Taking Flight: An Interview with Darcy Conover of Corbeaux Clothing

April 12, 2017 by Sabrina Carlson in Women Work Wits

She has the sort of quiet confidence that tells you she will set the world on fire. Not through force or the sheer power of will, but through grace.

Darcy Conover, co-founder of Corbeaux Clothing, knows what is important to her and ensures that her company embodies her values from source materials, through production and distribution. She is very clear that this is certainly not the most profitable way to run a company. Especially for a start-up. Sourcing sustainable materials and manufacturing in the US has a high financial cost, but one she is willing to shoulder. Corbeaux values being a socially-responsible company committed to making rugged & stylish performance clothing made in the USA from environmentally-conscious fabrics. (And stylish they are! Seriously! Check this out! How many companies are making underwear that’s fun to wear?)

Darcy and her husband are both sponsored professional skiers and mountaineers. They have traveled the world ascending peaks and descending slopes. Being dedicated adventurers, of course they didn’t spend their honeymoon lounging on a beach. Instead they climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was on the mountain that the idea for their company was born. As they ascended they realized how the one piece of gear they were always complaining about was their base layers. The waist was too short or the sleeves too long, the knees bag and sag, while other places had too little give. And the worst, baselayers that just shift around all the time. The more they talked about it, the more they realized that this was a real blind spot in the outdoor industry. Other than one wool fabric only company, no one was focused 100% on making quality base layers (and what about people who find wool too itchy or smelly?). Thus the idea for Corbeaux was born.

Image Courtesey of Darcy Conniver and Corbeaux Clothing

As a sponsored athlete Darcy has taken on adventures that most of us can only imagine. From ascending peaks all over the world, to dropping into off piste ski runs that would make most of us tremble. Yet she is as relaxed and humble as any other mama you might meet at the park. She talked with excitement about an upcoming ski trip she was planning to tour old abandoned ski resorts in her home state of Colorado. (Side note, did you know there are ghost town ski resorts in Colorado? Resorts that have long been defunct and just sit there? Me neither! New bucket list item!) We bonded over how horrible most kids mittens are, and the impossible task of keeping mittens on a toddler determined to freeze their own fingers off.

More than her commitment to sustainability and the instant bond found among adventure loving mamas everywhere, the thing that most impresses me about Corbeaux is their “Join the Flight” initiative. As world travelers, Darcy and her husband have summited many mountains supported by guides and porters from local communities. While the climbing and mountaineering industry is a boon for local economies, locals in these remote areas are frequently climbing to altitudes and temperatures that require gear they simply don’t have. In temperatures where frostbite is likely, these hardworking people are risking their safety and lives wearing insufficient clothing against the elements. All this, serving a mostly western population of climbers who have countless piles of barely worn technical layers, fleeces, and waterproof jackets sitting in the backs of their closets. Corbeaux’s “Join the Flight” campaign collects gently used outdoor cold weather gear and puts it into the hands of people who need it to support their work and their families. Every piece of usable clothing sent to Join the Flight is hand delivered to the places they are needed, so you know that every piece of gear is getting where it needs to go. I can’t think of a better place to send that fleece that’s the wrong color or that down vest that never quite fit just right. If you want to learn more or see where to send your items check it out HERE.

When I asked Darcy what she wanted other women thinking of starting a business to know he advice was simple. “Everything will take longer than you think. Much, Much, longer. So get started and be patient. Don’t give up.”

The older I get the more I want my life to be simple. I don’t want my life and closet filled with a thousand poorly made items that I dislike wearing. I’d much rather have a small and simple collection of quality items, made from quality materials, by quality people. Corbeaux just fits.

Learn more about this incredible company:

corbeauxclothing.com

Join the Flight: http://corbeauxclothing.com/join-the-flight/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CorbeauxClothing/

Instagram: @corbeaux_clothing

This post is the third in the "Women, Work, Wits" series. Read about the why of this series and find each interview linked HERE.

If you find this blog and my writing valuable in any way, please consider starting your next Amazon purchase below. You'll get the same service, selection, prices and shipping you expect from Amazon and they will send me a small percentage of the purchase price for the referral. Many Thanks!

All images in this piece are courtesy of Outdoor Women's Alliance.

Empowering Females Worldwide: An Interview with Gina Bégin of Outdoor Women's Alliance

February 06, 2017 by Sabrina Carlson in Women Work Wits

Being female and breaking into the world of outdoor recreation isn’t easy. For many of us, we grew up with messages, some subtle and some not so subtle, that physical prowess, survival skills, and navigation in the backcountry were simply not for us. This was the domain of men. The boys were taken out to split wood with dad. Girls learned to cook with mom. Boy Scout troops learned to backpack and canyoneer while Girl Scout Troops sold cookies and did crafts.

