Breaking the Mold in Marfa, Texas

In the middle of March, my husband Dave and I traveled to Marfa, Texas for a gathering of fellow entrepreneurs — and to check out the famous Prada store. On one of our last days in town, hours before dawn, we dragged ourselves out of bed and headed to the closest coffee shop to fuel up for our long day of travel ahead. Checking out at the register, a barista motioned to my bra strap (with pleated straps, of course) and said a few simple words: “You wear ThirdLove bras? They’re all I wear!”

The barista’s name was Becky, and she happened to be a ThirdLove customer. I ended up chatting with Becky and learning more about her life in Marfa, her experience raising two kids and how our bras support her throughout her busy life. From running a bread company out of her kitchen to raising two littles in a small, community-focused town, Becky is no stranger to breaking the mold in small (and huge) ways throughout her day.

Tell me about yourself and your family.

I’m 35 years old and I live in Marfa, Texas with my husband and two sons, Ranger Atlas (age 4) and Wyld Knox (age 2). My day job is being a stay at home mom, but I work in the coffee shop on the side, and my husband and I started a sourdough bread company, Bread Box Marfa, that we run out of our kitchen.

Tell us about Marfa. Why did you decide to start your family there?

As a family, we decided to move out into the middle of nowhere for our kids. As a woman and as a mom, my focus is always on my kids — I wanted them to grow up with a sense of community and culture, and there’s no better place to get those things that in a small town where everyone knows each other and still stops to say “hi”. Plus, I love how Marfa gets a ton of out-of-towners, like Heidi and Dave! It’s fascinating hearing where people are from and why they stopped by to visit.

It’s so random that you ran into Heidi and Dave coincidentally and happened to have a ThirdLove bra on. Why ThirdLove?

ThirdLove makes the first bras I can wear all day and not get headaches from. As a mom who’s running around chasing my kids all day or standing at work, it’s important for me to be comfortable, feel confident, and be supported.

Between being a mom, working and finding time for yourself, how do you balance it all?

Balance is something that just has to happen — I don’t get too stressed about making sure all areas of my life have an equal split. My husband works during the week, so on the weekends he wants 1:1 time with our kids, and I’ll take that time to have dinner with a friend or take time for myself. There’s no part of me that needs space from my kids or husband — I’m not dying to get away from them. You just learn to do everything you would normally do, but with kids around!

Tell us more about Bread Box Marfa.

In terms of the bread itself, we make sourdough bread that takes about 30 hours for each batch. We make it at home with all organic, natural ingredients. My husband and I think it’s really important to do things we’re passionate about while our kids are around so they can see that we’re doing what we love — it’s not about getting away from our kids, we want to do everything with them around. I want my kids to grow up knowing the can do whatever they want and to see their parents passionate about something that we put our whole soul into.

What inspires you?

The scenery in Marfa — it’s one of my favorite things about living here. It makes me realize there’s so much more out there than ourselves, which is really humbling in a way. Being outside and being in Marfa inspires me every day. And, of course, seeing my kids smile inspires me more than anything else can — that’s what I work towards every day, making them smile.

Who inspires you to #BreakTheMold?

My grandmother has always been my #BreakTheMold inspiration. She didn’t do one thing in particular, she just did everything to the fullest. Even when I was a teenager and went through my phase of wanting to do everything differently, she was still my greatest inspiration and I hold onto every memory I had with her. I’ve realized over time that I’m a lot like her and the things she wanted for her life are now the things I care the most about, too. She was extremely artistic, talented and loved creating things — she could do it all. She did things that women have done for ages, but she put her all into it, breaking the mold and doing them her own way. That inspires me.

Where do you hope you and your family are in five years?

In Marfa! Our goal is to stay here, raise our kids, and eventually get our own kitchen and store to sell our bread out of.

Finish the sentence: I #BreakTheMold By ____.

I #BreakTheMold by embracing the responsibility of teaching my children how to be true to themselves, and bring up respectful men who see no lines drawn, no boundaries between race, gender, social classes, or religious beliefs.

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Do you know someone who Breaks the Mold? Email us their story to breakthemold@thirdlove.com.