9 & 10 News
January 29, 2021
We’ve all seen the viral memes of Senator Bernie Sanders and his mittens at the Presidential Inaguration, but did you know the idea for his sweater mittens came from Lake Leelanau’s upcycled wool clothing store baabaaZuzu?
“We started 28 years ago this year,” said baabaaZuzu co-owner Sue Burns. “It was a little bit of a laundry mishap that resulted in a pretty good pile of shrunken sweaters. I grew up sewing, and have a background in graphic design, and I just kind of blended the two talents and produced, refashioned little jackets for our young daughters.”
From there, the demand grew to women’s apparel, then hats, scarves, and their famous mittens.