Style

Michelle Buelow founded Bella Tunno in 2005. Today, the baby gear is sold in 3,000 stores, including Target, Nordstrom, and Buy Buy Baby.

STYLE

In Matt’s Memory

Grieving over her brother’s death, Michelle Buelow launched charities and a thriving business that clothes babies

BY MICHELLE BOUDIN PHOTOGRAPHS BY BECCA BOND PHOTOGRAPHY

IN 2005, MICHELLE BUELOW was in a deep depression two years a er her brother, Matt Tunno, died from an accidental drug overdose. She had just found out she was pregnant with her rst child and wanted a venture that would allow her to honor Matt. “I would have sold tires or toilet paper if that’s what it took,” she says. “It was the mission I was committed to—the product was just the vehicle to get there. My endgame was to start a memorial fund in my late brother’s name.”

Her mom bought her a sewing machine to occupy her mind. “I awkwardly taught myself to sew, but I was terrible,” she recalls. “I was making burp cloths and changing pads because I could only sew straight lines.”

That year, she ditched the sewing machine, hired a seamstress, and began turning out fun, bright patterns from the bonus room of her Beverly Crest home. When friends and neighbors started to buy her baby gear, she knew she’d spotted a gap in the market. “All the baby products were pastels and gingham and teddy bears,” she says. “When I found out I was pregnant, I realized my style wasn’t out there.”

At rst, Bella Tunno sold mostly bibs and blankets in bold, colorful patterns that Buelow, 44, describes as Pucci-meetsLily Pulitzer. She and her sta of nine, all women, made products they wished they’d had when their kids were babies. Over the last 15 years, though, she says the line has morphed into more functional silicone products, like their bestselling Wonder bib with phrases like “cheeks for weeks” and “baby got snacks.”

“Our products are meant to be conversation starters,” she says. “They have cheeky