Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette Mothers and daughters in business together in Mt. Lebanon, from left: Heidi Walsh and Kassy Henciak, owners of Zzz's ... A Slumber Boutique; Tami and Tamiko Sampson, owners of The Fabric Place; Vienna Vizzoca and Donna DeGuilio, owners of Moda Donnatella; and Nancy Langston and Lynn Langston Tomb, owners of Langston Interiors.

They are business partners who love and trust one another, and who are, in many cases, best friends who live a stone's throw apart.

Open and honest, they engage in vibrant, disagreements without threat of damaging their strong bond.

Does one partner have a doctor's appointments? No problem. The other takes over. Is a baby sitter sick today? Again, no problem, This ''boss'' is willing to fill in for a busy mommy.

Some of these business partners even vacation together. But perhaps the biggest selling item: "I get to spend time with my child," said Nancy Rohm, who co-owns Zipper Blues with her daughter, Jamie Rohm.

"I don't know what I would do without my mom," said Donna Deguilio, who operates Moda Donnatella with her mother, Vienna Vizzoca.

"I couldn't have picked a better partner," said Tamiko Sampson of daughter Tami Sampson. The pair co-own The Fabric Place.

They are three of a number of mother-daughter duos who are in business together in the 1600--1700 block of Washington Road in Mt. Lebanon.

"Where I lack, she is strong," said Judy Liebler of daughter Stacey Franklin. Together they operate a residential and commercial design business, Pepperberry's, 750 Washington.

Mrs. Liebler, 64, of Mt. Lebanon, said her speciality is color and design, Mrs. Franklin, 39, of Mt. Lebanon, said she excels at merchandising and retaining data.

"She has a fantastic mind," said Mrs. Liebler of her daughter, who grew up around the business before deciding to come aboard about 14 years ago.

That theme of on-the-job training as children observing their mothers, was echoed by Angela Keremes, who said "I was kind of born into it."

For Miss Keremes, 23, of Dormont, that meant learning about the manufacture and design of wedding gowns at Tomasina, 615 Washington Road, from her mother, Stephanie Keremes, 42, and her grandmother, Demetria Hyland, 64, of Upper St. Clair.

The family-owned business sells to Saks Fifth Avenue, and customizes gowns for individual clients.

While Stephanie Keremes engages in the design and marketing, and travels back and forth to New York City, Mrs. Hyland is a couture dressmaker who does the hands-on work on the gowns and design.

Angela Keremes is in charge of bookkeeping and manages accounts.

While Mrs. Liebler believes being called "Mom" by her daughter around clients fosters a warmer, personal business climate, Angela Keremes calls her mother "Stephanie" with clients.

"It's more professional than saying, `Let me ask my Mom,' '' said Lynn Langston Tomb of why she calls her mother, Nancy Langston, by her first name in the company of clients.

Regardless, "we love saying we're a mother-daughter team," she said.

The business, Langston Interiors, 750 Washington Road, is a high-end, residential interior design firm.

While it is listed in Mrs. Tomb's name, "it feels like we're partners," she said -- not unlike the path they took to becoming designers.

When Mrs. Tomb, 31, of Mt. Lebanon, left for Ohio University after high school to study interior design, Mrs. Langston, 61, of Mt. Lebanon, enrolled in the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for design.

Mrs. Langston joined the business a year ago after her former employer downsized.

For Kassy Henciak and daughter Heidi Walsh, opening "Zzz's ... A Slumber Boutique," 671 Washington, five years ago was a joint venture from the start: attending seminars together and writing a business plan before securing a bank loan.

They chose their site because they wanted to be close to home, and desired main street shoppers as opposed to being in a mall.

While owning a women's sleepwear, loungewear, and bath and body boutique was a dream-come-true for Mrs. Henciak, 56, of Mt. Lebanon, it was the perfect alternative for Mrs. Walsh, who was tired of travel.

"I thought we were close, but I now realize, five years later, how much closer the business brought us," said Mrs. Walsh 29, of Mt. Lebanon.

Like other mother-daughter businesses in the block, Zzz's works with their neighbors in staging open houses and fashion shows.

Zipper Blues, 665 Washington, specializes in women's premium denim jeans and casual wear and accessories which pair with jeans.

Jamie Rohm, 25, of the South Side, said her favorite part of being in business with her mother, Nancy Rohm, 57, of Baldwin, is the lack of stress. "Our relationship will never sour," Jamie Rohm said.

"She's my buddy," said Nancy Rohm.

While the duo is able to combine buying trips to New York City at trade shows with seeing Broadway shows, it is difficult to get away, as friends must be available to run the store in their absence -- one of the few disadvantages cited by mother/daughter entrepreneurs.

A customer of Zipper Blues is Donna Deguilio, 34, co-owner of Moda Donnatella, 642 Washington, which custom designs women's clothing and does alternations.

She and her mother, Vienna Vizzoca, 59, also buy pajamas at Zzz's.

Mrs. Deguilio began in the business as a child, pulling out basting threads to help her mother, who worked for Mrs. Deguilio's uncle at Jack's Tailor Shop in Bethel Park.

Today, Mrs. Deguilio, who graduated from the former Clarissa School of Fashion Design, designs, cuts, and drafts patterns, while her mother does the basting, fittings, and finishing work.

When the Harmar duo need fabric, they go to The Fabric Place, which also recommends clients to them.

The Fabric Place, 727 Washington, was started by Tamiko Sampson, 82, of Dormont, in 1982. Three years ago, daughter Tami Sampson, 46, of Mt. Lebanon, became involved.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do," said Tami Sampson. The business specializes in silk, wool, imported Italian cotton, and more.

Like the other mother/daughter teams, their professional strengths complement one another. Tami keeps up with the latest trends and fashions and Tamiko is expert on fabric, construction, and fitting.

"She has a lot of young ideas whereas I'm old and stodgy," Tamiko Sampson said.

As to why so many of their neighbors are mother/daughter businesses, she theorized that women are more inclined than men to express their personalities, which helps create a "nuturing environment" on Washington, which shoppers find appealing.

Mrs. Henciak suggested a simpler explanation.

"Maybe we're just catching up with the men," she said ."It's just our turn."