Good Life SECTION B
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THE DAILY HERALD
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WWW.HERALDNET.COM/LIVING
TUESDAY, 11.25.2014
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Size matters at this shop Six8 Clothing Co. in Snohomish offers casual duds for the big and tall
DR. ELIZABETH SMOOTS
Prenatal info: What to do when caring for 2
P
regnancy is an important time for both mother and baby. The prenatal treatment you receive can determine your health during pregnancy and the infant’s after delivery. So take good care of yourself — after all, you’re caring for two. Here are suggestions for a healthier and more pleasant nine months: Get prenatal care. See your health care provider as soon as you suspect you’re pregnant. And keep all your prenatal appointments; studies have shown regular prenatal care is essential for the health of both mother and infant. Eat a nutritious diet. Drink plenty of fluids and eat foods high in protein and fiber such as whole grains, vegetables and beans. The usual goal for weight gain is about 25 to 35 pounds. Also consult with your provider about taking a prenatal vitamin that contains folic acid, calcium and iron. Minimize nausea. Eat frequent, small meals and avoid spicy or fatty foods. Nibbling on crackers may also help calm your stomach. So can taking your prenatal vitamin with a meal. Avoid toxins. Don’t smoke, drink or use illegal drugs. And avoid exposing the fetus to chemicals such as pesticides or products that contain lead, mercury or solvents. Also, check with your provider before taking any prescription or over-the-counter drugs or dietary supplements. Get adequate exercise. It will improve your health during pregnancy, prevent excess weight gain, and speed recovery after delivery. Walking, swimming, stationary cycling and prenatal stretching and strengthening exercises are generally safe, but first get your provider’s OK. Dress in layers. Staying cool may lessen nausea and fatigue. Avoid hot tubs, saunas and steam rooms since overheating can harm the baby’s newly developing nervous system. Reduce joint pain. For backache, wear flat shoes, practice good posture, and avoid standing or sitting for long periods. See SMOOTS, Page B4
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WHAT’S UP WITH THAT
DAN BATES / THE HERALD
A bedroom closet in Mark Brandsma’s home contains some serious big and tall clothing stock.
By Mina Williams
On the Net
Special to The Herald
SNOHOMISH — When Mark Brandsma wanted to start a small business, he thought big. His Six8 Clothing Co. specializes in casual clothing for men in the 6-foot to 7-foot range. Brandsma’s company, dubbed for his own height, offers 189 individual styles and colors of shirts and jeans. From polo shirts and T-shirts to three styles of jeans, the line continues to grow. A collection of flannel shirts were introduced in October. Casual slacks are now in the design phase. While specializing in niche markets has been a marketing dream for many small businesses, success stems from a firm foundation of expertise, passion and flawless execution, according to Brandsma. The 54-year-old’s passion for fashion was sparked as he grew up in his native Netherlands. His father worked for C&A, an international Dutch chain of fashion retail clothing stores, in the men’s department for 37 years. When Brandsma was old enough, he joined the company working the floor at his father’s side. As he grew, he was frustrated to see all the fashion options offered at retail that he couldn’t fit into.
www.six8clothingcompany.com. As he continued to grow, Brandsma decided to move to the United States. “I was a basketball player born in a soccer country,” he said. “I kept looking for avenues that would take me to the United States to play.” That opportunity came to Bandsma in his early 20s. But it came in the form of cute American girl visiting her mother’s family in the Netherlands. Now married 33 years, the couple met while out on the town with friends. Brandsma moved to Texas with her and was a walk-on to a Division 1 team, the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg near the Texas-Mexico border. When it became clear he was not professional basketball material, his summer job at the fast food chain Whataburger became a 10-year stint with the company. Over that time he moved up the ranks into regional management. “The restaurant business is hard work, long hours and I was gone from home a lot,” said Brandsma. He reached out to his father
for connections that would lead him back into the fashion business. His C&A past put him in a prime position to join their Miller’s Outpost clothing store group. Following years in the Southern California market, he was moved to the Northwest in late 1997 to open 20 stores in 24 months. He settled his family in Snohomish because of the country lifestyle. When C&A sold the chain to a venture capital firm, Brandsma was a casualty of corporate restructuring. He found another position with Family Christian Stores as the Northwest district manager, opening new stores in the same shopping centers as he had with Miller’s Outpost. After eight years, another corporate repositioning put Brandsma’s name on the layoff list. He then set out on his own. “I had some savings and funds from severance packages,” he said. “When I explored various areas I took stock in what I know and where my passion was. I do love clothing and I do know tall.” Being in the height range of his customers, Brandsma is well poised to be the line’s lead designer. “You cannot simply add length and call it ‘tall’,” he said. “We have bigger hands which means shirt buttons and zipper pulls have to be bigger,
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ANDREA BROWN / THE HERALD
Have a pizza emergency? Let the Cactus Jack’s Pizza pizza medic take care of you. They’ll even turn on the lights.
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See BIG, Page B4
Solving pizza crises one pie at a time
BY ANDREA BROWN
More: www.heraldnet.com/whatsup. Ideas? To abrown@heraldnet.com.
INSIDE: Comics, 2
front pants pockets need to be 11-inches deep and there needs to be 63⁄4-inch back pocket openings. Little things mean a lot to big guys.” Those designs are turned over to a local pattern maker who supplies the patterns for production at a Tukwila-based manufacturer. Brandsma likes having a factory so close to home to reduce shipping costs. Plus it makes checking on the garment quality easy. The business lessons Brandsma has learned are too numerous to count, he said. “In hindsight I should have started with a women’s line. I would have been further along,” he said. “Women shop better and more frequently for clothes than men. Now seven out of 10 of Six8’s shoppers are women who experience the fit frustration of their sons and husbands.” Making the decision to use online marketing was not that difficult. Brandsma believes that tall customers, who cannot find their size in stores, are already online seeking for clothing solutions. His notion about online is underscored by a National Retail Federation overview pegging a full 50 percent more tall men buying clothing online
t starts out as a quiet evening, snug on the sofa watching a movie. Suddenly, lights flash through the blinds. A siren blares. You see an ambulance in the driveway of the house next door. Oh, no! The driver jumps out, opens the side door and pulls out ... a pizza? What’s up with that? Why, it’s the delivery car for Cactus Jack’s Pizza. The 1996 Ford diesel ambulance was part of the inventory when John Condyles took over ownership of the pizzeria at 12926 Mukilteo Speedway. When not in use, it’s parked by the busy thoroughfare to draw attention to the eatery in the Alberstons complex just over the Lynnwood border. In daylight, there’s no mistaking the ambulance for a real emergency vehicle. It’s painted bright yellow and orange with a cartoon jackrabbit and cactus. It reads: “Serving your emergency pizza needs.”
Carolyn Hax, 2
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Dear Abby, 3
The inside has a few modifications to meet the needs of a pizza medic. “The part where the slab was where they put the patients is taken out,” Condyles said. “That’s where the warmer is. It warms 60 pizzas.” It gets about 12 miles a gallon. “I use it to make bigger deliveries,” he said. The other delivery vehicle is a Camry. The lights and sirens are the real shrieking thing, but the pizza ambulance doesn’t go screaming down the Speedway all lit up. The Code 3 treatment is by request only, typically by schools, parties, businesses and to give the neighbors a jolt on an otherwise mundane night. “When I pull up, I give a little siren. It is really loud,” Condyles said. “The kids really like it. They think it’s fun.” He’s used the ambulance to deliver pizza to fire departments. No, they don’t compare bells and whistles. “They got the big new ones,” he said.
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Short Takes, 4