We had the good fortune of connecting with Brienne Wasmer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brienne, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My journey into a life of health and wellness started over two decades ago when I discovered yoga in my late teens. A few years later in college at the University of Oregon, yoga served me well by helping me to reduce my stress level during a demanding design curriculum, which resulted in my earning a degree in Architecture and a Masters in Interior Architecture.

Post-graduation, and shortly after securing my first architecture job, I discovered I had an auto-immune condition which made it difficult for me to expel toxins from my body effectively, left me nutrient deficient and led to several serious dietary allergies. These physical challenges further-fueled my personal commitment to the health and wellness path. During this time I became uber aware of not only the toxins found in some foods, but also in the built environment. I was setting up an interior architecture department within the firm and began to realize how many standard materials used in architecture and building were full of toxins with high potential for off-gassing dangerous chemicals into the built environment. This was something I was trying to mitigate in my own personal life and the lack of healthy finish materials, furnishings and home goods choices left me discouraged.

In spite of these health issues, I joined my co-workers in maintaining 60 hour work weeks, mostly stooped over a computer in a light-deprived basement. By this time, I’d held a regular yoga practice for a decade and had become a certified teacher in order to facilitate health awareness in others. I instituted lunch-time yoga classes in the office in service to myself and my hard-working team. Riding my bike to work everyday, I’d strap my heavy Manduka Pro mat to my shoulders to teach yoga at lunch and after work I would go to my local yoga studio to drink from the well of my own practice.

One morning, I had a brilliant idea, as I hoofed my bike, work bag, and yoga mat across the Willamette River. I envisioned a multi-tube yoga mat storage system for my local studio, whereby yogis like myself could pay a small monthly fee to store our mats at the studio, benefiting studios with increased customer loyalty and dependable and recurrent monthly revenue. The studio and its members were delighted with the studio mat storage system I created. What a relief it was to take that yoga mat burden off my shoulders- literally! Other studios began to show interest, so I developed custom mat storage units for several more studios on the side, helping these small businesses to grow and thrive.

After four years working and learning at the architecture firm I decided to start my own design firm and follow my dream of integrating wellness into interior design. My first company, 2Yoke Design was born. In addition to designing and building custom yoga mat storage units for yoga studios, 2Yoke Design’s portfolio includes eco- and health-conscious homes, health clinics, farm-to-table restaurants, ergonomic workplaces and co-housing communities.

It was designing in this capacity that truly opened my eyes to the critical lack of non-toxic materials and manufacturing processes in the architecture, furniture and home goods industries. On both a personal and professional level I could not find anything on the market that was aesthetically pleasing, eco-friendly, and specifically designed to house fitness gear, yoga mat, blocks, foam rollers, straps, etc. So, I designed a totally tubular storage manufacturing company in order to satisfy this need, and Mache was born.

Most companies were blind-sighted with the emergence of Covid-19 and faced many challenges from lockdowns to bankruptcy, and start-up companies like Mache were no different. In fact, young start-ups, like Mache, do not have the payroll history required to qualify for the SBA’s Payroll Protection Program, and were as a result, were undoubtedly less able to weather the upheaval presented by what later became a global pandemic.

At the time the virus became known, Mache’s business strategy was solely focused on yoga studios, building modular and custom storage support yoga studios and their bottom lines. Although we incorporated in late 2019, we looked to January 2020 as our strong launch into yoga studio storage sales. In the first few months of 2020 Mache had secured purchase orders from several studios for custom yoga mat and prop storage systems. Then Covid hit! Studios were forced to close and purchase orders were immediately cancelled, resulting in a very scary time for a new company in the fitness studio market.

One of Mache’s guiding principles is Embrace Change, which involves assessing the situation at hand, adapting to the situation, and evolving by staying resilient to outside factors beyond our control. Covid gave us a real life opportunity to put this principle into practice, and we did. We were able to survive this unexpected and potentially devastating downturn to our fledgling business by pivoting hard from B2B (business-to-business) sales to exclusively B2C (business-to-consumer) sales. It felt like re-directing a team of eight horses mid-stream, but we did it by directing all of our focus, resources and dwindling cash to offer yoga/fitness storage to the at-home-fitness market.

