What does a day in your work life look like?
I get up, journal, then I think about all the arms of my business–I visualize an octopus. I think about our people, sales, story telling, production, fulfillment, accounting, our vendors, assembly– does my team have everything they need to be successful today?
After I do that daily visualization, I look at financials, check slack, review art, check in on fulfillment, go for an exercise, eat crab rangoons, play with fabric, color match patches to garments, send emails, make a few phone calls, and dream up what could be next for Noso & the brands we work with. We're the future, and I love providing solutions to our partners and guiding them to a more sustainable tomorrow.
How did NoSo Patches come to be?
I hopped a barbed wire fence, tore my brand new jacket and didn't want to repair it with another piece of tape. I started to play around with lots and lots of different adhesive and fabric combos until I found a great solution that worked better and looked cooler than tape.
Did you work in textiles before then?
No, I didn't train to become the patch lady 🤣. The idea came to me in a dream, and I just kept at it until people understood what I was doing. A lot of people looked at me with raised eyebrows in the beginning, and said "what are you doing?" and "why are you doing this?"
I'm a futurist, so I get those funny looks a lot in my life– I'm comfortable when no one understands me. I had to show and tell the story about 1 million times before people got it: better than tape, but really that easy– we take fabric and make it into patches. I had to train other people to get up to speed with what I was doing: designing a better future from a place of circularity, which no one was even thinking of in 2014 when I started to tinker in my garage.
What scares you?
Wind in a white out snow storm. It freaks me out sometimes, but I think it's because I also have vertigo when I'm skiing in a white out.
What does workwear designed for women mean to you?
I like workwear that lasts. It's important to me that my knees are reinforced so that I can get down and dirty when I work on my motorcycle. I appreciate a little padding in the knee for cushioning when I bend down to wrench on something. I like fabric with a little bit of give, so when I bend my knees it moves with me. I've gotta be able to move and feel comfortable when I'm working.
What did you want to be when you were growing up, or a little kid?
When I was a senior in high school, I wrote in my career passport that, "I could never choose one thing to do for the rest of my life. Instead, I'd do it all!"
Looking back, that's what an entrepreneur is. That's what an explorer is. I've been a fun maker and happy person my whole life. I think having fun and being happy is what I wanted to be when I grew up– and I am. I've designed my own personal reality, and I'm pretty stoked with the life I've created.
What do you have to sacrifice to be good at what you do?
I sacrifice time with my family. I'm invited to speak, travel, etc. a lot and I don't say yes as much as I used to. I am getting better at saying no, and saying yes to me and my family. In the beginning, I went to so many trade shows to get the word out about what we were doing.
What are you doing when you're not working hard?
I like to learn new things. I love to cook. I love reading on my boat on Jackson Lake, where there is no internet and no one can reach me. I love hanging out with my friends & family. I like to ski. I love to dirtbike. I like to plan parties in my backyard. I love talking to people at the farmers market. I love snuggling on the couch and watching a movie with a bowl of nutritional yeast popcorn and a nice chianti.
What are the top five things that are always in your pockets?
Hair tie, patches (to give someone on chair lift), wallet, key, a lucky $2 bill.
Tell us something dirty.
My backcountry ski gloves are nasty. I blow snot rockets all the time when I skin up mountains on my skis.
If you could give your 20-year-old-self advice, what would it be?
Oh, she did it right. My 20 year old self doesn't need any advice. I'm proud of her now, and she is proud of me today. We've mostly stayed in alignment with our life's purpose, which is to spread joy like a wildfire.
Do you have any special projects or cool things you want people to check out?
Oh, I wish I could tell some secrets... but I can't! We're working on so many fun collaborations behind the scenes at all times and it's such a bummer that you all have to wait to see what we're doing.
Follow @NoSoPatches on Instagram to find out those secrets.
