Heritage Hallway at Pendleton Woolen Mills

Pendleton Woolen Mills logo. Courtesy Pendleton Woolen Mills.

Pendleton Woolen Mills (PWM) is an iconic American apparel brand headquartered in Portland, Oregon. With roots going back to 1863, the company remains a privately held, fifth-generation family-owned business.  Today, the company owns and operates 5 facilities, manages 75 retail and outlet stores, and offers online catalogs.

The PWM Archives was established in 1989 in consultation with The Winthrop Group as a private corporate archive. With over 30 years of formal collecting activities, the PWM Archives includes documentation of key product lines and significant business functions. Serving as a vital research hub, the PWM Archives provides inspiration for design and collaborations with other brands, and storytelling content to reinforce company values and connect with customers and other communities.

Heritage Hallway featuring a series of milestones. Image courtesy Ryan Anthony Donaldson.

A recent reimagining of PWM’s Heritage Hallway at its corporate offices in Portland provided an opportunity to vividly exhibit these key themes. Organized and updated by PWM Staff, the display includes a timeline with company milestones. The milestones are complemented with photos of family members and executive leadership, important factory sites, and events such as the Pendleton Round-Up; original sketch drawings and reproductions of advertisements; and PWM products featured in pop culture, from Beach Boys vinyl records to The Big Lebowski.

Heritage Hallway featuring a series of milestones. Image courtesy Ryan Anthony Donaldson.

PWM’s production process is also explained, which includes an interactive area to touch wool samples, and a history of PWM’s trade blankets, with a variety of examples from the PWM collections. In addition, there is a “Community and Connection” area that communicates customer stories, and PWM’s partnerships with the American Indian College Fund, Fisher House Foundation, Native American Rehabilitation Association, and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, among others.

View of the “Community and Connection” section. Image courtesy Richard S. Hobbs.

The Heritage Hallway furthers one of the core objectives of the PWM Archives in raising the visibility of heritage assets and demonstrating the enduring value that the collections have for the business, family, customers, and larger community.

This article originally appeared in the Business Archives Quarterly Vol. 2, No. 1.

Leveraging Business Archives - Seattle Area Archivists Meeting

On February 21st an audience of nearly 50 gathered in the Economy Building at Pike Place Market on the Seattle waterfront to attend the Seattle Area Archivists Quarterly Meeting, “Leveraging Business Archives.”  Hosted by Seattle Folio, an independent member-supported library. the program began with welcoming remarks from Caroline Cumming, Folio’s Executive Director. Caroline outlined Folio’s programs, which include author readings, live music, and other public events, and introduced the speakers.

Caroline Cumming, Executive Director of Seattle Folio.

Following this, Ryan Anthony Donaldson, Senior Consultant at The Winthrop Group, provided a company overview, including Winthrop Founding Director Linda Edgerly’s work in the Pacific Northwest initiating the Weyerhaeuser Archives, among other client work. Ryan also discussed the variety of businesses that utilize archives and heritage programs to satisfy company goals and objectives, including consumer products, apparel and fashion (Levi Strauss & Co., PVH, Carhartt), healthcare (Virginia Mason), finance, food and beverage, and the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. To ensure success, business archivists need to foresee opportunities, creatively leverage heritage assets, build connections throughout an organization, engage communities, and determine how the archives can drive brand messages and express company values.

Richard S. Hobbs, Winthrop’s Senior Consulting Archivist & Historian.

Richard S. Hobbs, Winthrop’s Senior Consulting Archivist & Historian, underscored these insights and provided two brief case studies of business clients that have established private archives, including Laird Norton and Pendleton Woolen Mills. With seven generations of family leadership, Laird Norton began in forest products, and now is involved in real estate, private equity, and venture capital. Laird Norton’s archives program began officially in 1983, and includes books, documents, photographs, and audio-visual recordings. Richard contributes to publications and online content, conducts oral history interviews, and assists senior leadership with presentations and conferences, most notably for the annual Family Summit.  

Founded in 1909 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Pendleton Woolen Mills has six generations of family ownership. Winthrop helped establish the company’s archives in 1989. Archival assets are utilized for design inspiration, storytelling, and product partnerships with other companies and brands, such as Disney and Lucasfilm. Richard described further how these two corporate archives programs are closely aligned with an evolving identity spanning over a century, and the importance of adapting accordingly. 

Amy Stevenson, Archives Manager at Microsoft.

Amy Stevenson, Archives Manager at Microsoft, provided an engaging overview of the Microsoft Archives. Microsoft’s origins date back to 1975, and an archive was set up just over a decade later in 1986. Amy outlined the collections, which include computer hardware, artifacts, and digital content, such as Sharepoint sites and videos. The Microsoft Archives serves internal, external, and partner audiences. Serving this wide range of communities requires optimum reactivity, and Amy noted that the “heritage moment” can happen at any time. Therefore, a mix of foresight, preparedness, and flexibility is required to achieve maximum impact. Amy discussed some key initiatives, including supporting the Design Lounge at Build 2016, the Windows 95 Reunion in 2015, the Alumni and Employee Campus Commemoration in 2018, and the design of a new lobby in Microsoft’s Shanghai Office that includes heritage assets. 

