Julie Bartos is a funky, unique, and charming individual that believes in the karmic retribution of giving back. Her self started company, c.HAIR.i.TEE®, is founded on the beliefs of giving back and spreading the word to encourage fashionistas that “you don't have to sacrifice style, quality, or comfort to live sustainably.” All of her products are made from recycled, reclaimed, renewable materials, then turned into chic hair accessories. Julie designs and produces her products with the lowest possible impact on the earth and on top of that she donates all company profits to charity!
Julie was raised in Dallas, Texas with her mother, father and sisters. Each of her sisters had their own flair and interest growing up. From a young age she was inspired by her father who worked in the community volunteering with various civic endeavors; both in the the local school system and with the City of Dallas.
Growing up Julie found a calling in gymnastics; as a gymnast she trained hard and constantly worked to perfect her skill. While practicing she constantly was bothered by tight headbands or the hassle of keeping her hair from falling in her face. One day she decided to create her own stylish solution; she ripped a piece of material from the bottom of a cute yet worn out old tee shirt and tied the ends together and wrapped it around her hair to use it as a hair band. Little did she know that years later this would be the concept for her future small business.
Later as a gymnastics teacher she required that her students always tied up their hair but they would either forget to bring hair bands or they complained from the tight elastics bands pulling their hair. Julie began to wear her chic creations stacked on her wrists, and the girls loved them. The girls were enticed and soon would ask if they could keep them and began to choose which ones they wanted. It wasn’t long before they would purposely come to class without a hair tie so they could have one of the hair ties that always embellished Julie’s wrist.
At the time this clever idea was simply a fashion trend that Julie didn’t think much of, other than it was cute. However, with support and encouragement from her friends she has expanded into custom sewn headbands and hair ties that sell in singles, in packs and in bulk for wholesale suppliers. With support and encouragement from family, friends, and mentors she turned her simplistic idea into a charitable business.