Family Threaded with Faith Builds North America’s Largest Orthodox Vestment Workshop in Orlando

By Stephen Smith Orlando – July 9, 2025

ORLANDO, Fl — Step through the unassuming doors of a light-industrial unit on the east side of town and you’ll find bolts of brocade, the hum of computer-guided embroidery machines and, more often than not, five children chasing each other between worktables. This is the home of Vestments and Embroidery, a family-run atelier that has quietly become the largest producer of Orthodox Christian vestments in North America.

The story begins a continent away. In 2015, Father Andrii Syrkin, an Orthodox priest from Kharkiv, Ukraine, moved his young family to Quebec, Canada, fleeing the uncertainty of the early war years. “At first we just wanted stability,” he recalls. “But we also carried with us our tradition—needlework, gold thread, church art.” What started as a living-room sideline quickly drew orders from parishes across Canada.

Florida sunshine—and a growing U.S. customer base—lured the Syrkins south in 2018. They settled in Sanford and later Orlando, where Father Andrii now serves as rector of St. Nina Orthodox Mission on Lake Margaret Drive. Balancing parish life with entrepreneurship, the family expanded to four industrial embroidery machines, then seven. Last year the workshop produced more than 1,200 sets of priestly vestments, altar coverings and banners, shipping to 38 states and six Canadian provinces.

“We’re still a kitchen-table company at heart,” says Yana Syrkina, who oversees design while homeschooling the couple’s five children. “Every sketch starts with pencil and graph paper. Every finished set still gets a final hand-stitched detail before it leaves the shop.”

Yet the operation is anything but quaint. Computerized Tajima heads lay down metallic thread at 1,000 stitches per minute; a laser cutter trims velvet with millimeter precision. Quality control happens under daylight-balanced LEDs for true color matching. “We mix old-world artistry with modern workflow,” explains Father Andrii. “That’s how we keep prices fair without sacrificing the sacred look.”

The family’s local footprint extends beyond commerce. Parishioners often volunteer for late-night rush orders before Pascha (Orthodox Easter). A portion of profits underwrites new mission churches from Miami to Tallahassee.

“Father Andrii’s dual role is remarkable,” says Dr. Maria Bentzi, professor of religious studies at Rollins College. “He’s preserving liturgical heritage while contributing to Central Florida’s niche manufacturing sector. It’s cultural stewardship and economic development in one package.”

As demand grows—Orthodox parishes in the U.S. have doubled since 2000—Vestments and Embroidery is scouting a larger facility near Orlando International Airport and considering a workforce training partnership with Valencia College. “We’d love to hire local seamstresses and teach specialized gold-work,” Yana notes. “These are skills that shouldn’t disappear.”

Back at the workshop, the Syrkin children thread bobbins and sort colored silks after homework.

Asked how he juggles entrepreneurship, parenting and pastoral care, Father Andrii pauses. “Our life is liturgy after liturgy,” he says. “Sunday we celebrate the Eucharist; Monday we celebrate craftsmanship that serves the same altar. Both keep us rooted in faith, family and community—and in Orlando, we’ve found a home that lets all three flourish.”

For more information or to tour the workshop, visit churchembroidery.net.

Vestment and Embroidery LLC