MK Coastal- Setting Sail
We are big fans of MK Coastal. We met one of the co-owners, Megan Pesce at The Design Bloggers Conference in LA.
MK Coastal (like most businesses) was started with a bright idea and a drawing on a napkin after a family get together. Cousins Megan Pesce and Kelly Brown decided to transform their family's love of sailing into a family business.
We asked the MK ladies to share some details about their booming company with us.
K&K: How did you get the idea to create these amazing items from sails?
MK: Kelly's family was given an enormous 800 pound sail while Megan happened to be visiting her in Maine. With Kelly's background in sailing and Megan's in interior design we thought about the possibilities of what we could create together and MK Coastal was born. We wanted to do something beyond the ever popular sail cloth bags and came up with a few home decor items that we thought would fill a niche in the coastal home decor market. It was also important to us to to be environmentally conscious and use all reclaimed sailcloth. Way too many sailors have unused sails sitting in their garages or barns rotting away, and that's where we came up with "The Story of the Sail", which is such a fun way to own a piece of sailing history and really know where that sail was used! How many antiques have you seen and wondered where they've been?
K&K: What has been the biggest reward? What has been the biggest challenge?
MK: The biggest reward is seeing our vision come to life through the amazing seamstresses and craftsman we work with everyday! It's so nice to hear people's feedback, since a large majority of our business up until this point has been custom orders. They love our products and our story! There are many challenges we face as business owners, one of them being the time it takes to get from idea to prototype to market. Once we have decided to create and sell something, we want it to be done...like...yesterday! We've had to practice patience much too often.
K&K: What are a couple of interesting custom items you've made?
MK: We love custom projects! I love finding antiques to repurpose and finding creative ways to add sailcloth to everyday home decor. We made an outdoor sign for a small art gallery as well a custom burgee flag for a birthday gift, but I think my favorite idea so far was the set of placemats that spelled out a family name in nautical letters! It was such a fun and creative project and they really loved it.
K&K: Has a "celebrity" purchased one of your products yet?
MK: Well, one of our pillows is a celebrity of sorts! It's featured in the boathouse set of cbs's NCIS: Los Angeles. But, our new tray was a must have for HGTV's Cari Cucksey, when she recently purchased a walnut tray for her pool house.
As you can tell, these are some pretty inspiring ladies who have created some must-have products! We love how great this set of sail placemats fit into our United Methodist Children's Home room last spring!
Take a trip over to MK Coastal's website to check out the rest of their unique collection of goods. Also click over to their blog to keep up with their latest news and inspirations.
