Bringing our up-cycled OOAK collection to life was an absolute saga. So to match the gravity of the project, let me regale you using what has been referred to as the "King of Story Structures":  The Three Act Story Structure.

By: Kris Myllenbeck, founder. 

 

Act 1: The Setup [The inception of the idea]

It was a cold day in hell, otherwise known as Big Building. Located in Seattle, WA, under the West Seattle Bridge, a mere 4 feet from an operational train track. There was no climate control, no functional roof, and no soundproofing from the hourly pass of the diesel train. Expenses had been spared.

So in 2020, as Mylle was exponentially scaling and had to urgently move out of my garage, I found myself working alongside welders & sex-rope manufacturers in a 1,000 sq foot "room" that used to house a bong manufacturer. And it may not surprise you, but those bong-makin'-bros did not leave the place clean, and so I got to learn about sweeping compound during the same moment in my life that I was selling pools to MoMA and being interviewed by the LA Times. A high-low mix to say the least.

But, like many hell-adjascent stories, there was also a lot of fun. And perhaps the most fun was that in the summer of 2020 - all of my friends from my work as a photo stylist were on furlough and available to be roped in. I had already lost about 80% of my mind after not being able to get back on set at the end of my 4 month "maternity leave" because it perfectly lined up with the beginning of the pandemic. I just rolled into some more isolation and working alone. So to have a reason to call some of the best creative brains in Seattle to pack up pallets of pools and talk shit all day was a gift sent straight from a higher power.

And so, it was with one of those creative brains, that the seed was planted for our upcycling project.

Enter Kimberly Blatt, Stylist & Creative Consultant, who had worked as my assistant way back when. She bravely masked up, came down to Big Building and helped me process 900 pools onto 10 different pallets to go to 8 different Nordstrom DC's. For those who don't fall asleep to nightmares about inflatable pools, that is 6,300 pounds of pool. Good thing Kimmie works out.

As we spent the week organizing, lifting, and sifting through 200 page protocols about how to label these dang things, we covered every topic. And after we ran out of gossip, Kimmie was holding a pool and goes "These really are the most beautiful pools in the world. You should think about what else you can do with them. Maybe upcycle them" And I was like "yeah, yeah, I really want to make a cool patch program" and she was like "No. Not that. Like make these into hats or something".

My dang eyes popped out of my head. It was such a good idea. Like a modern day Maria Von Trapp ripping curtains off the wall to clothe children for tree climbing, I needed to grab some punctured pools and toss them on people's heads in the name of fashion (and in the name of keeping dry from the rain drops that snuck through Big Building's roof). 

And so from that moment on, I was unable to shake the idea. For the next two years, we offered to take back punctured pools and extended a comically flexible return policy so that we could keep the pools out of the landfill and stockpile them for when I finally had the bandwidth to take on the OOAK project. 

 

Act 2: The Confrontation [Finding the creative partner]

In 2023, after a barrage of growing pains, like staying afloat during the global supply chain breakdown and learning how to properly import/export, I started to get a little breathing room over here at Mylle. I'd even managed to find the only woman-owned fulfillment center (Hey Mvnifest) to get us out of Big Building and into the modern age. I was well-rested, older, wiser, and sitting on a healthy pile of pool material. 

And during those years, I'd become aware of what might possibly be the coolest production house in the PNW - Portland Garment Factory. I'd started looking at their website in the same way Wayne stared at guitars saying "oh yes. it will be mine." - or in more girly words, manifesting. From poking around their website, I learned that it was founded by Britt Howard and run with an extraordinarily cool group of women. I was a little intimidated to reach out, but at this point, all of my cortisol had been used up, and being nervous and intimidated no longer stopped my forward momentum.

So I sent them a cold email. A sort of "Have I got an idea for you - I promise you'll love it". And then I didn't hear back. But I saw through social media they were busily working with Nike, Cotopaxi, Xbox and other enormous, prestigious clients. And so instead of thinking they were ignoring me because they didn't like Mylle, I decided to think it was just that they were too busy dealing with demanding clients with lots of contacts. So I emailed again. No response. But for good measure, I sent out one more "Hey. Hi. Me Again."

Whaddaya know. Third Time's A Charm! Britt emailed back! She was like "Thank you for your persistence - it's been so tough keeping up with non-client inquiries with everything we're working on over here" and also "I love this idea - I think we can do it. I have even more ideas that you didn't mention that I think we should do too".

So, as they say on the internet - Delulu was the Solulu. Stick with your partnership dreams, kids.

 

Act 3: The Resolution [Production]

So we're finally here. The easy part for me and the hard part for PGF.

I've been dreaming of this a while, so I quickly shared the inspiration that had been ratting in my brain. From the Loewe fisherman hat to the harbinger of big bags to come, this Opening Ceremony monstrosity, I had piles of ideas and no ability to execute.

PGF has both the ability to execute and piles of ideas. Britt had recently extended her reach and opened Studio Howard, a regenerative design consultancy. In fact, Studio Howard was such a wonderful thought partner that we have a whole second collection mapped out and waiting in the wings for after this first capsule sells out. But more on that later... 

It was a joy to watch these geniuses at work. Britt quickly sketched up ideas as we talked about them. Weeks later, the team had created a few gorgeous samples as a jumping off point so we could start making decisions like "Add a pocket. Make the brim bigger."

And then the brain breaking part. PGF does not create waste. Everything is used. Which means our products needed to be selected based on using the entirety of a pool's materials. There's some math involved here. If we have 50 pools, each generating X amount of material, and it takes X amount to make a bag, how much do we have left for other products? Can we combine materials? Should we make smaller items (pouch!) to make use of the side-scrap materials? Armed with a fabric measuring tape and decades of experience, they quickly presented the ideal product offering for lowest waste. 

Then a few extra decisions needed to be made. Snaps & zippers had to be ordered. Hot seat handle material passed off for straps. Unused materials from other PGF projects pulled in for linings and other one-off uses.

And then, how are we going to process these things? This isn't just deadstock fabric. This was a functional item that needs to be deconstructed and sanitized so we're not putting an actual pool party on your head. Cutting the pools down to workable material and washing them in huge bins and hanging them to dry in the sun was an all-hands-on-deck labor scene.

After the material was ready, the production was close to standard. But there are a few special things we learned that won't be repeated. The picnic blanket? 10 hours of labor. PGF produced 9, and they're special and beautiful, but oooeeee, once you add in the cleaning and processing, weeks of time dedicated to a picnic blanket may not make sense. But the pouches? The hats? "Old hat!" as they say. You'll just need a stronger sewing situation, cuz this ain't silk we're working with.

And so here you have it. Our first capsule collection of One of A Kind Upcycled accessories. It's been incredibly exciting to see how well this has been received. The nature of the limited production has already made for a few sad "sorry, already sold that one" moments, but that momentum makes me very excited and hopeful that we'll be bringing you a second collection next year.

So buckle up, baby - we're only getting started.

The End.

 

The Blooper Reel

Britt gave me one of the PGF can coozie's that says "You Get Me Girl". It's a quote from Michael Jordan to Britt after PGF finished a project for him. After they brought the project to life, he was amazed that it was exactly as he had imagined and hoped. And was so moved that he had no other choice but to hug Britt and say "You get me girl".

And when I came to pick up the completed OOAK collection (who needs UPS when you can drive yourself 6 hours in one day and have a 1 hr hang with your biz friends?) I felt that exact same way. This collection was 100% what I've dreamed of.

So does this mean they're just really good at getting people, or does this mean Michael Jordan and I are cut from the exact same cloth? I'm going to guess the later. Delulu is still the solulu.