A note from our founder

Hello, it’s so nice to meet you.

My name is Whitney and I’m the creator of Sonnet James. I’m a single mom of two and we live in northern California. I believe that we are here to love and be loved, learn and find as much joy as we possibly can, despite the pain that life brings us. 

I chose to start this business twelve years ago because I was desperate to stay home with my kids and financially provide for them. I also suffered from depression, anxiety and PTSD as a young mom and I wasn’t being present or playful. I wanted to make something that could help me remember who I wanted to be, so I made a play dress. Everyday I want my clothing to remind me and my customers to be young at heart, present in the moment and more playful with the ones we love. 

Fun Facts: Normally our clothes are all made locally in San Francisco, but we just added a factory in India that we are very excited about! You can read more about it here. Ninety percent of our fabric is from women owned companies (Sally, Shelly, Jamie). My design team are women (Lynn, Ping, Sammie and Mandy) and my factory collaborators (Christine, Lian, Joy + many more) who cut and sew are 95% women! Plus, ninety percent of our fabric is made from more sustainable fibers like tencel, ecovero, organic cotton and modal from bamboo. 

* Update 10/25 
Over the past two years, I have been chronically ill with ME/CFS. There is no treatment or cure right now. I've had to scale way back, and only do the most basic, simple tasks. It has been challenging and scary, but I feel very lucky to have Sonnet James still. I've been able to run very small pre-orders to help the boys and I get by. My plan is to continue doing one style at a time as a pre-order, until I find my way towards a full recovery. 

Thank you for all your support.

With lots of love,
Whitney