As adults, not only are women having to push through this deeply embedded psychology, but we are also working against an outdoor culture that still treats outdoor women with suspicion and disbelief. (As a woman in a leadership role in an outdoor organization myself, I could fill an entire article with stories about being treated like I’m incapable while men 20 years my junior are regarded with respect.) On top of all this, when women want to learn new skills in the outdoors they often don’t have other women to learn from (see back to the things we were taught as children). Men teach and learn very differently than women. The way men approach teaching each other, is not a comfortable way for many women to learn.

Gina Bégin, founder of Outdoor Women’s Alliance saw these obstacles and is turning them into an opportunity to change the experience for women looking to break into adventure.

Asked what exactly OWA does Gina responded, “Outdoor Women’s Alliance (OWA) is a volunteer-run nonprofit media and adventure collective that engages, educates, and empowers females worldwide. Through the lens of human-powered adventure, we work to inspire confidence and leadership in women of all ages, believing that confident women have the power to build healthy communities and — quite literally — change the world.”

No big deal...Let’s just change the world. And the way OWA is growing, I have no doubt that they will.

Empowering women outdoors is important to Gina for the same reason it is important to many of us, because she herself has been transformed and shaped by experiences in it. She shared with me one particularly memorable experience.

“Sleeping under the northern lights in Yukon Territory in 2012. I was on my way to Cordova, Alaska and decided to drive rather than fly. I lived from my car for three years and at this point, it was much more natural to sleep in my car or a tent than it was to get a room with a bed. (Besides, lodging in the winter in the Yukon is hard to find when you’re not in the towns.) Being that it was -14ºF out, I knew I’d be sleeping in my car, rather than a tent, that night.

There was no moon. Mountains ripped into the sky as black silhouettes, lit only by stars. The road was desolate, single-laned, and its borders were uninhabited.

It was then that I saw it.

Shapeless, white, and faint. It was like a city illuminating a cloud cover, but I knew there was no city other than Whitehorse, and no cloud cover in this moonless night. Anyway, I had passed Whitehorse ages ago. There was nothing here — except that light.

And suddenly, realization. I pushed down on the brakes and moved onto the shoulder before cranking on the e-brake and turning my lights off. The window rolled down, frozen air rushing in to replace the heat. My numb fingers fumbled with a camera lens, trying to focus on something that wasn’t quite there yet. But it was growing, it was shimmering, it was beginning to dance.

The northern lights.

I hung out of that car window until my stomach, pressed against the sill, ached and my fingers were nearly drained of color from the cold. I cranked the heat and chased the lights, looking for a place to sleep for the night. Once I found my car campground, I watched until I fell asleep underneath the lights’ movement.

Though I’ve never shunned off-season outings, this experience forever cemented my preference for them. I loved that no one else was around and the wild thrill from this private showing. The only regret was that there was no human-power involved in “earning” this experience, but the impact shaped my perspective deeply.”

The idea and impetus for OWA came from first hand observation of how positive and powerful outdoor adventure can be for women, especially for young women.

Gina tells us, “The concept of using adventure sports to empower women came to me after I returned west from my home state of Florida and discovered a connection between self-confidence and participation in adventure sports.

Born and raised in Florida, I spent a few years of grade school living in the West. I learned to love skiing, hiking, camping, climbing, and exploring but, with my return to Florida for middle and high school, I found access to these healthy activities out of reach.

As I grew away the outdoor lifestyle and aged into high school, I saw many of my female peers—in their quest for acceptance—become pregnant, end up in juvenile court, or drop out of school.

It wasn’t until I moved back west for college that I rediscovered adventure sports and with it, a boost in confidence. I credit my growing confidence to adventure sports’ focus on individual skill progression.

Thinking back to my high school experience and the female friends who fell prey to social pressures, I realized adventure sports would have been a positive avenue for these young women to gain confidence, choose healthier paths, and pursue life with clearer purpose.

It was then that I began planning a way to connect young women with this tool for self-empowerment, with the intent of rerouting young people from risky paths to positive avenues of self-value.

As I continued with the idea of helping young women, I was approached locally by adult peers who wanted to participate in adventure sports but felt uncomfortable in co-ed situations. Achieving confidence in one aspect of life can spill over to all areas of life, and here, I saw the interplay between outdoor adventure and leadership qualities and confidence for all women, regardless of age or environmental upbringing.

Out of these realizations—and over the next several years—Outdoor Women’s Alliance grew into what it is today: a volunteer-run nonprofit organization that serves women worldwide through the lens of adventure.”

