Spoonie Threads x Mila & Me

Tell us the story behind how you started your business Mila and Me?

Mila & Me is a small, Latina-owned, hand-dyed, loungewear brand with matching mommy & baby options. The idea for our brand was conceived during COVID-19 to brighten your day and bring you comfort and peace.

Our mission is to create unique loungewear that brings you comfort, color and joy. Each piece is hand dyed with love, bringing you effortless style. As we learn how to navigate our new normal, we will continue to partner with brands and businesses that share our values and desire to strengthen our communities. When I think about my brand and the values that I want it to uphold, they would be family, creativity, women empowerment, perseverance, resilience, confidence and community support.

My daughter, Mila, was the inspiration behind starting Mila & Me back in April of 2020. When she was 6-weeks old, she had to undergo surgery for a mass that had been growing in her abdomen since she was in-utero. She was incredibly strong and resilient. As a new mother, struggling with a healing newborn, the global pandemic was an instant reminder that we, individually, as a community and as a nation, would need that same determination and strength. I channeled my energy into creating custom tie dye pieces for family and friends, which turned into my creative outlet. My focus amplified when I realized it was a way for us to help bring happiness and comfort to people with my pieces. 

One of my goals at the beginning of the pandemic was to find a way to contribute towards the fight against COVID-19. My dad is a doctor in Austin, and learning from his medical perspective about the virus, drove me further to find a way to contribute. During the first few months of the pandemic, we were able to donate 10% of our profits to City Meals of New York to help feed hundreds of struggling elderly people of New York City.

I'm constantly looking for ways to elevate our loungewear and brand--- whether it's new styles, new colors, new events, new collaborations, etc.

I have connected with so many special women entrepreneurs since I started Mila & Me (and I hope to connect with so many more). Each one of them has inspired me and I try to be a "sponge" and much as I can be so I can grow this business, learning from their stories, their expertise, their craft.

What attracted you to work with Spoonie Threads and adaptive clothing and accessories?

There are many reasons as to why I was attracted to work with Spoonie Threads. Our values are very aligned, the passion and the mission behind Spoonie Threads were all reasons I was attracted to working together. The ability to make children's and mothers' lives better or make even the smallest difference in their lives, would be such an honor. I connected with Dr Sanchez right away and I fell in love with her story and her passion behind the brand. I knew working with her and her team, we would all be working towards the same common goal and it's been such a wonderful experience. 

I love the tie-dying process because there are endless possibilities to make pieces unique and it's constantly evolving with fashion trends. I've learned over the last two years about different kinds of fabrics, different dyes and different tie dying patterns and I'm constantly influenced by new trends, colors and patterns. When I work on new collections, collaborations or garments, I first think of the overall theme I want to work around. For example, it can be related to a season, life events, upcoming holidays or something to celebrate. Next, I start to work on the colorways around that theme, and then I develop the style in which I want to dye the pieces. Do I want them to be scrunch dyed, dip dyed, splatter dyed, swirl dyed, again the possibilities are endless. My goal is always to be able to provide customers with unique pieces that make you feel confident and proud to wear. 

Find the Spoonie Threads x Mila and Me collection here.

Visit Mila and Me on their website or find on Instagram.