"In a cry for help, I said, God, what can I do? Because now I have hospital bills."

Sanchez was a high school arts and Spanish language teacher in Berrien Springs when she found out her unborn daughter had four heart defects. Her doctors ordered her to bunker down and rest. She left teaching to care for her daughter at the University of Michigan. With hospital bills mounting and quitting her job, Sanchez had to figure out how to make it work. "I don't have a paycheck.

I have a sick child. I wasn't looking for a business, but I started making things to help with the medical bills." Sanchez began with baby items, and then one day, her friend asked her, What are you doing for mom? Sanchez laughed and said she was not ready for fashion. "But then she left," said Sanchez, "I sat in my room. It was kind of dark. I thought, well, what could I do for moms?"

Sanchez designed her first scarf in her daughter's ICU room. She named Toula scarf after her friend, who supported and encouraged her in her journey. Sanchez calls her scarves after the supportive woman in her life.

Every scarf has a story. The Toula scarf is in the shape of a heart, representing her daughter's journey to health. Sanchez named the Ramano scarf after her daughter's doctor. "The Ramano scarf has a zipper." says Sanchez, "That one is special because the kids that have a scar from surgery are in the zipper club."

"One of the problems I saw with scarves is they fall off."

The moment you put on a Kozysaila scarf, Boom! It stays on." Says Sanchez, "To me, putting the fabric and color together is the icing on the cake. You see the finished product. I sit in my studio filled with fabric and imagine how the details of the finished product."

Sanchez uses cashmere, velvet, wool, and vegan leather in her designs. She carefully hand-selects her fabrics for color, material, and feel. "Women love to touch the scarves," says Sanchez, "they love to pick them up and rub their faces in them." Sanchez selects the color to compliment the complexion and vibrancy of a wardrobe. She tends toward neutral tones that resemble makeup. She creates fashionable products that are more versatile and structured than the traditional scarf. She adorns scarves with buttons, allowing women to change their looks. Move a button and fold, and the reverse color of the scarf is exposed to create a new appearance. A slight change and a new scarf! All the scarves are reversible to give a woman versatility in choice.

Sanchez's wearable art designs appeared on the runways of Paris Fashion Week.

A portion of the profits from Kazysaila goes back to the University of Michigan Heart Center and other local charities. "I feel like God is using me to serve this community," says Sanchez. "I am serving my community, and that keeps me going."

KOZYSAILA

Photos provided by Sanchez from her collection.

KOZYSAILA Transforming the Everyday