Outdoors Women’s Alliance isn’t just about inspiration. It’s about action. Through their Grassroots team OWA works to connect women with opportunities and community to grow their skills and confidence outdoors.

They provide meaningful mentorships and internships for women looking to learn the behind the scene skills they need to grow careers in the outdoor industry. Their media mission is to provide channels to support and uplift women for their skills and accomplishments in the outdoors, rather than for their sexuality. And let’s face it, we can use more recognition of women that is unrelated to their appearance.

On a personal level Gina is working to recover from a serious knee injury that has left her sidelined, with all the emotional roller coaster and self doubt that goes along with it.

When I asked her what was next for OWA she said, “We’re building an online platform that women everywhere can use to connect, grow skills, and build in-person communities right where they are. This new platform will bring the offerings OWA has at the team level to those who wouldn’t otherwise have access, allowing smaller groups of women to meet together in their locations to get outdoors, put on events through OWA, and continue our mission of instilling confidence and leadership skills in each participating member.

Starting February 6th and through March 3rd, we’re running a crowdfunder to get this new platform and program on its feet. With OWA, we’re very organic in growth, relying on the feedback of needs from our community and the efforts of volunteers. We have no debt, no investors — just a community and hard-working women determined to meet the needs of #outdoorwomen.

We hope women will join with us to help provide for each other’s needs through this crowdfunder.”

We are all called to do big work in this world in some way. Gina and Outdoor Women’s Alliance are stepping up to their work and answering the call. If you too want to support getting more women outdoors and the incredible mission of OWA, please consider a donation to their crowdfunding campaign.

Want to keep up with all OWA is doing? Follow them online!

www.outdoorwomensalliance.com/about-owa

Facebook: http://facebook.com/outdoorwomensalliance (@Outdoor Women’s Alliance)

Twitter: http://twitter.com/womenoutdoors (@womenoutdoors)

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/outdoorwomen (@outdoorwomen)

Instagram: http://instagram.com/outdoorwomen (@outdoorwomen)

This post is the second in the "Women, Work, Wits" series. Read about the why of this series and find each interview linked HERE.

More Than a Hashtag: Putting An End To "Shrink It and Pink It"

January 17, 2017 by Sabrina Carlson in Women Work Wits, Interview

The night I first heard Jen Gurecki, founder and CEO of Coalition Snow, speak at an event in Boulder, Colorado I knew I needed to know more about her. I needed to hear more about her mission, her passion, her perspective.

Among an inspiring round up of speakers who represented women in the outdoor industry, Jen’s passion, laser focus, and no bullshit attitude made her standout. She rallied the hearts of both women and men in the crowd as she pointed out the inequity in the outdoor sports world. While advertisers use images of women, hashtags about women and gear targeted at women to drive sales (after all, women ARE sort of trending now) are we actually being invited to the table? Is the gear being made really excellent and aimed at our needs? Are women athletes finally being offered sponsorships at the level that men are? Or are we just a convenient marketing tool? Just a hashtag?

Jen sees women in this industry as more than just a hashtag. This was the driving force and greater global mission behind founding Coalition Snow. She wanted first and foremost to finally make women’s skis and snowboards that don’t suck. Boards and planks aimed at performance with women in mind, rather than the standard “shrink it and pink it” routine that neither supports women, nor creates a quality product.

And Jen knows her skis and snowboards. She was first hooked on snowsport in highschool when she joined the ski team at 16 years old. She quickly threw herself into training and skiing full force. She took that love with her when she specifically selected Northern Arizona University (small world...that’s my alma mater too!) for college since it was a school in the shadow of a ski resort. Rather than seeking the typical college jobs waiting tables, babysitting, or working retail, Jen went after work in the Arizona Snowbowl rental shop. There she learned how to tune skis and snowboards from the pros. After college she moved to Tahoe where she continued her love for snowsport as she worked in wilderness therapy and for the California Conservation Corps.

But her mission for Coalition Snow is so much bigger than the quality of women’s gear. It’s about recognizing women as legitimate athletes who deserve sponsorship opportunities. It’s about seeing, cheering, and advancing their accomplishments in the SPORT, rather than focusing on their appearance. (See Lynsey Dyer’s Open Letter to Freeskier HERE) As someone deeply invested in snowsport herself, and a self proclaimed fierce feminist, the frustrations of female athletes were hard to miss.

Jen believes deeply in the power of business as a tool for social change, and that is just what she is hoping to do through Coalition Snow. To offer a real voice, and quality sponsorship opportunities to women athletes, and women in the boardroom. To shift the status quo in the outdoor industry from predominantly white and male, to something more diverse. When booths at Outdoor Retailer, the faces on industry panel discussions, and the distribution of pay in the industry look radically different, she will feel she has accomplished her mission.