Most people were starting to come to grips with the new “normal” which required many to contemplate how to balance and accommodate work, school, family, play- all from home. Yogis, some for the first time, were looking at how to continue their regular practice exclusively at home. Mache was fortunate enough to see a window of opportunity to be nimble as we made the quick shift from B2B to B2C. Most importantly, we felt called to help the global community embrace self-care routines and dedicate space in their homes for wellness during a time of chaos and uncertainty, bringing their yoga mats and blocks out from under the bed, the closet, the trunks of cars to house them in a beautifully designed, sustainable, eco-friendly and functional yoga mat storage system.

We learned how important it is to stay fluid as a company, to embrace change without fear. We continue to assess the needs of our customers so that we may continue to generate new ideas, strategies, and products to accommodate ever-changing lifestyle shifts, marketplace trends and the world around us.

What should our readers know about your business?
I started my career as an intern at a prestigious firm in Portland, OR, spearheading a new interior architecture department for the firm. Four years later, I began my own interior design firm focused on wellness spaces 2 Yoke Design.

2 Yoke Design is a conscious design studio on a mission to create a healthier world. I have distilled over 11 years of experience specializing in eco-friendly materials and sustainable design principles, into our wellness-inspired approach to design. The company rests on two main tenants: work with the highest quality of sustainably-sourced ingredients and let the beauty and power of nature, and natural systems, be celebrated.

After creating my second company, an eco-friendly yoga/fitness product company, 2 Yoke Design was incorporated into what is now known as the Mache Wellness Design Studio. I specialize in making products and spaces that enhance wellbeing and harmonize with the natural world. Our portfolio of work includes eco- and health-conscious products, furniture and homes, yoga studios, health clinics, farm-to-table restaurants, sustainable vineyard estates, wellness-focused workplaces and co-housing communities.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
About nine years ago I moved my home and businesses from Portland, Oregon to Medford, Oregon, and haven’t looked back. Southern Oregon is a beautiful place filled with small historical towns, like Ashland and Jacksonville. I purchased an 1895 farmhouse and have been busily restoring and maintaining it up to this day. The area abounds with beautiful hiking trails, biodiverse landscapes, vineyards to rival Napa in The Applegate, mushroom hunting in the fall, white water rafting and fishing on the Rogue River and fairly temperate weather to enjoy these outdoor activities. Ashland hosts the Shakespeare Theater, which draws theater-goers from all parts of the country! I must admit that the food is not as wonderful as that found in Portland, but we still have a handful of farm to table restaurants and more and more foodies to bring more delightful culinary experiences to the valley.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family has been extremely supportive of my journey to build this company and fulfill what I believe to be my life’s purpose. This dream started as a one-woman, tube-wrapping show and if it weren’t for the support of my family I would not have been able to position Mache as a lead contributor in the eco-design revolution.

My husband has the patience of a saint when it comes to living amongst and being asked to haul around hundreds and hundreds of jumbo paper tubes over the past several years! Being a scrappy entrepreneur means I take free labor wherever I can get it, and my partner is always there to lend a helping hand, be my sounding board, and encourage me to go on when things get tough.

My mom, who joined the company a year after its inception, is a rockstar who wears many hats in the company, from sales and production to fulfillment and admin. I feel humbled and honored to work with her everyday. She is the strongest person I know and her bravery is a regular and life-long inspiration to me.

My brother, serial-entrepreneur and creative genius, has also been a guiding light as an invaluable advisor and the company’s first investor. Both he and I are most content when solving a puzzle by thinking outside the box (or tube?).

It is with immense, heart-felt gratitude that I honor these three keystones in my life and all that they have contributed to the success of Mache, thus far.

Website: https://www.heymache.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hey.mache

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briennemache

Facebook: @hey.mache

Youtube: @heymache

Image Credits
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