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About Molly

ABOUT MOLLY WEST

Molly is a first generation Oregonian, whose father immigrated to Portland after intense persecution and discrimination in the Land of Oz. Her passion in design stemmed from working at a family-run bike repair shop in Portland, West’s Cycles. Because the West family suffers from a rare water allergy, Molly began creating waterproof clothing out of recycled bike tubes at the age of 14, to help her younger brothers live a normal life in the damp winters.
 
In 2007, Molly began selling her recycled bike tube gear out of a back room in West's Cycles. Now, instead of changing flat tires, she designs cutting-edge raincoats and waterproof accessories for hip Portlandians who don’t want to compromise fashion during the long, rainy winters. With an eye for extravagance and a practical inability to sacrifice function, Molly has experienced unexpected success in the couture fashion world. She is expanding West Designs to include an avant garde collection, and will be opening up Ozington Fashion in the Pearl District in 2016.

Always seeking to make a difference, Molly has recently partnered with the SPCA to start a non-profit program called And Your Little Dog, Too. If you visit Portland’s Slabtown, you might see her biking down Vaughn Street, taking puppies to visit hospital-bound children. Molly is a bit of a local celebrity, but even with her wild success, she still finds time to help the family out at West's Cycles.

 

FAMILY HISTORY

Through most of the 20th century, the Land of Oz was controlled by the tyrant Glinda North and fractured between rebel forces: Ozmies, Munchkins, Winkies, Gillikins and Quadlings. It is widely known that Elphaba Theodora West was one of the most outspoken animal and human rights activists in the Land. She first defied Glinda by freeing an enslaved army of flying monkeys. Shortly thereafter, her sister was killed by a brainwashed Kansas simpleton, and an Oz-wide witch-hunt began against the Wests. When a rogue hot air balloon passed near the West estate in 1965, Elphaba covertly helped her only grandson, Reginald West, embark to find another Land. Although scared and out of place, Reginald was an industrious young man and quickly paved his way in the foreign city he found himself in. Having learned to fix flying bicycles at a young age, it didn't take long for him to adjust to different gravitational rules and establish a small but successful repair shop in Slabtown. Not long after, he fell in love with a bright-eyed dog groomer who worked in the pet store across the street, and together they raised three children. Molly and her two younger brothers were raised on Reginald's stories of the faraway land from whence he came, and hope to one day reunite with their long-lost cousins. Although communication with Oz is difficult, rumor has it that a certain Emma Gale has started up a hot air balloon company in Topeka, Kansas. Perhaps a West family reunion isn't so far-fetched after all.

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