Swoveralls Comfort Club · August 2025 · Volume 3, Issue 5

Adult Recess and Inner Child Dates

By Kyle Bergman, Founder of Swoveralls · August 2025

2018 screenshot my friend Mary sent me of a text with her friend. Still makes me laugh.

It’s August, and we’re somewhere between “let’s soak it all in” and “where did the summer go?”.

In this month’s newsletter:

• Comfort Hack: Adult recess is underrated (and science agrees)
• Customer Spotlights: Deborah’s great idea + Chris’s powerful tribute
• Things we love: Timeless Patents (and a sneak peek at a collab)

Here we go.

Adult Recess and Inner Child Dates

Last year, I read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, and one concept in particular stuck with me: the “artist’s date.” It’s the idea of taking your inner child out for some fun, solo time with no agenda, no productivity, no guilt.

I did it a handful of times, and loved it. One time I blocked off an hour during a Thursday, walked along a nearby trail, and wandered into a strip mall plaza where I found myself inside a toy store, playing with toys. That’s it. Didn’t buy anything, wasn’t running an errand or doing some other culturally and age appropriate recreational activity, just me and some toy trucks. Something else that was interesting was the limitation I put on myself of walking. I don’t think Julia made that a requirement, but it did bring up some nostalgic memories of being young and car-less.

The reason I share this: it was refreshing, and felt more restorative than most of the stuff I usually do to “relax.” It didn’t feel rigid or repetitive. It felt alive. And turns out, this response is backed by science.

Adults who make time for play experience more joy, reduced stress, stronger creativity, and improved problem-solving skills. Play improves emotional regulation and can even help build empathy and resilience (Psych Central).

So maybe this week, carve out 30 minutes just for fun. Do something your 8-year-old self would approve of. And if it happens to involve playing with slinkies while wearing soft overalls, even better.

Customer Spotlights: Deborah and Chris

I don’t have pictures of Deborah or Chris so here’s one of me running a 5K in Swoveralls.

I love talking with Swoveralls customers. In fact, if you’ve ever made 2+ purchases, there’s a chance you’ve gotten an email from me inviting you to hop on a call. A bunch of you have taken me up on it, and I always leave those conversations with new ideas and energy.

One recent chat was with Deborah, who floated a fantastic idea: what if we ran a customer design contest, where any comfy fam member could submit their own Swoveralls patterns or prints, and the winner would have their design turned into a limited-edition pair? I love this. But before we make it real, I’d love your input:

• Would you participate in something like this?
• What kind of designs would you want to see?
• Should the winner get a prize? (Besides eternal glory and cozy legs.)
• Would you vote on entries, or just let us pick?
• Should we make it seasonal? Animal-themed? Food-themed? Free-for-all?

If you have any thoughts, hit reply and let me know. And thank you Deborah for being an incredible member of our comfy community. Oh, one last thing about Deborah: she initially bought a pair for her husband because HE wanted them, and she would tease him about his love for Swoveralls, then she tried them on and fell in love too. Classic.

Next up: Chris. Every time we send a newsletter, I get a few thoughtful replies (thank you thank you thank you), and back in February, Chris emailed to say he loved the newsletter and that he was organizing the 7th annual 5K in memory of his father, James D. Hill. He asked if we’d be open to sponsoring it with some Swoveralls. I said of course.

He also invited me to participate, which I did. A couple weeks ago on the day of the race, I ran the virtual 5K at a local track near me. I’m incredibly proud to support Chris and inspired by the way he honors his father through this event. Learn more about the James D. Hill Run to Read 5K here.

I heard a saying years ago, that you don’t build a community for people, you build it with them. I love the Swoveralls comfy fam, and am incredibly grateful to highlight some of y’all every month. Thank you.

Things We Love: Timeless Patents

I was recently introduced to the founder of Timeless Patents, and immediately loved the concept.

For starters, the art is just cool. The whole concept is based on repurposing patents (think: basketballs, guitars, toasters, you name it) into vintage watercolor pieces.

I like to say that starting your own apparel brand is like jumping off a diving board and inventing water on the way down. Fabric, supply chain, cash flow, blah blah blah.

And as someone who has spent the last 8 years wrestling the supply chain gods, what really makes me love the Timeless Patent concept is the business model: it’s seemingly simple with minimal manufacturing challenges.

The founder is also a young whippersnapper with great hustle energy; reminds me of me back when I was in my 20’s, and had fewer Google Sheets.

I think it’d be cool to create an overalls piece with Timeless Patents, or maybe even a limited edition Swoveralls one. What do you think? Hit reply and let me know. I bet some of you are wondering...

Are Swoveralls patented?

Sometimes folks ask me this, and the answer is no for a few reasons:

1. Patents are difficult and expensive to defend because they have to be super specific, and...
2. Apparel is like the wild west with many copy cats. Only the big players (Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc.) typically have the budget and legal power to properly protect patents, and...
3. I actually want MORE people to make sweatpant overalls. Seems counter intuitive I know, but as the creators of Swoveralls we are the OGs, the experts, and so any other brand that wants to join the comfy waters will be raising awareness about us as well.

Now that all said, we do own the trademark for Swoveralls, which means no one else can use the term Swoveralls to sell sweatpant overalls. So there’s that.

Until next time...

Stay cozy, and please feel free to email me your wildest Swoveralls customer design campaign ideas.

And maybe, just maybe, give your inner 8-year-old an hour off this week.

Founder | Chief Swoveralls Officer

PS - Have any comfort recommendations you’d like to share? Feel free to reply here and let me know. I’d be happy to include it in a future newsletter and of course give ya a shoutout.

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