The lululemon lab recently featured the art work of local Vancouver runner and artist Mark "Sparky" Wickstead. Sparky has been a fixture around the lululemon community for years; from teaching circuit training classes at our Store Support Centre, leading run clubs and finishing 4th overall at our SeaWheeze half marathon last year, Sparky's incredible energy and curiosity has inspired many of us for years. 

One day I was walking past the lab and took a peek at the store window. The lab is a bit different than our regular lululemon stores - all the product is conceptualized and designed in the store space and they are constantly innovating on new product and ideas, including store displays and design. They often feature cool art in their front window and this one day was no exception.

At the entrance of the store, decals read "i love you more than you can imagine." The words in the window hung in the still and airy space, in stark contrast to the cold grey Vancouver afternoon blowing outside. Behind these words was a huge canvas filled with hundreds of squares in intensely-pigmented colours. It was visually arresting: precisely-painted hues in perfect squares contrasted with a soft human message. I read the artist's name at the bottom of the window. "Mark Wickstead."

Mark Wickstead. This seemed familiar....but I couldn't place it. Then it dawned on me: it was Sparky, the amazing runner and trainer I have worked with on and off for years! Sparky is always filled with random information and has an incredible zeal for life: one day he is salsa dancing, the next learning how to juggle, and always is filled with amazing music suggestions. The guy is like a walking rolodex of random awesomeness - he used to ask me movie trivia while I was doing burpees (anyone who knows him knows what I'm talking about). Still, I was blown away by my pal the extreme athlete creating something that seemed like such a departure from his life in sport. For more on Sparky's story, check out the lululemonlab blog here.

It got me thinking: sometimes we think we are pushing ourselves, but are we really going outside of our comfort zone, out of the "category" we put ourselves and others in? Sparky isn't "Mark Wickstead, Ultra Marathoner"; Sparky is an artist, Sparky is a runner, Sparky is a new-wave fan, Sparky is a dancer. As humans we like to put ourselves into "roles" because it feels comfortable, and as animals we are conditioned to do so.

My challenge to you all this weekend: what if we all put our "roles" aside and actually just did something for the hell of it? Something we are scared of? Something "out of character"? We might just discover that we have a whole other side we didn't know about.

What are you going to wake up and do tomorrow?

Your studio is called One Yoga for the People. What’s the philosophy behind the name?
Yoga is for the people, regardless of age, gender, social status, financial situation, height, weight, etc. I chose the name One Yoga a few years ago for my yoga school in Saskatoon. The name symbolizes our interconnection of all beings, the oneness of mind and body (in the heart) that yoga brings, and the truth that we all share One Love.

Why is it important for you to have a donation based studio?
We realize that people often stop coming to classes because they are broke or struggling financially and we want to be available regardless. Yoga can be a tremendous support in times of trouble and we believe so strongly in its power that we will give classes for free if we have to.

We’re always looking for great books. What are you reading right now? Feeling The Shoulder of The Lion and The Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks are two books that are either at my bedside, in the yoga room or in my backpack. I'm also reading Start Something That Matters written by Blake Mycoskie (the guy who started TOMS shoes!).

Tell us about your charity! What makes you so passionate about kids yoga?
I few years ago I started a charity called Vinyasa Yoga for Youth. It empowers youth ages 3-23 through the practice of yoga.

Gandhi said, "peace begins with the children." I believe that through yoga, children can learn to be their highest selves, not the selves that succumb to negative influences and peer pressure.

One Yoga recently worked on a design collaboration with the lululemon lab. What interested you in working with the lab?
When I walked into the lab, I felt the positivity, vibrancy and creativity that the staff there had. I wanted to be around the people working there. I loved that they were working directly with other yoga practitioners and teachers in the community and designing based on their feedback.

What did you learn?
I learned how supportive the lululemon community really is. The crew at the lab really wanted to work together to create new, innovative clothes that can be worn in or out of the studio and that they weren’t afraid to colour outside the lines and be creative with what they were making. I can't tell you how much fun it was to do the collaboration!

We hear you’re teaching at Wanderlust Whistler this summer! What are you most looking forward to?
I am most looking forward to seeing all of the yoga peeps from all over Canada and the U.S. Many of my teachers/students/friends from other studios around North America are coming to hang out, practice and dance! I’m also stoked that Michael Franti is coming to rock with us!

I’ve noticed that there’s almost always music playing at OYFTP. Do you have any favourite songs to practice to?
For Vinyasa practice, I'd say Hijomalind by Sigur Ros, Exercising by Lee "Scratch" Perry, Lotus Flower by Radiohead and I’m also loving Holocene by Bon Iver.

For Savasana, definitely Healing Room by Sinead O'Connor and Beth Rest (Piano Version) by Bon Iver.

Curious about all the brainstorming going on in the pics? Check out the Liberty Crop, one of the lululemon lab and One Yoga collaboration pieces!

questions from our facebook wall

Kelly: Hey Melissa! I love lululemon! How did you come up with the design for all the clothes you make? Will you be making anything new soon? Let me know! Thanks!

Melissa: Hi Kelly, at the lab we are paying attention to what is going on on the streets right now, what people are wearing, what's trending, what our guests are requesting and then adapting those ideas into more functional clothing. We use the same great fabrics that our other stores carry but are definitely aiming for a different design aesthetic.

Melissa at the event, checking out the wall for your questions!

Laura: Are there any plans to expand the Lab concept to the U.S.? I know lots of people that would love one in Chicago!

