"We need a language", Sarah so perfectly put it. And we sure did - a production language that everyone could understand. 

After unsuccessfully looking around the internet, it became clear we would have to develop our own factory language. The Youniverse doesn't have a single production manager, so we needed a language that empowered everyone in the factory be autonomous and directive of their own projects

Here's what happened this week while we created one. 

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Turns out the Ambition Anorak is aptly named, after spending a year developing it with three different factories. But in order for you to fully understand just how excited we are about it (and just how special it truly is) we have to take it back to 1996.

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For the last month our team has been putting in immeasurable effort to build our own production. It's been wild, chaotic, exciting, frustrating, and pretty magical.

And what we've realized is that this kind of stuff NEVER gets shared with the public. We live it every day so we think it pretty freakin' cool. So each week, we're gonna share a snippet of our journey with you.

Here's what happened this week at the Youniverse.

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A few months back, we sent 6 pairs of pants out to 18 different stops around the USA to live life with you all. Here are their stories.

Remember the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? Well, that was pretty darn unrealistic how every one of those gals fit into the same size pants. But the story was charming and such a millennial classic. So we decided to put our own twist on it. So we asked our community who would like to be part of a pants-pen-pal-experiment and nearly 100 of you signed up. We were overwhelmed by the response, but ultimately decided to send 6 pairs of pants (one of each in sizes XS-XXL) to 3 different stops around the country. 

Each box got packed up with a pair of pants in your size, a journal and a disposable camera for documenting your experience in the pants, and the instructions of 'wear them for a week, and share your life in them then send them off to the next stop'. After 2 months, all 6 pairs made it back to our Missoula Montana HQ and the results were magical and emotional. 

The pages of the notebooks were filled with stories and the photos were beautiful glimpses into the lives of those that wore the pants. Tucked inside the pages were recipes, leaves, chocolates, sketches and an abundance of stickers which made for a delightful unboxing back at HQ. 

 

 

"Went ice skating again today! sadly the ice on the street earlier was better than out In the 'wild'. It was pretty though. And cold. And apparently it snowed out there because we were skating through 3+ inches of snow. Again, it was not a graceful day on the skates but the pants did great, though I did have to wear insulated pants over them since it was only 10 degrees! But good to know they also make a good baselayer fabric - was nice & breathable."

-Pants in Alaska-

 

 

 

 

"we woke up to the first signs of winter, snow dusting the mountains. after a sunrise soak we make our way home. I now sit on the couch watching as the sun and wind dance across the golden leaves outside my window"

-Pants in Colorado-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 "I spent the morning in front of my dad's woodstove with the cat. I slept so hard in my childhood bedroom and enjoyed having an extra day off. I gave my dad a tutorial on how to use his InReach satellite messenger we bought him. He's almost 70 and still goes on big solo mountain adventures and hunts. He only has 2 more summits until he finishes all of Colorado's 14ers!"

 

"I wore the pants today, mostly to show them to my mom. I always try to get her to get some Youer clothes but she thinks she might be too old for the bold prints. She's wrong! They're fun for any age! She's getting a pair of these pants for Hanukkah"

"I just moved to a new state and know no one in my new town, so I was a bit nervous about how I was going to get my pictures for this. After explaining the concept to the gal working at the gym, I think I made a new friend!"

 

Thanks to everyone who shared their lives with with this project, it was such a special way to engage with you all.

We'll be sharing more of this project in the coming weeks as we get ready to launch our spring colors in these pants, and we just might send out another batch for a trip around the country!