Conscious Chatter With Kestrel Jenkins

In episode 131, Kestrel welcomes Kohl Crecelius, a social entrepreneur, and the founder and owner of two social impact apparel brands, the the show. With a focus on helping shoppers know and connect with the makers behind their clothing, KNOWN SUPPLY and Krochet Kids intl. are pushing to humanize the fashion industry. "I remember in probably our first couple years, all we ever heard (because we were starting around the same time that Tom's was really starting to take off), all we ever heard was - what is the tagline that's like one-for-one? And we thought about it and we came up with all these iterations and then, eventually we kind of just said - you know what, there's so much more to who we are and what we're trying to accomplish than a simple little quip." - Kohl Crecelius, Founder of Known Supply + Krochet Kids In this episode, Kohl shares more on the origins of Krochet Kid intl., and how it evolved out of a company he and his friends started in high school after his brother taught him how to crochet. Ad

In episode 130, Kestrel welcomes Shelly Gottschamer, the head of sustainability and supply chain at Outerknown, to the show. A sustainable menswear brand co-founded by 11-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater + designer John Moore, Outerknown believes in building products by making every decision with the highest regard for the environment and the people they work with. "We're in an environmental crisis that we cannot ignore, so you have to kind of take that approach to business, and do what you can in business to sort of change that paradigm - and that's a piece of smash the formula. We really want to do things differently and inspire others by proving the case that you can do this." - Shelly Gottschamer, Head of Sustainability + Supply Chain at Outerknown In this episode, Shelly shares more on her personal journey, how she's had an interest in fashion since she was a young child, and the amount she learned about sustainability working with Levi's in the past. She also shares details on Outerknown's appro

In episode 129, Kestrel welcomes Zacil Pech, the Health & Safety Organizer at The Garment Worker Center, as well as Blanca Hernandez, a member of The Garment Worker Center, to this week's show. A worker rights organization, The Garment Worker Center's mission is to organize low-wage garment workers in Los Angeles to fight for social and economic justice. "I would often ask myself, but it was the fear of losing my job that kept me there. Anytime someone tried to speak up - especially in these type of garment shops - they always tell us if we don't like our job, then there's a lot more people that would be willing to do our job, so we are disposable." - Doña Blanca Hernandez, a member of The Garment Worker Center + garment worker in Los Angeles (translated by Zacil Pech) While on Conscious Chatter we often discuss human and environmental rights when it comes to the fashion industry, we rarely get the chance to hear directly from individuals working in garment factories. This is a powerful and important sho

In episode 128, Kestrel welcomes Morgan Hamel, the founder of The Garment, to the show. A platform that helps connect women and responsible brands, The Garment is known for their Virtual Pop-Ups, which showcase quality products from makers who also have a good story. "I realized that there was an entire community of makers out in the world who basically were trying to connect to a community of women who are interested in living more vibrant lives by owning fewer, better things, and sometimes those communities struggle to find each other. Basically, The Garment stepped into the middle." -Morgan Hamel, Founder of The Garment In this episode, Kestrel chats with Morgan about the origins of The Garment, and how their Virtual Pop-Ups really work. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: Unfancy by Caroline Rector, a blog that inspired Morgan in her early explorations of ethical fashion 10,000 Garment Goal, The Garment's goal to connect women and 10,000 responsibly made garments by t

In episode 127, Kestrel welcomes Saloni Shrestha, the cofounder + designer of Agaati, to the show. A womenswear brand that is committed to bringing accessible luxury to the industry, Agaati believes there is a way to fuse cultural traditions with today's fast-paced tech-driven world. "Designing with what is there at the moment is complicated. So using both the channels: preserving this art of weaving; at the same time, working with the eco-friendly mill-created textile is I think a good balance for our company." -Saloni Shrestha, Cofounder + Designer of Agaati In this episode, Saloni shares more on her background, and how she found herself leaving the corporate world and moving to New York to study fashion at Parsons. Saloni talks about how intentional her internship process was - she went into her experiences working with Oscar De La Renta, Diane Von Furstenberg, Zac Posen and Naeem Khan, with a larger goal in mind. For Saloni, it was about learning to understand the design process & the decision-making

