A love letter to
patagonia
Hey Levon,
I’m Mohamed Thiam. I run Hellomomo, a design and storytelling studio that blends empathy with strategy. I treat every campaigns like an act of hospitality that helps people feel seen, valued, and compelled to act in ways that strengthens both the brand and their community.
I’d love to do some work with you. A collaboration with Patagonia is at the very top of my professional bucket list. As a fellow Canadian, lover of nature, and relentless empath, I see many of our values align.
If you’d humor me for a few minutes, I put together a few thoughts about what that might look like in a way that can be a win-win for both of us.
Hey Levon,
I’m Mohamed Thiam. I run Hellomomo, a design and storytelling studio that blends empathy with strategy. I treat every campaigns like an act of hospitality that helps people feel seen, valued, and compelled to act in ways that strengthens both the brand and their community.
I’d love to do some work with you. A collaboration with Patagonia is at the very top of my professional bucket list. As a fellow Canadian, lover of nature, and relentless empath, I see many of our values align.
If you’d humor me for a few minutes, I put together a few thoughts about what that might look like in a way that can be a win-win for both of us.
Hey Levon,
I’m Mohamed Thiam. I run Hellomomo, a design and storytelling studio that blends empathy with strategy. I treat every campaigns like an act of hospitality that helps people feel seen, valued, and compelled to act in ways that strengthens both the brand and their community.
I’d love to do some work with you. A collaboration with Patagonia is at the very top of my professional bucket list. As a fellow Canadian, lover of nature, and relentless empath, I see many of our values align.
If you’d humor me for a few minutes, I put together a few thoughts about what that might look like in a way that can be a win-win for both of us.
At the Design Leadership Summit in January, you called out a critical blind spot in our industry that resonated with me: a focus on value over values.
You also named Patagonia’s core challenge: growing without sacrificing its soul, guided by unrelenting empathy and design for both people and planet.
At the Design Leadership Summit in January, you called out a critical blind spot in our industry that resonated with me: a focus on value over values.
You also named Patagonia’s core challenge: growing without sacrificing its soul, guided by unrelenting empathy and design for both people and planet.
At the Design Leadership Summit in January, you called out a critical blind spot in our industry that resonated with me: a focus on value over values.
You also named Patagonia’s core challenge: growing without sacrificing its soul, guided by unrelenting empathy and design for both people and planet.
"Re-framing our influence as design leaders through ethics, values, and experiences gives us the opportunity to create positive impact."
"Re-framing our influence as design leaders through ethics, values, and experiences gives us the opportunity to create positive impact."
"Re-framing our influence as design leaders through ethics, values, and experiences gives us the opportunity to create positive impact."
— Levon Sharrow
— Levon Sharrow
I want to share with you "Warm Welcome," a campaign idea I think fits well with the Worn Wear program.
At the Design Leadership Summit in January, you called out a critical blind spot in our industry that resonated with me: a focus on value over values.
You also named Patagonia’s core challenge: growing without sacrificing its soul, guided by unrelenting empathy and design for both people and planet.
My late design mentor Thomas and I met every Wednesday afternoon at Paltoquet (Montréal) for fresh croissants and hot chocolate. On a cold January day, as I was getting ready to leave, he asked me to take my heavy coat off and try his on. I was skeptical.
My first experience with Patagonia was with my late design mentor.
Thomas and I met on Wednesday afternoons at Paltoquet (Montréal) for fresh croissants and hot chocolate. On a cold January day, as I was getting ready to leave, he asked me to take my heavy coat off and try his on. I was skeptical.
That single layer ended a cycle of coat purchases that never lasted the season and carried me through skating on frozen lakes, sub-zero hikes, and my first snowman with my son.
It was my first Patagonia story.
Thomas "Señor Pescado" Fisher
Thomas "Señor Pescado" Fisher
That single layer ended a cycle of coat purchases that never lasted the season. This was my first Patagonia story, and it carried me through many years of skating on frozen lakes, sub-zero hikes, and my first snowman with my son.
That single layer ended a cycle of coat purchases that never lasted the season. This was my first Patagonia story, and it carried me through many years of skating on frozen lakes, sub-zero hikes, and my first snowman with my son.
That single layer ended a cycle of coat purchases that never lasted the season. This was my first Patagonia story, and it carried me through many years of skating on frozen lakes, sub-zero hikes, and my first snowman with my son.
New year horse riding ritual
New year horse riding ritual
Opening presents on Christmas day
Opening presents on Christmas day
In 2024, Canada admitted 2.09 million newcomers, 483,591 of them were new permanent residents.
The 2025 intake is expected to again surpass 2 million, with a target of 415,000–427,000 permanent residents.
I want to share with you "Warm Welcome," an early campaign idea I have for Patagonia, I’d love to explore with you.
Each year, over 180,000 newcomers arrive in Canada from warm regions without winter climate. In Europe, about 2 million new legal immigrant settle in countries with harsh, snowy winters, annually.
