Our designers are an awesome bunch. They're like a hive of busy little creative bees, always buzzing around thinking of ways to make our lives and work outs easier. Unlike real bees, our designers also like to stop and have fun. This black and white striped bee, with her grapeseed Retro Groove Bag, is our accessories designer Katie. She's never without her moleskine (and a pencil) to jot down inspiration when it strikes.

katie and the broken pencil

Designers always have a spare pencil...somewhere.

want more?

• Organize your life with a new bag.
• Meet some of our other designers.

Websites: My Saturday mornings are consumed by the following:

• refinery29.com (sign up for their email blasts...highly addictive)
• advancedstyle.blogspot.com (think the sartorialist, but with old people...amazing. I can’t wait to be 80 and crazy!)
• http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com (I just recently gave up wheat and her recipes make my mouth water)
• http://nymag.com/daily/fashion (I could spend hours here)

Magazines: Nylon, Vogue, Marie Claire. US versions are a monthly must—I treat myself to the international versions when I travel.

lululemon items to work out in: I’m a basic kinda gal. Give me a Flow Y Bra, an oversized Racerback tank and some Wunder Unders and I’m good to go.

Way to sweat: Hot vinyasa flow. If Vancouver ever got a Baptiste studio, I’d die.

Film: I’ve got a three-way tie going on at the moment: Lagerfeld Confidential, Valentino: The Last Emperor, and Unzipped. I love watching documentaries about crazy fashion designers. I heart Karl hugely.

Place to run: My absolute most favourite runs were when I was in high school and would run cross country in the fall—I love the smell of wet leaves and running through all the colours.

Font: Times New Roman. Again, basics kinda gal.

Way to spend a Sunday morning: Stretchy pants, a hot bowl of oatmeal, and a cat in my lap.

Last Monday we met Jurgen from recruiting. Today, start off your week by meeting Katie from our accessories design team.

what is something unique or surprising about you?

I have a twin brother. He's massive -- think ‘Shrek’-like proportions. Not sure how we survived a womb together, but that might explain why we were 6 weeks early.

where is your favourite place in the world?

Anywhere there’s a yoga mat--too cliché? How about New York. Hands down. I feel oddly comforted the minute I get into the city and can smell the nut vendors.

what is your favourite way to sweat?

Hot yoga. Preferably a heated vinyasa flow class. Any time, any place, I’m there. Nothing feels better than dripping buckets.

what gets you up in the morning?

My cat, appropriately named ‘Skurvy’. He likes to wake me up at 5 am by licking my eyelids. It was cute the first time.

a goal you've achieved that you're proud of?

‘I am in a committed relationship with a handsome hunk of a man by November 2010." Oh wait, wrong goal.

‘I maintain a consistent blog by December 2010’. I’ll be heading up a weekly designer-based blog entry on our lululemon blog and can also be found blogging on Saturdays at www.vancouveryogareview.com

Interested in possibilities on the design team? Check out our careers page: http://www.lululemon.com/careers, and if you have any design questions be sure to ask away!

Max on a weekend excursion up to Whistler

what is a goal you’ve achieved that you’re proud of?

In my previous career I was a graphic designer and got a taste of the garment biz at one of my many jobs. When it was time to move on, I knew that I wanted to stay in this business and lululemon was the only company aligned with my lifestyle, values and goals. Through sheer persistence and determination I managed to get an interview, but there was nothing here for me. I then met with Chip... again...nothing. Discouraged, I reluctantly went back to design work. Almost a year passed and I realized that I needed to make something happen fast. So at 30 years old, I took a part-time educator position at Oakridge mall. I shared my head office goals with everyone, and within 6 weeks was hired as the Trims and Notions Developer. Seeing a path for myself within the company, I set my next goal to become a Sourcing Manager. Again, I put it out there, wrote it in my goals and worked my butt off to get both trained in the business and IN business (by doing my MBA... which was a massive goal in itself). Three years later, I achieved my goal and was offered the position of Sourcing Operations Manager for Accessories.

Max possibly making an inspirational speech about achieving goals…

what is your favourite way to sweat?

I'm a bike nut! Mainly I'm a roadie guy who likes to dress up in bright coloured spandex and go really really fast. Lately though I've been playing a lot of bike polo (look it up!). Apart from fitness, my bike is my main mode of transport and takes me wherever I need to go. When I'm not on my bike, you can find me doing the occasional yoga class or cursing at Rob during our twice weekly circuit training class.

Max considering a donut mid bike race!

where would you love to go?

I am completely infatuated with Sweden. It's liberal, progressive and beautiful. Plus it’s a major cultural hub churning out amazing art, music and fashion (all things I love). Watch out Stockholm... I'm coming!

Max on a previous adventure to Costa Rica !

why do you love working at lululemon athletica?

I love the concept of setting goals. Everything of note that I have ever achieved in my life was due to setting a goal and going for it. I feel completely supported by my coworkers and management and am given the freedom to be an entrepreneur in my role. I am free to make mistakes and am encouraged to learn from them when I actually do mess up. I get to travel, work with inspiring people, take on interesting new projects and be surrounded by hundreds of beautiful women!

how does your role elevate lululemon?

In my new role, I will be elevating lululemon by sourcing best-in-the-world accessories suppliers and aligning them with our quality and vision. These suppliers will be able to provide all of our accessories product needs all while working towards sustainability in their business practices. One of my main goals will be to streamline our internal process flows to reduce both physical and operational waste and create an environment where accessories sets the bar for sustainability and efficiency within lululemon.

Check out our continually evolving and expanding set of possibilities on the lululemon careers page.