Melissa Roth has combined her food experience and her knack for making things into a thriving Denver business. Today, she is the designer and owner Union Stitch & Design where she creates custom textiles for both commercial businesses and anyone cooking at home. She also specializes in and focuses on aprons to be used by chefs, bartenders, and service staff.
Having worked in the restaurant industry for about two decades, she recalls the moment that changed her business aspirations. “My good friend Jennifer Jasinski asked me to make an apron for her. After we finalized the design, she ordered 30 for Rioja [restaurant] and things quickly took off from there.” Her culinary roots have led to honing in on her design talents. “I worked in the ‘front of the house’ for more than 20 years, so this industry was always close to my heart. I started getting into sewing when I was pregnant with my oldest and that was when Jennifer Jasinski asked if I could help create the perfect apron for her. She was and still is my inspiration.”
Making aprons that are chic and comfortable is the overall goal but helping chefs with form and function is always top of mind. “I constantly strive to make sure chefs, and anyone 
else wearing them, have what they need. I do mostly custom work, so I work with chefs to get the right pockets for their tools, the right straps to make them comfortable, and the right material to hold up to the wear and tear of a busy restaurant. I also help them get an apron that expresses their brand and style for their concept.” In addition to truly hand-crafted products, Union Stitch & Design creates and provides value in the form of flexibility and a willingness to execute clients’ differing visions through 100 percent customization. “As the restaurant industry continues to grow and change, I want to be there to make whatever my chefs and their staff need and want.”
Photography courtesy Union Stitch & Design