Jen is quick to point out that being pro women, doesn’t mean being anti-man. The white males who dominate the industry are mostly pretty nice guys. They have worked hard and become accomplished at their sports to be recognized at the level they are. She just wants to see women and people of color being given the same recognition for their accomplishments too. To be offered better than ⅓ the pay of their male counterparts. She drives home her message by reminding men that feminism isn’t just for women. They can choose to participate in, or help dismantle the patriarchy. She believes that even the baseline idea that women are a “weaker sex” or that we are just not capable of performing at the same level as men needs to be challenged at every level. “The fact is”, she emphatically states, “We have no idea what women can actually do, because we’ve never expected as much out of them. I want to change the expectation and find out what we can really do.”

When it comes to being a woman CEO in the outdoor industry, Jen has found both benefits and roadblocks. On the one hand, women are trending. In many ways, people are paying attention to Coalition Snow because they are by women, for women. If they were men, they would be just another ski and snowboard company. On the other hand, she has found it surprisingly difficult to get investors to take her as seriously as her male counterparts. She repeatedly has potential investors refer to her company as a “project” or treat her like she is a know nothing little girl instead of a 39 year old women with a laundry list of accomplishments under her belt.

But despite the hurdles, Coalition Snow is well on its way to Jen’s ultimate goal of total global domination. They are heavily in recruitment for their ambassador program, are touring ski resorts around the country this year to demo their products, and will be carried in three REI stores this year. They have also launched the Sisterhood of Shred, and online community for women skiers and snowboarders to come together and share events, tips, tricks and skills. She knows not every women snowsport lover will use her gear, and that’s ok. Sisterhood of Shred provides the opportunity to support all women regardless of what they ride.

When asked what advice she would give other women looking to start an outdoor focused business she responded, “Get crystal clear on what you are willing to suffer for. If you aren’t willing to suffer for it, you won’t want to get up everyday and do it.” Going into the launch of her business she had no idea the sheer volume of work it would be or how many moving pieces there are. She advises anyone wanting to start a business to hire experienced business advisors on day 1 and start fundraising immediately.

Once things begin to settle down for Jen, she looks forward to reconnecting with her snowboard. Preferably exploring the mountains of Japan and mainland Asia.

Follow Coalition Snow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/coalitionsnow/

Check out Coalition Snow’s full line of skis and snowboards: http://coalitionsnow.com

This post is the first in the "Women, Work, Wits" series. Read about the why of this series and find each interview linked HERE.

This is Not A New Year's Resolutions Post

January 02, 2017 by Sabrina Carlson in Philosophy, Women Work Wits

There is something about the idea of resolutions that bugs me. Maybe it’s just semantics, but the concept of the New Year's Resolution brings to mind visions of self deprecation and self loathing. The idea that you are somehow broken and when the clock strikes midnight on January 1st you will, powered by some expensive protein powder/fitness gadget of course, finally force yourself into a more socially acceptable mold. You will finally get smaller, be “nicer”, be more of a doormat for someone else's expectations.

Here’s the thing. You are not broken. You are amazing exactly as you are. You don’t need to change a thing.

However, I still find myself wistful in the week between Christmas and New Years. Thinking back on the year that is closing, and envisioning the year ahead of me that I hope to have. I have gone through an evolution in this process for myself. I’ve moved away from resolving and towards the idea of intentions. Focus words. Touchstones to return to when things get hectic. Words to remind myself of my priorities in the coming year. It’s less about changing who I am, and more about digging deeper into who I am to be more fully and completely myself.

At the start of 2016, as I was just beginning to get a handle on my mental and physical health after two years of undiagnosed postpartum depression and anxiety, I had two intention words. Health, for obvious reasons, and adventure. A combination of the pressures and constraints of new motherhood with the mental and physical annihilation of the health struggles I had been through had left me completely disconnected from the person I had known for 36 years.

So, along with keeping up my doctors appointments and following the protocols I had been prescribed, I started looking for ways I could begin to feel more like myself every day. Little ways I could reclaim me. Adventure was the way to do that. My husband and I both needed time to reclaim ourselves, since the previous years had been pretty rough on us both. We settled on one night a week for each of us to have the night off of parenting duties. A night to go do whatever would make us happy. Ride bikes, ride motorcycles, hike alone, whatever we wanted. We also committed to finding a weekend each month for each of us to go on a mini adventure of our own choosing. I’ve knocked off a few sections of the Arizona Trail, and visited Denver a number of times. My hubby has taken several long distance motorcycle trips. I tried rock climbing again for the first time since high school, started teaching ski school so that I’d have the opportunity to ski more myself and to take my son more easily. I started this blog both to keep myself accountable and to rekindle a life long passion for writing (this was rather unexpected). I’ve connected with other moms on a similar journey.

