the malia mills event at in good company

Malia and Carol Mills at In Good Company Monday evening.

I responded the second after the email was sent out on April 24th. A special In Good Company Members-Only Event: Malia and Carol Mills, the sister duo behind famed swimwear company, Malia Mills, will speak about their business and their home-grown success story. RSVP ASAP, as attendance is very limited.

At this past Monday's event, I was like a bobble-head doll, nodding in recognition the entire time Malia and Carol Mills spoke about their 15 year-old swimwear brand, Malia Mills. Having been with my clothing brand for about the same amount of years, there were many similar situations I experienced, in terms of business growth, bumps in the road, problems to solve, decisions on wholesale and trade shows, and even coincidentally, design philosophy. I remember reading about Malia Mills years ago in Women's Wear Daily. When I was doing "Modular Dressing" where each item was conceived of as a sculptural separate that could be mix-matched into the collection in numerous ways, Malia Mills was doing item-based bathing suit tops and bottoms which also could be mix-matched to achieve an optimal fit, mood, or interesting texture combo. Sympatico!

And so, on Monday evening, having been very well-fed by organic catering company, Fancy Girl Table, I sat in the front row next to my designer friend Diana, nodding with her in agreement at Malia and Carol's experiences with overstock, with retailers, with trade shows, with customers, with cash flow, and with tough decisions about how to grow the brand. The grace with which Malia and Carol seemed to handle the bumps in the business were inspiring. I admit to getting choked up at one point, overcome with their total humanness (is the only way I can describe it) towards their employees and customers, and their passion for their endeavor.

Whenever I attend an In Good Company event, Amy Abrams and Adelaide Fives always deliver on their mission statement, connecting me with an energetic group of women entrepreneurs, supercharging my productivity, and putting me in touch with a way to connect to myself that is outside of myself. In essence, I always learn a lot, and feel more glad to be me.