An email landed in inboxes on May 13, subject line, “Anybody There?”

In the “from” line was a surprising sender, one most recipients hadn’t seen in over a year: “ ARQ .”

ARQ is a McMinnville-based underwear company, or at least it was, before shutting down in 2023. It was one of the big successes of pandemic Instagram, a beneficiary of the fact that people had extra money, nowhere to go and a desire to be as comfortable as possible.

The company was famous for high-waisted underwear, made from organic cotton in the United States. But they also made other styles of underwear, along with bras, tank tops and a few occasional other items.

ARQ founder Abigail Quist told The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2021 that the company went from about $180,000 in gross sales in 2018 to about $7.5 million

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