Originally Published on May 30, 2022

The term “sustainable” has become a buzz-word, with many brands using it without giving a clear definition on what that means to them. This can lead to green-washing which takes advantage of the good intentions of consumers and ends up spreading misinformation on what it means to be ethical when making purchases.

In order to combat this misinformation, MODEST aims to produce content that educates, informs, and connects readers to brands that are pushing forward in an ethical manner.

When one thinks of repurposing, it’s usually household items turned into new storage or old clothes into cleaning rags. These are definitely the right steps to get into the repurpose mindset, but what about using scraps of cloth or cloth-based food packaging to make new garments? Enter 3 Women, a clothing brand based out of Long Beach, California. Created by Crystal Lee Early & Natalie Mumford, the brand focuses on vintage sourcing, upcycling, and making clothes out of vintage and unique textiles. You may have come across their magnificently tailored garments made from rice and flour sacks on Instagram.

MODEST had the chance to sit down with co-founder, Natalie, to hear the story behind 3 Women.

How did 3 Women come to be and when was the aha moment to upcycle food storage bags?

My business partner and I, Crystal, met at a flea market where we were both selling vintage clothing as a side business. We ended up sharing a booth at the market and then in 2018, Crystal heard about a space opening up in downtown Long Beach and asked me if I wanted to join her in creating a vintage shop there and thus, 3 Women was born.

Crystal’s family owned a frozen food business back in the 1950s called Dragon Foods (in Windsor, Ontario, Canada) and six months into our opening, we decided to make a few jackets with an heirloom rice bag from the business. We thought that was a cool thing and decided to find more vintage rice, flour, and feed sacks in addition to the vintage textiles we were selling.

Images from left to right: Crystal’s Family, 3 Women jacket made of Dragon Foods rice sack, Dragon Foods Factory

Since we’re both experienced in the vintage industry, sourcing was a natural process for us. Once we found vintage raw materials, we partnered with a local seamstress to make custom clothes.

Can you tell us more about the women behind the clothing?

Both Crystal and I have always bought secondhand. Maybe it was more out of necessity, but when we were younger we’d always go to thrift stores because it was in our nature not to buy new. Our company ethos and morals live and breathe this concept and through our brand we’ve found a way to push this value forward by making clothes out of discarded fabrics.

We both grew up in California, with Crystal going to school for French Literature and then working for the federal government.

I went to school for biology, but both Crystal and I ended up selling vintage on the side. I believe it was a dream for us both to leave those paths we were following and nurture our creative dreams instead. Meeting at the flea market and then having a store together, these opportunities started opening doors for us where we both had the chance to focus on our passions and creative sides. Even though there is a playful side to our work, it is still hard, but at the end of the day we both love what we do.

Can you tell me more about the seamstress you work with?

Our seamstress, Nina, is Vietnamese and manages a small team. When she immigrated to the US, she worked under a different seamstress who eventually sold her the business. They do all our custom work and their skills are really unmatched, it’s insane because they are artists in their own right. The work they produce is high couture-level tailoring which is a dying art. We bring them the craziest fabrics and they can literally turn any small piece into a beautiful and one-of-a-kind garment; they’re definitely an integral part of our business.

You said that growing up you were always interested in thrifting and buying secondhand. Is that something your family nurtured in you?

My earliest memories are my mom taking me to the thrift store to buy costumes. As a kid, I loved dressing up, and then eventually my friends and I started going thrifting because we couldn’t afford to buy new clothes. It was also a creative outlet because it takes some imagination to pick things out that speak to you. Crystal had the same experience, where thrifting was a financial necessity but out of that resourcefulness we’d find cool clothes that weren’t like anything that was being made in the mainstream. And naturally, when you accumulate a lot of it, you decide that maybe it’s time to sell some.

What would you say 3 Women’s core values and mission are?

We believe that community is everything. We’re in a beautiful, small space in Downtown Long Beach called the East Village Arts District. We are surrounded by a bunch of other women-owned businesses, small businesses, and just by having our shop we’ve been able to meet so many amazing people and young, creative entrepreneurs. We believe nurturing collaborations, connecting with your own community, and giving back are the most important things. And then of course, keeping our business sustainable, ethical, and local.

