an apron when she cooks, she said, and she's surprised to hear people say aprons are making a comeback.
"I didn't think they ever went away," she said, with a laugh.
Vande Hey makes apron to sell, but they are more than a means of income to her - the aprons are "pieces of art," she said.
"No two look alike," Vande Hey said.
The aprons she makes are cut from "time-aged" tablecloths. The tablecloths are brought to her by customers and friends who want to use the fabric they remember from happy times in the past.
"It's a great idea for a gift," she said. "They can pass it on to their children."
One man recently bought an apron to give to his young daughter. Vande Hey hopes that one day the little girl will pass it on to her daughter or maybe a granddaughter.
There's more than just cutting up a tablecloth to make an apron. It takes creativity to know how to make the aprons look "just right." She puts a lot of herself into each apron, Vande Hey said. It's important to care about the finished product, she said. She even takes a picture of each person who buys an apron, so she can have a reminder of the person and the apron.
"Each apron I make becomes a child to me," she said, with a smile.
With each apron that's sold she gives out a poem about aprons. The poem talks about how a grandmother's apron may have held wildflowers or a crying child's face.
A line of the poem reads, "Imagine all the little tears that were wiped with just that cloth."
Some of the aprons she's made since last winter took her up to three days to make. Vande Hey makes them all in her home. When an apron is sold she starts to work on another, so she always has about 30 aprons available for sale.
She's so proud of her aprons' uniqueness that Vande Hey mentions it on her business cards.
The card has the words "Nobody cooks like you. Nobody looks like you," printed on it.
Vande Hey started her business, "Heirloom Aprons," last winter and so far she's gotten positive responses from her customers, she said. She sells them Wednesdays and Saturday's at the Farmer's Market on Monroe's Square. Prices range from $20 to $80.
Aprons are as much a part of cooking as an oven or a cake pan to Deb Vande Hey.
Vande Hey has always worn an apron when she cooks, she said, and she's surprised to hear people say aprons are making a comeback.
"I didn't think they ever went away," she said, with a laugh.