The PowerPoint presentation deck can be viewed with the following link: http://bit.ly/leveragingbusinessarchives 

Thank you to Seattle Folio, Seattle Area Archivists, all the presenters, and everyone who could attend. 

Photographs courtesy Philippe Cloutier, Ryan Anthony Donaldson, and Richard S. Hobbs. 

ICA-SBA 2019: “Business Archives & the Next Gold Rush” Recap

This article first appeared in the Society of American Archivists Business Archives Section Quarterly (BASQ) Vol. 1 No. 4.

Attendees introduce themselves during the opening of the conference.

Over 100 participants from across the globe gathered in San Francisco, California, at the annual conference for the International Council on Archives (ICA) Section on Business Archives (SBA). The two-day program took place at the world headquarters of Levi Strauss & Co. with 36 presenters and over 120 people viewing the live webcast from Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Norway, UK, and the USA.

The first day included a keynote speech “Designing to Zero” delivered by Paul Dillinger, Levi Strauss & Co. Head of Global Product Innovation. Paul discussed how, in the span of 130 years, the garment form has not changed that much, emphasizing the consistency of Levi products. He discussed how the company purchases vintage Levi’s in the secondary market, then repairs them for resale, in opposition to “fast fashion” trends. Paul left the conference attendees feeling inspired, sharing Levi’s initiatives to measure the sustainable aspects of jean production in efforts to cut down on water usage and conserve natural resources, including the use of hemp as an alternative to cotton.

The first session, “Future Trends: New Models in Technology Business Archives,” focused on strategies and approaches archivists take to document company heritage in the technology sector, an industry primarily concerned with moving ahead and the future. Among the panelists were: Paula Jabloner and Stephanie Waslohn (Center for Cisco Heritage @ the Computer History Museum), Pennington Ahlstrand (Computer History Museum), and Michele Winn, (Archives Consultant & Project Manager).

The second session, “Gold Standards: Engaging Your Community,” looked to three examples of organizational archives, from performing arts to the food & beverage industries. In each example, creative methods to engage with a range of communities were implemented, from commemorating milestones to creating a hybrid archives storage/event space to implementing a mobile exhibit to engage staff and customers. The panelists included: Barbara Rominski (San Francisco Opera), Demelza van der Maas (Heineken Heritage Collection), and Martha Lawrence (Chick-fil-A, Inc.).

Tracey Panek introduces the panel for the third session.

The third session was an operational excellence activity with a panel that included Linda Edgerly (The Winthrop Group), Sarah Polirer (Cigna), and Tim Schantz (History Factory). After the panel took some time to define and characterize operational excellence, participants organized into groups to discuss methods for compiling milestones, organizational timelines, and tracking metrics, such as reference requests. The importance of aligning with senior leadership was highlighted, along with understanding your internal and external audiences. 

The fourth session, “Harnessing New Technology,” featured speakers representing the financial, automotive, and pharmaceutical industries that dovetailed with the prior group activity. Discussion topics included the importance of considering a range of factors prior to onboarding a new technology, as well as collecting data for measurement and evaluation that can be utilized graphically, which can be very helpful in justifying and building upon the technology investment. Additional considerations included how to harness your company’s corporate heritage site to become sources in Wikipedia, providing more accuracy and control in communicating your brand’s history. Speakers included Anne Hall (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco), Cat Saleeby McDowell (GSK Heritage), and Fred Jakobs (BMW AG).

The fifth and final session of day 1, “Gold Standards: Positioning Your Archives,” was set up as a discussion moderated by Anders Sjöman (Centre for Business History) and provided practical advice on how to make a positive and memorable impact within your institution. Among the takeaways were the importance of building a strong reputation within the company, managing expectations, gaining quick wins, aiming for organization-wide impact, and creatively searching throughout the org chart for collaborators, including the custodial staff. The panelists were Lovisa Severin Kragerud (The Absolut Company – Pernod Ricard), Paul Lasewicz, (McKinsey & Company), and Ted Ryan (Ford Motor Company).

Conference attendees at an exclusive tour of the exhibition space at the Society of California Pioneers in the San Francisco Presidio.

After the sessions ended, conference attendees were treated to an evening at the Society of California Pioneers in the San Francisco Presidio, providing an opportunity to hear from Society staff and have an exclusive look at the exhibit Her Side of the Story. 

Jamie Martin introduces keynote speaker Sandeep Gopisetty.

