As I took my first baby steps in really starting this brand, so many years ago, there were a few basic things I had to get down on paper. First, was the brand itself – the philosophy, what it looked like, how it made people feel, and what it inspired them to do. Second, was all the products I’d been dreaming up in my head and concocting on set during my years as a makeup artist. Third, was our values, what the brand stood for, and the impact I wanted to make – especially as it related to the planet.
At this point I had only recently moved to America and didn’t know much about sustainability. But I knew my own deep connection to nature, how it shaped my childhood and upbringing, and that I wanted to be an agent for change in an industry that I knew desperately needed it.
At the time, “sustainability” was becoming a buzzword. Its meaning was vague and often defined by marketing departments. So I started meeting with vendors to talk about sustainability before I even presented the idea for my brand to investors – I wanted to understand if it was possible to create a brand with my values intact before anyone else came into the picture.
It was honestly a horror show at first. Vendors would tell me about biodegradable packaging and promise me the moon with all these graphics and statistics. But then I’d be like, okay so how does it actually work? Does it need a certain climate in order to biodegrade? I’d just try to understand the whole process. And you’d realize there was no way these products were going to biodegrade – because they’d never be returned to the kind of environment needed to make that happen. There were so many examples just like this, I could go on for days.
That’s why a huge part of my journey with the brand’s impact has been educating myself and trying to understand every part of the process – understanding the real things that can be done now and not just accepting every claim and hoping for the best. It’s been about choosing partnerships very thoughtfully, making products intentionally, and developing innovations and solutions one step at a time (
you can learn more here).
Humanitarianism has always been an important piece of all of this for me, which is why we partner with a nonprofit called NEST that empowers artisans all over the world by connecting them with opportunities to overcome poverty and sustain their local craftsmanship. With their help, we connected with an amazing group of Filipino artisans called LIKHÂ to make a very special, limited edition straw tote.
This collaboration is extremely meaningful to me because celebrating and empowering people goes beyond just beauty—it extends to all types of creativity, including uplifting these artisans.
Everything these communities make is made by hand using techniques that have been passed down for generations. Because of this each bag is a little bit unique and, for me, that is exactly what makes it so special. We’re not chasing perfection. We want that human touch. We want true empowerment.
All the profits from this collaboration will go to artisan communities. And every time I look at my bag I’m going to know that there was a wonderful person behind it, who was empowered by making it, and personally, I think that’s good luck.
There are so many good causes out there today. There are so many things we all want to do, and we want to solve every problem right now. We can get caught in the belief that our impact is too small to make a difference. But the little things add up, and the small steps do matter. We can’t do everything, but we can do the things that call to us, and I promise the world will be better for it.
I hope you’ll join me in celebrating these amazing artisans, and that this tote will inspire you to make an impact as well – in whatever big or small way you are called to do so.
Just remember, you don’t have to be perfect to start.
xo
