Something really wild and special happened this weekend. I got this message from one of Mixed’s most supportive (and earliest!) customers:
These women were total strangers who all happened to shop Mixed and somehow cross paths irl. What are the chances of this happening? No idea. But even though there are over a thousand Mixed masks out there, I’m still pretty damn sure they’re slim.
I sat back in my chair after reading this message, beaming in disbelief that this small IG community found its way from the digital space to real life in just a few short months.
It put things in perspective for me. I’m guilty of being someone who aims for bigger, better, faster. But in that desire for wanting to be the biggest, baddest thing out there (or in tech-y startup terms: becoming a “unicorn”), you lose sight of your specific and meaningful purpose. When you try to appeal to everyone and anyone who will listen, you often end up reaching no one. But when you stand for something specific, you find individuals who connect with you, real people who love and appreciate what you have to share.
Later that evening, I got another text and picture from a dear friend and Mixed customer who also spotted “Mixed in the wild.” It was another woman, a total stranger, wearing Mixed at RBG’s memorial vigil in NYC.
And this made me think of the very first time Mixed was seen in public. It was about a week or so ago. Another friend and Mixed customer went to drop off some BLM protest ephemera to the NY Historical Society and it just so happened that one of the curators for the museum was sporting a Mixed mask.
Then all this got me thinking… maybe it isn’t so crazy that these encounters have happened. Yes, the world is huge, and yes, our Mixed community is still relatively small, but we share common values that bring us together in real life—to places, moments, and movements that matter to us. And at the end of the day, being Mixed isn’t about what you wear, it’s about what you believe and how you navigate life.
