Student Innovator Spotlight: 5C student-founded outdoor clothing brand, for women by women

Rachel Ma (PO ‘26), a recent philosophy graduate from Pomona, dreamed up Tualmi to address the lack of inclusive outdoor clothing for women. Her idea was inspired by a conversation with a good friend during a backpacking trip in Yosemite, where they discussed how “the outdoors industry has historically been very exclusionary toward people of color and women.” Cheyenne Trujillo (HMC ‘27), an engineering major, heard Rachel’s pitch for Tualmi in a Harvey Mudd entrepreneurship class and asked to be a part of her company. The two have been working together ever since, with Cheyenne bringing her strengths to website management, analytics, and outreach, and Rachel leading design, marketing, and creative direction.

It began when Rachel noticed several pain points with her favorite hiking shorts: “They were originally created for men, and then after a couple of years they designed a style for women. I always felt like the thigh holes were way too small; I had to yank the fabric up when taking big steps. And the pockets were way too shallow, which is such a thing in all women’s clothes.” Clothing isn’t the only thing exclusionary about outdoor recreation. Rachel went on to explain that National Parks were segregated until the 1950s, which in turn made outdoor recreation culture centered around the non-inclusive, white male experience and “often caters to that rugged, hardcore, frontier-man ideal.” Outdoor brands followed suit, typically designing clothing with men in mind and women as an afterthought. It was through her 5C education, in a “practical, hands-on entrepreneurship class at Mudd and a more critical, values-driven classes at Pomona” that empowered Rachel to see how one can create a more inclusive culture for women in the outdoors.

Rachel and Cheyenne didn’t stop at merely identifying the need for feminine yet functional outdoor clothing for women– they built Tualmi, whose designs are informed and created by women for women. They iterated upon Rachel’s favorite hiking shorts, making the leg openings wider and larger, the pockets deeper, and using 100% recycled materials for all their clothing. Then Rachel tested the shorts with a friend who wore them on a 25-mile hike. “Getting actual feedback from friends and people in the outdoor community has been valuable,” Rachel noted, emphasizing the importance of testing in the design process.

Before Tualmi’s launch on July 31st, Rachel brought Tualmi to the Hive’s Print Lab where she screenprinted the Tualmi logo on boxes to prototype her packaging. She said, “Being able to access the screenprinting for free was a game changer as someone who’s building a small businessand trying to save money. The Hive always being here for creative entrepreneurs has been really helpful.” The Hive exists precisely for moments like this: when a student identifies a gap that an industry has not yet addressed, and just needs the tools and resources to bridge it.

Support Tualmi at www.tualmi.com and on their Instagram @tualmioutdoors.

written by Reese Rosebeck