For the most part...It’s been working. I still have some health issues to resolve, but things are much better there. Most importantly, I feel a lot more like myself. I have been prioritizing self care through solo adventure and feel fantastic about it.

As 2017 is upon us, I hope to keep all of those wonderful personal adventure opportunities I carved out for myself. I don’t want that to slip away. I’m happy to report that simply taking time for ourselves this year has helped my hubs and I heal a lot of the hurt and frustrations of the previous years. We are BOTH happier and healthier because of it. Who knew? That whole “put the oxygen mask on yourself first” thing really DOES work!

This year the two words I’m adding to my intentions are community and connection. Now that we are on solid footing, my spouse and I want to be more intentional about returning to adventure together. More evenings after work to scramble up a pile of boulders and drink a bottle of wine at sunset. More weekends away together to remember why we are each other’s favorite adventure partner.

I realize that my spouse isn’t the only one I need to reconnect with. Under the best of circumstances, it becomes harder to maintain friendships in the transition to parenthood. You are so busy keeping your head above water that socializing and connecting with other people is honestly too exhausting and complicated. Add in crippling postpartum complications and well...I find myself realizing that I’m more isolated and disconnected than I wish I was.

I look forward to connecting more often with the local women from The Adventure Mamas Initiative group, as well as forging closer bonds with the founders and other board members of this organization. I intend to plan trips to visit dear friends that live in some far flung corners of the world to catch up after too much time apart.

In the spirit of building a larger and closer community of amazing women around myself I’m excited to announce a writing project I will be publishing throughout 2017. But maybe I should back up and tell you the story.

A few months ago, I made a trip to Denver partly to see my BFF and partly to attend a SheVentures event in Boulder. It was billed as a “Ted Talk” style line up of inspirational speakers focused on women in the outdoors. Just my kind of thing. Inspiring it was. I found myself nodding my head at shouting “eff yeah!” in my mind (and I think it may have slipped out of my mouth once or twice too).

Afterwards, I was lucky enough to be able to talk with some of these incredible women, all of whom had founded some pretty badass businesses or non-profits to meet a need they saw in the outdoor community. When I asked Jen Gurecki, founder of Coalition Snow what I could do to help promote her business she responded “Content is king. Let’s do an interview. The more content out there about our story the better.” I was thrilled to be invited to feature her! I also felt a little sheepish. My blog isn’t that big. I really won’t be able to get her story out to that many people. But that’s when it hit me. She isn’t the only woman who has a story to tell. There are many women founded companies with stories that go far beyond just making skis or coats. What if I set out to tell as many stories of these female founded companies as I could? What if I could pool the collective community of all of us to share everyone’s ideas and missions? If everyone I interviewed and wrote about was willing to share the project, we could collectively make a much bigger impact. Hence the “Women. Work, Wits” project idea was born.

I have had the incredible pleasure of interviewing 3 amazing ladies so far and have lots more on the list I hope to complete. With this project I hope, not just to introduce you to fabulous products made by companies with heart and solid ethics, but to tell compelling stories. To help you fall in love with the guts, grit, heart and hustle that makes these women, and their companies so incredible.

I want to be clear that none of these companies are paying me for these interviews. This is not glorified advertising. I’m not an affiliate of any of these companies nor do I expect to receive compensation in any way. I’m doing this because community is everything. Because stories are powerful. Because empowered women, empower women. Because I believe that a rising tide lifts all boats.

The plan is to publish two interviews a month, mixed in with my usual posts on adventuring how to’s and philosophical ramblings. If you want to make sure you catch all of the awesome that is coming your way on the blog this year, make sure you subscribe via RSS or email below. I wouldn’t want you to miss any of the good stuff!

And hey...thank YOU for being part of my community too. If there is anything I can do to support you better you can always leave a comment on any blog post, or shoot me an email sabrina@mamawildandfree.com.

If you want to be sure to catch all the interviews in this series, subscribe below. Or, bookmark this post. I will link each interview as I publish it here.

More Than A Hashtag: Putting An End To Shrink It And Pink It. An Interview With Jen Gurecki of Coalition Snow.

Empowering Females Worldwide: An Interview with Gina Bégin of Outdoor Women's Alliance

Taking Flight: An Interview with Darcy Conover of Corbeaux Clothing