Pillow Talk
A Denver native saves designer fabrics from the landfill to create one-of-a-kind custom pillows
Photos by Robert Kittila
BACKSTORY: Denver native Molly Reinhardt has been collecting other people’s throwaway objects for as long as she can remember. “I’ve been a dumpster diver my whole life,” she says proudly. “What started out as a way to save money became my obsession.” She shopped at thrift stores and Goodwill for decades, simply because she loves recycled objects. “I couldn’t believe people were throwing away such good stuff. It became such fun to repurpose.”
Even when her career took her to the Materials Marketing and Waterworks showrooms in Denver’s high-end Design District, she was still a reclaimed poster girl. “I was working at these luxury showrooms, but my outfit would cost $11,” she says with a hearty laugh.
BRIGHT IDEA: Reinhardt was helping a colleague move homes in 2019, and the friend asked her to take three boxes of designer fabric samples back to a showroom in the Denver Design District. The business didn’t want them back because the pieces were dated and discontinued, so Reinhardt took them to her good friend, an expert seamstress, and together they made 16 pillows. So was born MC Pillows, a collaborative effort they founded together.
They’ve since gone their separate ways, but Reinhardt continues to collect fabric samples from a variety of companies, including Kravet, Kneedler-Fauchère, and others, saving beautiful remnants from the dumpster and repurposing them into custom designer pillows (indoor and outdoor), bench cushions, drapes.… “It’s all being upcycled by the showrooms, and I love that it’s not being wasted,” she says.
EVERYBODY WINS: Design stores now have a place to go with their extras, while interior designers have a new place to shop for pillows and other soft furnishings far below retail prices. Reinhardt’s pillows range from $55 to $105, with alldown inserts included.
VISIT: Studio M is open to the trade only, but designers can send their clients in to pick out fabrics and design custom pillows. 1111 South Huron, Suite X, Denver. Open Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 720- 648-2061, @studiomdenver1