Day two of the conference opened with a keynote on the future of computing by Sandeep Gopisetty, Director of Enterprise AI, Systems & Solutions Research, and an IBM Research Distinguished Engineer, IBM Research – Almaden. Sandeep provided an illuminating history of artificial intelligence (AI), including IBM milestones such as the development of an AI system to play checkers in 1959. He emphasized how specialized AI can translate languages, transcribe speech, and provide visual recognition. Sandeep ended the keynote by suggesting some possibilities to engage with the hybrid cloud to support the work of archivists.

After the keynote, the sixth session, “Leveraging Data in Entertainment Archives,” discussed how archivists establish and optimize digital asset management systems in the context of film, television, and video game production. From extracting data to be cleaned up to migrating to a new DAM system, the panelists discussed some of the challenges and opportunities inherent to these activities, along with providing access to the content. Moderated by Sharon Dovas (Pixar Animation Studios), the panelists included Lauren Gaylord (Pixar Animation Studios), Tim Mapp, (Lucasfilm), Sharon Mizota (Walt Disney Animation Research Library), and Nikki Nguyen (Walt Disney Archives).

Aubrey Carrier from the Wells Fargo Corporate Archives describes the evolution of the company’s oral history program, which includes employees and customers.

As the title suggests, the seventh session, “Mix It Up,” incorporated a range of topics, covering oral history, heritage branding, audio-visual digitization, expediting processing methods and more. Among the panelists were Aubrey Carrier (Wells Fargo Corporate Archives), Carol Quinn (Irish Distillers – Pernod Ricard), Emily Cottle (Vanguard), Kiara King (The Ballast Trust), Paul Grippaldi (Digital Revolution), and Scott Grimwood (SSM Health).

As a way to look ahead, the eighth session, “The Future Trends in Business Archives Panel Discussion,” included forecasts of what to anticipate, from AI to shifts in gatekeepers and custodians of digital content. In all cases, comparing resources to your organization’s capabilities and roadmap is critical. Panelists included Franziska Eggimann (Georg Fischer Ltd and Iron Library Foundation), Glynn Edwards (Stanford University Libraries, Special Collections & Archives, ePADD), and Ryan Donegan (Heritage Werks).

The final session, “Gold Standards: Demonstrating Your Relevance,” examined three case studies on how corporate archives can become embedded within a company, from embarking on new programs such as an annual lecture series, collaborations with artists-in-residence, to capitalizing on relocating the archives for enhanced presence and creating pop-up and traveling exhibits. This session included Natalie Lorenz, (Swarovski), Vrunda Pathare (Godrej Archives), and Erin Narloch (Reebok Brand Archive).

Wrapping up the conference, attendees were invited to tour Wells Fargo’s flagship Museum and archives. The museum included exhibits and interactives that told the story of the company from the Gold Rush beginnings to Silicon Valley today, prominently featuring artifacts and reproductions from Wells Fargo’s archives.

Conference attendees enjoy a tour of the Wells Fargo Museum, as well as a visit to the Wells Fargo’s archives led by their corporate archives team.

If you were unable to join the conference, or if you attended and would like to review, full video of the conference proceedings is available at: https://levis.brand.live/business-archives-2019. Thank you to the conference planning committee, especially Tracey Panek, the event sponsors, and all the volunteers who organized an insightful, efficiently executed, and essential conference for the international business archives community.

All photographs courtesy Ryan Anthony Donaldson.

Archives at the Mall: Northgate Edition

Acting upon a tip received that Northgate had some old photos displayed, I ventured to the mall a few weeks ago. It has been quite some time for me. In the 1990s, I nostalgically recall stopping by Mr. Rags for new clothes, checking out the video game arcade, and of course getting a drink at Orange Julius. With many storefronts currently closed, and the nearby light rail station to open in 2021, the site will be transformed and repositioned, including the NHL Ice Centre, serving as a practice facility for NHL Seattle and providing the community with a new skating rink.

In visiting the Simon Management Office, I was delighted to see over 10 large-scale framed collages that vividly capture the mall’s past. Photographs, news clippings, renderings, brochures, and other items illustrate the opening ceremonies from 1950, and important events & milestones over the years. For instance, did you know that the mall once hosted an 80 foot ski slope? Or hosted square dances, concerts, and fashion shows?

As the mall is reimagined into a multi-use facility with a radically redesigned retail footprint, I’m grateful for the Northgate Archives to provide a unique historical context. From looking at the displays, I am able to see how, 70 years ago, Northgate became an instant landmark as the first regional shopping center to be identified as a mall, a magnet of activity for shoppers, and a place for locals to spend time and share memories. I’m looking forward to seeing the next chapter, and connecting to the stories of the past!

Seattle Style: Fashion/Function

Friday night ushered in the members preview for the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) “Seattle Style:Fashion/Function” exhibition - a highly-anticipated event that included remarks from Executive Director Leonard Garfield, Curator Clara Berg, and Eddie Bauer Brand Historian Colin Berg. Utilizing user-centered design principles, the MOHAI team reached out to a wide array of local collaborators to provide context for impressions & expressions of the “Seattle style” - strongly recommended!