This can be a challenge, because we are trying to scale in a sustainable way. In the fast fashion industry, you can make things affordable for your customer but then it’s hard for that garment to be sustainable. You make things at a low cost but then sacrifice paying your sewists a fair wage. Our goal is to find different avenues to do things ourselves and lower the cost in that way rather than be unfair to the women who are helping put the clothes together.

One solution we found is to print our own designs on deadstock fabrics. You are limited by your resources and abundance isn’t necessary. We don’t have the means to mass produce and what we do make may be a small batch, but it is very well made. Our customers also know that what we make is something that is going to last them a lifetime and so they connect with our values and the clothes.

What is the curation and design process like? Where do you find the flour and rice sacks?

They’ve stopped making rice/flour products in cotton-cloth bags. It was phased out by the early 80s and now most bags are made of plastic. Yet, the vintage materials are out there and we source from flea markets, estate sales, thrift stores, garage sales, etc. Friends in the industry, vintage pickers, and even some of our customers help us out. The trend to use these materials was partly started by us and because they are now popular, even finding one bag can be a challenge. When we find the bags through our community, we call it a divine intervention, because they are so rare. We recently had someone from eBay gift us a box of vintage bags because they resonated with the mission of our brand. It really ties back into the value of community; everything comes full circle, you give back and you receive.

Part of your inspiration is rooted in the way people repurposed grain/feed bags during The Great Depression. Do you have any advice for how the everyday person can get started to upcycle or repurpose items from their everyday lives?

A good starting point would be to rework, repair, or mend what you own. Just because something has a tear or a stain does not mean you need to discard it. When we source vintage textiles, we often find they have stains or holes. We let those areas guide the design of the final piece instead of seeing them as barriers. One example is to sew the tears or add cool patches on stained parts. Another great step would be to find a good tailor. A tailor can help resize your clothes so they grow with you and is a great resource to have. You can learn some basic stitches yourself as well. Going to thrift stores, estate sales, or buying secondhand is another step you can take.

What is the design process like for making a custom piece, and what about people that can’t come to your physical store to do this?

Whether you visit our store or collaborate with us through Zoom, the entire process is guided by a customer’s personal inspirations and style. You’d first email us or visit the store and we’d get a better understanding of what you like. We recommend going through our archives on Instagram and sending screenshots of things that speak to you. Once we have that, Crystal will put together a collage of fabrics and we’d work back and forth with the customer to see what works. This process actually happens very seamlessly and then after getting your measurements, we send you an invoice and begin work on the piece. Our seamstress team is extremely skilled and we rarely have anyone send things back for alterations, but should you need them, the first round of alterations is free.

How have your personal stories/heritages made their way into these garments?

Crystal is half-Chinese and using the rice bags from her family’s business is a special connection for her. For me, I come from a family of quilters on my mom’s side. So, there is an appreciation for old textiles, collage, and family behind each piece we make. Some of the vintage garments we find are embroidered pieces that are over 100 years old and it’s awe-inspiring to think of all the work and time it took to make these pieces. The textiles themselves are our main inspiration and we hope that once we re-work them, they will last another 100+ years. That connection with clothing and the garment making process is what we aim to highlight with our brand.

Is there anything exciting or new coming up for 3 Women?

We just launched our Threefold Cord collection, which features our first printed designs. We wanted to have a wider size range and a lower price point in addition to the custom options we offer. For the collection we worked with a small factory in Los Angeles that pays fair wages and whose owners we know. Inspired by imagery on vintage rice/flour/feed sacks, we created our own designs and printed them on deadstock fabric. This was then cut up and sent to our seamstress team to create pullover, unisex garments.

Who is the third woman?

Other than Crystal and I, we like to say the third woman is all the women we collaborate with, such as our seamstress, customers, friends, etc. That collaborative and connective nature is what we want to represent by the third woman. We wouldn't be here without others pushing and encouraging us and for that we are so grateful.

AS A TESTAMENT TO THEIR CREATIVITY, 3 WOMEN BRING NEW LIFE OUT OF DEADSTOCK AND VINTAGE GARMENTS, ALL WHILE INVOLVING THEIR CUSTOMERS IN THE DESIGN PROCESS. WE’D LIKE TO THANK THEM FOR SHARING THEIR STORY WITH US AND IF YOU’D LIKE TO CHECK OUT THEIR WORK OR COLLABORATE ON A CUSTOM PIECE, VISIT THEIR SITE AT 3WOMENCO.COM

All images generously provided by 3 Women.

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