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 My Oilcloth’s perfectly packed beach tote
“For our daytrip to the beach, it’s not only about what goes in our bag, but where it goes,” say Michele Sommer and Yvette Yelardy of MyOilcloth. “Our water bottle of choice, a stainless steel number by Thermos (Thermosonline.com) tucks neatly into one of the two water bottle sleeves in our MY Wide Tote. We fill it with home-made ginger lemon iced tea from Koo Koo (7 Station Street, Brookline). The edible fair is also from this petite café on Station Street: Yvette’s favorite is the Koo Koo wrap and Michele’s favorite is the falafel. The MY gals are all about sun protection. Neutrogena (neutrogena.com) makes our products of choice, we’ve got families, so we’ll take gallons. Our summer reading is always handy now that we downloaded the Kindle (amazon.com) application on our iPhones (apple.com) which of course are stashed in the outside tech pocket. We bring along cash for ice cream (for the kids) in a MY Wristlet. Throw in a Hermes (Hermes.com) beach towel and you’re good to go.” What matches with oilcloth?
“A perfect outfit is one that makes you feel beautiful and comfortable and you can put together in 5 minutes flat,” say Michele Sommer and Yvette Yelardy of MyOilcloth. “A pair of black Splendid leggings, a Chan Lu tunic, Ugg’s straw cowboy hat, Donald Pliner Grecian sandals and Marc Jacobs shades to protect your celebrity status.“ Pieces to covet
“Our Baby, the wallet is coming out in a couple of months,” say Michele Sommer and Yvette Yelardy of MyOilcloth. “It’s big, beautiful, zip around and comes in all seven of our fabulous patterns. Also, the infamous tech pod will blossom into all MY’s colors. We have a new large satchel in the works, which our fans will love, love, love.” Accessories for the accessory designers
“We love Olivia Browning in Charlestown (oliviabrowning.com),” say Michele Sommer and Yvette Yelardy of MyOilcloth. “They sell heavenly beaded jewels from the local designer, Michelle Rothman in a collection called Ojas. Another favorite is Portobello Road (47 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill) because everything there is pure style.” These ladies give back
From now through August, Michele Sommer and Yvette Yelardy of MyOilcloth are donating 20% of MYoilcloth (myoilcloth.com) web sales to the Pan Mass Challenge (pmc.org) when the buyer clicks on Pan Mass Challenge at checkout. “This worthy cause is near and dear to us,” says Michele. “Both of our husbands are riding in this year’s Pan Mass Challenge (PMC). Yvette’s husband, Dan Morganstern, is a breast cancer oncologist at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. My husband, Chet Geschickter, has completed this 200 mile event 13 consecutive years.“ |
Accessories designers
In 2006, Brookline PTO buddies Michele Sommer and Yvette Yelardy dreamed up a new idea for the retro fabric, oilcloth. With visions of totes, beach carriers, purses and such dancing in their heads, they created "MY Oilcloth" (M for Michele, Y for Yvette), created some great designs, cobbled together a business plan, and - whaddyaknow -- mama had a brand new bag. Lots of mamas did, actually, and daughters, and sisters, and probably a few guys, too, judging by their sales. Oilcloth was created in the late 1700s by coating linseed oil on cotton fabric to produce a plastic-type waterproof finish. It was used for slickers by fishermen and later for things like tablecloths and even floor coverings. It fell out of fashion in the 1950s but has made a comeback lately, largely because it’s made a new way with a coating that stays supple and doesn’t wear and crack. Michele and Yvette have designed fourteen different bags from wristlets to their biggest seller, the “envelope bag,” about the size and shape of a document envelope. They come in seven different colors and dozens of patterns and are available locally at Portobello Road, in Chestnut Hill, Charles Street’s Blackstone’s, the Velvet Ribbon in Brookline, and sold online nationwide and in Canada and Japan. The Brookline moms design the bags, get their fabric from Korea and produce them in China. Unlike old oilcloth that could fade and chip after a few years, the duo says the new fabric stays pristine – their goods never break down. Above it all, their day job is a working mom’s dream: Michele has more time for her three sons and Yvette for her son and daughter. They even have time to support their husbands, who both are training to ride the Pan Mass Challenge this August, by donating twenty percent of their sales to the charity. From all accounts, this entrepreneurial pair has built a business, friendship and family life as sturdy as…well, oilcloth. Contact: www.myoilcloth.com |
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