Our demure friend Mrs. Smith, houseguest of Cynthia Cook and the first Beaufort Button Bonnet^TM model

Susu & John is a mom-and-her-mom family business. Mary Patrick (pictured below, left), a Beaufort, S.C. resident, is a master seamstress, having sewn all her life and expert at everything from designer curtains to wedding dresses and clothes to baby bonnets, of course. She still carefully oversees the impeccable workmanship and fabric quality of each of our bonnets and hats, which are all still made in Beaufort County. "Mamie" and her team--Betty and Roger Hodge, and Wanda Ardell--cut no corners! And they're always adding great new fabrics and pieces too, which mix in with our basic line.

Her daughter Janie McQueen is a Beaufort native who now lives in Roswell, Georgia, a northern suburb of Atlanta--a bigger city that makes a perfect marketing and PR center. Janie serves as the liaison with our sales reps and our sales assistant and creative director, Robin Hall (who's a family rock star in her spare time). 

Mamie and Janie at the real Susu and John's Sip And See* at Angela Barnes' beautiful waterfront home

By trade Janie is a writer, having taught herself to type her stories at age 8 on her grandfather Riley’s old-fashioned upright typewriter. You can see books she’s written and read more about her journalism and writing career (and books she recommends for children of all ages) at www.magicbookshelfonline.com.

Both Mary and Janie have different skills that work perfectly together, but they share in common an uncommon love for baby bonnets! Which works very well for Susu & John.

And who are Susu and John? Susu, proper name Sophia Susannah, is an 19-month-old baby girl and twin to John Lathan. That’s the pair of them in many of the photos. They have two big brothers: Riley, 13, and Thomas, 11, who often provide their entertainment while their Mama handles the marketing!

Big brother Thomas and Susu at our dear friend Cynthia's. Susu's wearing a new Sassy Susu^TM bonnet.

Big brother Riley with John in his Beaufort Button Bucket^TM hat

Daddy is Josh, a partner in McQueen Enterprises LLC, a contractor by trade and home renovator by hobby. You might say he keeps our respective houses from collapsing around us while we operate our various cottage industries.

*Sip and See -- A Southern tradition, rather like a retroactive baby shower, in which dear friends and family gather at the home of a gracious friend and ooh and aah over a new baby (or babies). What you see is up to the parents. What you sip is up to the hostesses.

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