In episode 126, Kestrel welcomes Zoe Cleary, the cofounder of Nisolo, as well as Matt Stockamp, the Impact Associate at Nisolo, to the show. A fashion company known for their hip, fairly made shoes, Nisolo's mantra is: Intentionally designed. Ethically made. Fairly priced. "Our mission has really been to kind of bridge the gap between the end consumer + the producer, and show how you can make a positive or a negative impact into producers lives. And to have that conversation going - for the consumer to feel like they understand where their products are really from, and the importance of the role that they can really play in that." -Zoe Cleary, Cofounder of Nisolo In this episode, Zoe shares her unique story, and what led her to shift away from the conventional fashion industry. She also shares the background of how she first connected with her cofounder over a 4-hour Skype call, that pushed her to buy a ticket to Peru to meet him, and then, quickly after - she quit her job in New York to move to Peru to help

In episode 125, Kestrel welcomes Laurinda Ndenzako, the cofounder of Collective Closets, to the show. A womenswear label based + made in Melbourne, Collective Closets was built off of Laurinda + her sister Fatuma's African - Australian identities. "As far as Collective Closets go, we always say that we don't have all the answers, but we definitely want to be part of that conversation - we want to be part of that movement as well to leave a positive impact. And it all starts at home - and sometimes, just the smallest changes make the biggest impact." -Laurinda Ndenzako, Cofounder of Collective Closets In this episode, Laurinda shares more on the origins of Collective Closets, and how while she and her sister Fatuma were trained outside of fashion, both of their parents made clothing at home, and that was something that influenced them growing up.  A large part of the spark that pushed Laurinda + Fatuma to build Collective Closets was a family trip to Nairobi. According to Laurinda, the brand blossomed out of 

In episode 124, Kestrel welcomes Luke Haverhals, the founder and CEO of Natural Fiber Welding, to the show. An analytical chemist, materials scientist and entrepreneur, Luke is working to produce sustainable, high performance materials for a variety of applications with his team at Natural Fiber Welding. "We're doing something really important for the world which is to basically unleash the abundance of nature and what nature produces at scale (that's very high performance), and being able to convert those materials very simply and very cost-effectively into the things that we need to have high quality and standards of living that are sustainable and renewable." -Luke Haverhals, CEO + Founder of Natural Fiber Welding In this episode, Luke shares more of his backstory, and how growing up on a farm in the Midwest helped him understand some of the processes behind the creation of things - whether it was food or other materials. He also explains how his research / the early developments of Natural Fiber Welding 

In episode 123, Kestrel welcomes Rachel Temko, the founder + creative director of Whimsy+Row, to the show. A lifestyle brand for the creative, adventurous lady, Whimsy+Row not only offer their clothing + goods online, they also have a lovely freestanding store in Venice, California. "I started Whimsy promoting other brands, and that to me is like - we should all be in this together to spread the word and make everybody aware that this is more of a lifestyle." -Rachel Temko, Founder + Creative Director of Whimsy+Row In this episode, Rachel shares her journey toward taking the leap to start her own company, and how much the creative energy of her family has inspired her over the years. Additionally, Kestrel + Rachel discuss this new age of influencers, and Whimsy+Row's approach to hiring them for their marketing efforts. While Rachel believes you have to use a combination of influencer marketing mixed with more traditional styles today, she sees the extra benefit of receiving valuable content through influence

In episode 122, Kestrel welcomes Anita Vandyke, the author of A Zero Waste Life: in thirty days, to the show. A rocket scientist, blogger, and current student of medicine, Anita is passionate about inspiring others to be every day activists by making small, individual steps to reduce their waste. "Zero waste living to me means reducing your waste, but also at the same time, it means not wasting away your life - so, not wasting your time, your energy, and finding purpose in your life."  -Anita Vandyke, Author of A Zero Waste Life  In this episode, Anita shares more on her path toward a more zero waste life, how she wasn't always a minimalist, and how she gradually evolved from her past maximalist lifestyle. Additionally, Anita shares some really digestible, accessible tips to help us think about reducing waste while traveling and beyond. For her, there isn't one specific way to work toward a more zero waste lifestyle, which is why she built a tiered system that offers options for you, depending on what's goin

In episode 121, Kestrel welcomes Rebecca van Bergen, the founder and executive director of Nest, to the show. A nonprofit that is building a new handworker economy, Nest is dedicated to generating global workforce inclusivity, improving women's wellbeing beyond factories, and preserving cultural traditions. "Most consumers are completely unaware of this, but production is leaving the 4 wall factory. Anywhere between 20-60% of current garment manufacturing leaves the factory at some point, whether it's sewing a sole on a shoe or doing embroidery or finish work - to homeworkers that were completely invisible."  -Rebecca van Bergen, founder + executive director of Nest In this episode, Rebecca shares more on her journey, and how she originally came to the craft sector from a social work lens, with an interest in helping women around the world. Craft is the second largest employer of women in emerging markets, and for Rebecca - handmade needs to be more accessible to businesses and customers. