Our Story

Three Generations. One Sewing Machine. A Lot of Dogs.

Northstar Dog Threads started with a simple observation.

After a day at a local Texas market selling natural dog treats through Farm2Paws, my daughter Brooke came home and said:

"OK, I am bringing the healthy dog chews. You all need to come up with something else for dogs — like custom bandanas, but stylish, not the tie-on kind. Something dogs feel special in."

What started as a casual conversation on the patio quickly became a family project.

Today, Northstar Dog Threads is a three-generation family business based in Northlake, Texas. Every bandana is designed, sewn, photographed, packed, and shipped by our family, combining decades of craftsmanship, small business experience, and a shared love of dogs.

Meet The Team

Jeannine Gallacher, the grandmother, sewing bandanas in her home office

Jeannine GallacherAKA Grandma

Maker & Head of Production

If you've met us at a market, you've probably met Jeannine.

She's the reason Northstar Dog Threads has a product that works across so many sizes of dogs.

Jeannine brings decades of experience to every bandana she creates. She can spot an uneven seam from across the room and is meticulous about every step.

She leads fabric prep, sewing, pressing, trimming, and personally inspects every finished bandana before it leaves our home.

Customers often stop by our booth just to meet the grandmother behind the sewing machine. We completely understand why.

Samantha Sarsilmaz

Head of Product Merchandising & Social Media

Samantha brings years of experience as a small business owner in the natural pet products industry.

She has spent years building businesses around products she believes in and now shares that entrepreneurial experience with her daughters, teaching them everything from social media marketing, product merchandising, market events, and ecommerce.

Samantha helps bring each collection to life, from selecting fabrics and naming new designs to managing Shopify product listings and inventory. She's also developing the custom versions so your bandana is uniquely yours, and she's the one on social media showing the latest and the behind-the-scenes. She also assists with cutting, sewing, and production, helping ensure every collection is ready for market day and online customers.

Donnine Souhrada

Head of Business Operations & Customer Experience

Donnine handles the stuff that happens after the sewing machine stops.

From website development and product photography to talking with customers to match what people want and how to sell it, she helps turn handmade bandanas into a growing family business.

As the founder of DearCustomer.Marketing, she helps businesses understand how customers discover, evaluate, and choose products. She brings that same customer-first approach to Northstar Dog Threads, ensuring every interaction — from browsing the website to opening a package — reflects the care and craftsmanship behind each bandana.

For Donnine, Northstar Dog Threads is an opportunity to combine decades of product marketing and operations experience with something much more personal: building a business alongside her mother, daughter, and sister.

Brooke Souhrada

Head of Events & Community

Brooke is the person who unknowingly started all of this.

A graduate of Texas Tech University, she runs Digital Advertising Fuel during the week, helping small businesses and nonprofit organizations grow through digital advertising on Google and Meta.

On weekends, you'll find her at local markets selling farm-sourced, single-ingredient dog treats and chews through Farm2Paws.

Her experience connecting with dog owners every weekend helps uncover the best places for us to attend events.

Designed By Dog Owners. Tested By Dogs.

Before we sold a single bandana, we tested fabrics, shapes, sizing, and closures.

We wanted something that looked polished enough for photos, comfortable enough for daily wear, and easy enough for owners to put on in seconds.

After countless prototypes and plenty of feedback from our own dogs, we landed on the design we use today:

Reversible 2-in-1 construction
Generously adjustable Velcro closure
Four sizes from XS through L
Prewashed cotton fabrics
Fully finished on both sides

Every feature exists because it works for our toy dogs as well as the big dogs that work and play hard.

Why We Make Them This Way

There are easier ways to make dog bandanas.

There are factories that could produce them faster. There are shortcuts that could make them cheaper.

That's just not what we're trying to build.

When you purchase a Northstar Dog Threads bandana, you know exactly who made it. You know where it was made. You know whose hands cut the fabric, stitched the seams, and inspected the final product.

In a world full of mass-produced pet accessories, we're proud to create something a little more personal.

Every bandana represents three generations working together, learning from each other, and building something we're proud to put our family name on.

From our family to yours, thank you for supporting a small Texas business.

Grandmother and granddaughter holding up finished bandanas in the sewing room, smiling