If even 2% of them begin that journey with Patagonia, it creates a meaningful revenue stream and a chance to extend your mission and offer a sustainable, warm welcome, while teaching environmental stewardship in a way that’s personal.
Patagonia can own that moment.
“Warm Welcome” can be a multilingual initiative that turns a newcomer’s first breath of winter into their first Patagonia story, through Worn Wear, repair, fit checks, and local welcome days.
Across the Atlantic, the European Union welcomed 3.7 million arrivals from non-EU citizens, in 2023.
If even 2% of them begin that journey with Patagonia, that would translate into roughly 9,700 new customers in Canada. If each purchased either a down sweater hoody or a micro puff jacket, Patagonia’s best-selling item priced at USD 300, that alone would generate about USD 2.9 million in revenue.
Across Europe, 74,000 newcomers making that same first purchase would yield an additional USD 22.2 million in revenue.
This is a meaningful opportunity to extend Patagonia’s mission while offering newcomers a sustainable, warm welcome to their new climates, in a way that is personal.
Patagonia should own that moment.
“Warm Welcome” is a multilingual initiative that reimagines Patagonia’s winter campaign as an act of hospitality to extend warmth, comfort, and sustainability to those meeting winter for the first time.
I put together a few sketches of what this could look like.
I want to share with you "Warm Welcome," an early campaign idea I have for Patagonia, I’d love to explore with you.
Each year, over 180,000 newcomers arrive in Canada from warm regions without winter climate. In Europe, about 2 million new legal immigrant settle in countries with harsh, snowy winters, annually.
If even 2% of them begin that journey with Patagonia, it creates a meaningful revenue stream and a chance to extend your mission and offer a sustainable, warm welcome, while teaching environmental stewardship in a way that’s personal.
Patagonia can own that moment.
“Warm Welcome” can be a multilingual initiative that turns a newcomer’s first breath of winter into their first Patagonia story, through Worn Wear, repair, fit checks, and local welcome days.
Across the Atlantic, the European Union welcomed 3.7 million arrivals from non-EU citizens, in 2023.
If even 2% of them begin that journey with Patagonia, that would translate into roughly 9,700 new customers in Canada. If each purchased either a down sweater hoody or a micro puff jacket, Patagonia’s best-selling item priced at USD 300, that alone would generate about USD 2.9 million in revenue.
Across Europe, 74,000 newcomers making that same first purchase would yield an additional USD 22.2 million in revenue.
This is a meaningful opportunity to extend Patagonia’s mission while offering newcomers a sustainable, warm welcome to their new climates, in a way that is personal.
Patagonia should own that moment.
“Warm Welcome” is a multilingual initiative that reimagines Patagonia’s winter campaign as an act of hospitality to extend warmth, comfort, and sustainability to those meeting winter for the first time.
I put together a few sketches of what this could look like.
Patagonia has always been a guide for those venturing into the wild. What if it could also guide those entering a new season of life? The campaign headline reframes winter gear as an invitation.
A homepage concept to promote the campaign front and center
“Your Warm Winter Begins with Patagonia” meets people where they’re adjusting to new routines, such as on sidewalks, in transit, and at bus stops.
These billboards become quiet gestures of empathy, turning Patagonia into a familiar face in an unfamiliar climate. We transform touchpoints into trust.
Online, the message continues through a series of portraits and reflections on what warmth means beyond temperature: community, connection, confidence.
Beyond the outdoor brand, Patagonia becomes a cultural companion, and a guide for navigating change.
At first glance, these images feel like classic Patagonia with real people, real gear, and real light. But these faces tell a different story. Not one of endurance marked by summits or expeditions, but of arrival. They capture people learning the language of winter for the first time.
There’s still a lot to uncover, but the real value lies in how this campaign scales scales Patagonia’s purpose by turning environmental stewardship into cultural stewardship.
Each “Warm Welcome” moment extends the brand’s care from wilderness to daily life, reminding us that protecting the planet begins with how we treat the people who walk it.
The simple gesture of a vest once gifted to me could become the first Patagonia story of thousands more.
I’d love to share more, Levon. Could we find 30 minutes to talk soon?
There’s still a lot to uncover, but the real value lies in how this campaign scales scales Patagonia’s purpose by turning environmental stewardship into cultural stewardship.
Each “Warm Welcome” moment extends the brand’s care from wilderness to daily life, reminding us that protecting the planet begins with how we treat the people who walk it.
The simple gesture of a vest once gifted to me could become the first Patagonia story of thousands more.
I’d love to share more, Levon. Could we find 30 minutes to talk soon?
There’s still a lot to uncover, but the real value lies in how this campaign scales scales Patagonia’s purpose by turning environmental stewardship into cultural stewardship.
Each “Warm Welcome” moment extends the brand’s care from wilderness to daily life, reminding us that protecting the planet begins with how we treat the people who walk it.
The simple gesture of a vest once gifted to me could become the first Patagonia story of thousands more.
I’d love to share more, Levon. Could we find 30 minutes to talk soon?
With heartfelt gratitude,
Mohamed Thiam
With heartfelt gratitude,
Mohamed Thiam
