Meet The Crew
Robin Gillam
Robin Gillam
Robin Gillam
Owner
Robin has spent her entire life in the upholstery industry. When she was born she sat in a car seat beside her Grandma Carols sewing machine, she helped her mom Cindy as a teenager by selling fabric and helping with pickup and delivery. In her twenties she learned the insides and outs of the trade, textiles, and design with Tepe Furniture for ten years. She has earned two Associates of Applied Science in Design Technology and her passion for customer service and fabrics drives the company forward, with a unique story of how she came to own her own shop.
After work Robin spends time with her better half Jerrod and their seven pet turtles, drawing pencil portraits, writing, and reading.
Cindy
Robin Gillam
Robin Gillam
Shop Ma
Upholsterer
Cindy has a lifetime of experience. With 40+ years behind a sewing machine or holding a staple gun, she is knowledgeable and fantastic at working with our apprentices and troubleshooting. She is also Robins mom! Cindy oversees many different areas of the business as designated "shop ma", she loves to make our work areas even more efficient and organized with creative solutions she is the "foam whisperer" and can select the perfect grade of softness for anyone's' needs.
Cindy plays the saxophone, loves fishkeeping on a professional level, and she spends a lot of time spoiling her pet rabbit named Stew.
Mike
Robin Gillam
Mike
Lead Upholsterer
Mike has seen it all! An upholsterer since 1974 there is very little he hasn't tackled in his lifetime in the industry. From antique sofas and chairs, to automotive classic cars, to marine pontoons and speed boats, there is nothing he can't cover! He is a pro at problem solving and has a wealth of knowledge with fine tuned efficiency that puts him at the helm of most of our commercial projects. He enjoys teaching the apprentices, has sewn too many cushions to count, and you will always see him wearing a sarcastic and funny Tshirt.
Mike enjoys his time off with his wife Sue, dog Taffy, and many grandkids! When he isn't out for a ride on his motorcycle, that is.
Max
Sarah
Mike
Upholsterer
Max is tiny but mighty. She spent time with us as a finisher at Tepe Furniture before moving into an upholstery apprentice position when we formed Anchor Stitch. In just three weeks of training she was flawlessly restoring and upholstering antique sofas with large complicated patterns! She has a very meticulous eye for details and if it is not perfect she will not rest!
When Max isn't learning the trade she likes fashion and spending time with her chihuahua Willow. She hopes to master sewing to create and sell custom tailored suits one day!
Sarah
Sarah
Sarah
Project Coordinator
Having started as an upholstery apprentice at Tepe Furniture and worked many years using her Bachelors in Science in logistics and supply chain management, Sarah has a great understanding of all aspects of the trade to apply to her many different positions on the crew, every day is something different for her from repairing springs, ordering fabrics, to attaching trims!
After work, Sarah enjoys gaming and spends time with her husband Joey, her two adorable dogs Shorty and Betty, and loves to participate in a local quilting guild!
John
Sarah
Sarah
Upholstery Apprentice
John is no stranger to a staple gun. After spending years in factory upholstery, he now works closely with Upholsterer Mike learning the more fine tuned trade of custom tailored upholstery. He fits right into our crew with a passion for the details. He'll be upholstering any kind of furniture on his own like a pro in no time at all.
John likes to play video games and workout in his off time. When he gets a chance you can sometimes find him at local fishing spots!
Tonia
Tonia
Tonia
Sewist
Tonia joined Anchor Stitch as an on call sewist with several decades of sewing experience. Imagine how many miles of thread and fabric that have passed through her hands! There is hardly a sewing machine type she hasn't operated, which is impressive with hundreds of models and brands out there!
Tonia enjoys collecting harps, listening to music, and reading when she gets to turn off the sewing machine!
Bee
Tonia
Tonia
Truck Crew
Bee is our on-call truck crew! You are most likely to meet them on pickup and delivery days in the summer when they are home from college helping us out!
Bee is in college for animation, they love working on video games and aspire to work for an indie gaming company one day!
We wouldn't be who we are without..
Carol Thompson
Carol, the loving mother of Cindy and grandmother to Robin, was the proud owner and operator of Thompson Upholstery in the Michiana area. She dedicated her life to her trade until she sadly passed away in 2004 after a courageous battle with cancer.
A true self-made woman, Carol faced an unexpected challenge when her husband left without warning after building a promise and dream of starting an upholstery company together. She took ownership of not only her business but a single mother life with her three children and a garage full of peoples furniture, and no prior upholstery knowledge. She was strong and determined, so she taught herself the trade and got to work.
Cindy always told Carol she was never going to work in upholstery (Robin would later tell her mom Cindy and grandmother Carol those same words) Eventually Cindy began apprenticing and trained to take over. Cindy became a single mom of two herself, and later went on to work for Tepe Furniture, where she convinced Robin to apply as a decorator/sales consultant where they both spent 10 years part of the Tepe employee family.
After Tepe Furniture announced retiring and closed its doors, Robin took the task of opening an upholstery shop with much guidance from her mother Cindy and Steven Tepe.
Robin and Cindy both believe Carol is laughing at them over the irony of the girls telling her they would never work for the family business, but ending up right where they were meant to be all along.
Richard Tepe
A legendary man who has left a mark on the local community for generations.
Richard Tepe was the 3rd generation to run his family owned business Tepe Furniture, which laid down the groundwork to provide so many opportunities to upholsterers in the area. Richard had remarkable integrity and truly loved coming in to work every day, we couldn't get him to ever retire!
That legacy lives on through his son, Steven Tepe, who put his heart into training and continuing on the traditional teachings of high quality upholstery. We did manage to get Steve to retire.
Every starting member of Anchor Stitch Upholstery has worked for and been trained by Steven at Tepe Furniture.
We wouldn't be here without either of these great men, and Steve's continuing support in us.