MELODIE MILLER - Key Persons
Becky has worked in the outdoor industry since 1992. The first five years she was a Product Developer with REI in Seattle, and subsequently she has worked freelance as a Technical Designer & Developer.
"The MIRACLE started with the realization that I can turn ideas into products. The CHALLENGE is found in accurately realizing another's vision. The JOY of it comes when the end result is something I'm proud of and often want to own! The BONUS is that the people in my industry are sincerely interested in producing a product that allows us all to further immerse ourselves in the outdoors."
Movement... I have been involved in the fast track since day one. That's me, climbing towering trees, the fearless Girl Scout, pushing the envelope of speed in downhill ski racing, jamming elbows on the rugby fields of Western WA, or testing the waters with the Donzi. I've always been on the edge of movement...
That same edge is what makes me create and perform as a designer. All the elements of the fast track, the lines, succulent spectrums of vision and energy that is surrounding the moment to movement inside of my head. I love design because it is natural to me, as natural as the trees, mountains, even the quick Whip City, WOW! Now there's a side of me that gets the blood pumping to... Inspiration... I think in my next life I will choose to be a musician or test pilot, maybe a model, but in the life before me now, the grand design is at hand. The challenge of surrounding the world in hip wondrous beauty.
Outside of work, I'm schizophrenic. I like to find new things to do and tackle them, and then move on. I did a marathon this year, and have moved on to belly dancing, singing and weight lifting. I do have my standard activities like skiing, mountain biking, skating, and any type of dance, aerobic - spinning class. Partying is an essential - to keep the balance.
It's almost impossible not to get into this industry of protecting ourselves from the elements when you live in the Northwest and love it! My son should have popped out with rubber boots on. For me, it's the H2O, swimmer by blood, river rafter by heart. The people are what this business is all about. There are amazing diehards behind the designs, colors, fabrics, construction, and we pull it all together to form a product that individuals get to experience.
Continuity... It's a game I play. In the dawning of each New Year I select a word to reflect upon, and to apply to my life. The goal is to truly understand the word I've selected and why I chose it above all others... to see how it can enrich my life with new ideas or better understanding. It's how I operate. I have a passion for linguistics and languages. It's a basic need to perceive and experience the complexity and richness that is life, and then to look for the structure that ties it all together. Continuity... To become aware of the present, with an understanding of what came before; casting your decisions which determine the direction your future will take. Whether I apply this to work in better understanding a collection, or to a decision I make otherwise, there will always be a thread of continuity connecting one thought to another.