Melissa: Hi Laura! We're brand new to the company and so far we're just one of a kind but depending on the feedback we get and the demand there's always a possibility that we'll open up in other major cities around the world. So keep that feedback coming - i personally would love to see more labs open up eventually!

The online community team watched your questions roll in on the big screen!

Lin: Hi Melissa! I was wondering what are some good lulu bras for running, and whether the tata tamer is appropriate for hi-impact sports?

Melissa: The Ta Ta Tamer is our best and ideal bra for high impact sports! This is the bra that I actually designed! [Check out the Ta Ta Tamer here: http://shop.lululemon.com/Ta_Ta_Tamer/]

Shawna and Alana made sure your questions didn't get missed.

Angela: How long does it take to make a former design in a new color. Such as the Ta-Ta-Tamer - but say you wanted to make it available in Savage Green. What's that process like? Is it pretty simple to just match the new fabric and then make?

Melissa: for all the garments that are in store right now, they were planned in those particular colours almost a year ago - and the Ta Ta Tamer is pretty complex and takes a while to produce.

Laura: You should design light weight lulu harem pants, or lulu shoes/sneakers to wear at the gym, or slip on to wear to yoga.

Melissa: Hi Laura! We have made some amazing harem pants out of organic cotton and some out of luxtreme - super light and different functions - here at lululemon lab. You can check us out on facebook, we have all our garments in our photo albums. And you can write on our page if you have any further questions!

Laura: Hi Melissa! I'm wondering what you recommend for washing the removable pads?

Also, THANK YOU for designing the most amazing sports bra I have ever owned! I ran the Vancouver half-marathon a couple of weekends ago (my first time!!) and the Ta Ta Tamer totally transformed my training. YOU ROCK!!

Melissa: Hi Laura! Congrats on the Half! I was there in the pouring rain cheering everyone on! I ran my first half in the ta ta tamer too.

I like to hand wash the cups in warm soapy water and rinse and lay flat to dry. If you are in a pinch you can put them through the washer but they aren't designed to sustain that sort of wear over a long time.

Paula, Laura, and Liz (not pictured) answered questions after the party moved to Twitter

questions from twitter

@erinklegstad: any chance of @lululemon cycling clothing? I can't find any cute tops or shorts!

Melissa: we have heard lots of cycling gear requests - stay tuned to your local store, we do love feedback!

@adamgiers: hey melissa! any chance of graphic hoodies coming out in the future?

Melissa: Heck YA!! Stay tuned to lululemon.com

@shawnajacques: What are your @lululemon goals?

Melissa: Next up - Open a Lab in Toronto!! - what do you think Tdot?

@_nanc: I wish I worked at @lululemon!

Melissa: You should join the team and apply online!

Afterwards we celebrated online community manager Carolyn's b-day!

Thank you to everyone who came online to ask questions and participate in the event! We had so much fun and we are already looking forward to the next one.

Which designer would you like to hear from next? Run? Men’s? Yoga? Comment below and let us know - we're listening!

Hi everyone,

it's Alana here from the lululemon online team! I will be helping facilitate tomorrow's chat with Melissa on Facebook and Twitter and making sure we answer as many questions as possible. Thank you to those of you who already asked your question in the comments here or on Facebook. We are excited, too!

Melissa will be answering as many questions as possible, but if your question doesn’t get answered please know that it may be because it requires someone from that specific department to answer. To clarify exactly what kinds of questions Melissa will be best equipped to answer, keep on readin’!

questions melissa can't answer

Anything involving secret sauce. Also: whether specific products will be coming back, future store locations, and/or enhancements to specific current products. This is because each product has its very own department within lululemon, and only someone from that specific department would be able to answer those specific questions. So if you're aching to ask a question about our run shorts, let us know! If we get enough run questions we will bring a run designer online for our next chat.

questions melissa can answer

As we mentioned in our introduction, Melissa worked on the product team for three years between production and design as lululemon's full-support, high-impact bra designer and will be able to answer most bra-specific questions. Have a question about how your bra fits or what tank to pair with it? Ask Melissa. Also feel free to ask her about our bra line, her experience as a designer, or what it's like to work on the design/production team. Do you love the Ta Ta Tamer? Guess what, she invented it!

Melissa now manages the lululemon lab - a unique retail/design space based in Vancouver. The lab designs, creates and produces lululemon pieces that you can't buy in regular lululemon locations. Are you wondering if the lab has plans for expansion, what they make, if they plan to sell it online? Come online and ask!

And finally, Melissa is a super friendly and creative person with lots of interesting goals. Read some of her blog posts to get to know her better here.

She's yours for 60 minutes, and very excited to hear from you!

See you tomorrow at 6:30 pm PST!

Alana

ask a question on facebook

On Wednesday, May 12 at 6:30 pm come to our Facebook wall and ask your design and product-related questions for Melissa, lululemon lab manager / designer.

ask a question on twitter

At 7:00pm the chat party is moving to Twitter, so tweet Melissa your question @lululemon!

meet melissa!

Melissa checking out a sample at the lululemon lab in Vancouver

Some facts about Melissa:

• She's been with lululemon for 4.5 years, with 3 of those on the product team between production and design
• Claim to fame: created the Ta Ta Tamer
• Currently doing a 30 day Harem pant challenge (watch for the blog)
• Favourite designer: Alexander McQueen (fun fact: I named my new macbook McQueen)
• Used to be a makeup artist
• Current personal goal pursuit: photography class
• One year goal: open up a lab in Toronto

see you online may 12!

This is our very first online chat with a designer. Bring your burning questions, and see you online May 12 at 6:30pm PST!