Mache
Brienne has always been her most joyful when building something, solving a puzzle, or pioneering an idea. Growing up in Arizona and France, she focused her attention and creativity in the arts; painting, drawing, crafting, and dance. Informed by an artistic childhood and higher education in architecture, she has a strong penchant and passion for innovative design.
After graduating from the University of Oregon with a Masters in Interior Architecture, she was sought out by a well-known architecture firm in Portland, OR. Shortly after beginning her first architecture job, she discovered she had an auto-immune condition which jump-started her personal health and wellness journey. She became uber aware of the toxins in food and in the environment due to the challenge her body had in releasing those toxins effectively. In spite of these health issues, she joined her co-workers in maintaining 60 hour work weeks, mostly stooped over a computer. By now, she had been doing yoga for a few years and had become a certified teacher in order to facilitate health and awareness in others. She instituted lunch-time yoga in her office in service to her often overworked team. Riding her bike to work everyday, she would strap her heavy Manduka mat to her shoulders to teach at lunch and go to her local yoga studio after work for her own practice. She had the brilliant idea one morning as she hoofed her bike, work bag, and yoga mat across the Willamette River, of creating a yoga mat storage unit for her local studio. What a relief it would be to take that off her shoulders- literally! This would allow herself and other yogis to store their mat safely at the studio and avoid transporting it to and fro everyday. The studio and its members loved it, and other studios began to show interest.
After four years at the firm she decided to go out on her own and follow her dream of creating wellness design for the masses. 2Yoke Design was born. In addition to continuing to design custom yoga mat storage units for yoga studios, 2Yoke’s design portfolio included eco- and health-conscious homes, health clinics, farm-to-table restaurants, ergonomic workplaces and co-housing communities. It was designing in this capacity that opened Brienne’s eyes to the critical lack of non-toxic materials and manufacturing processes in the architecture, furniture and home goods industries. In addition, being a long time yogi herself, she could not find anything on the market that was aesthetically pleasing, eco-friendly, and specifically designed to house her mat and fitness props at home. So, she designed one!
Homi, an eco-friendly and responsibly sourced mat storage tube. The local response in her community inspired her to found Mache, bringing together two of her loves, the love of the planet and her love of yoga. Brienne believes it is up to responsible companies, partnering with conscious consumers, to shift industry standards towards greener business practices. Being a part of this movement toward greater sustainability and creating wellness in all human spaces informs and energizes her design process. Brienne makes her home in Southern Oregon with her partner Chad and dog Ollie. Her self-care routine includes daily green tea, hot baths, and cooking with fresh vegetables and herbs from her garden. She maintains a 20-year yoga practice and teaches yoga and meditation in her community.
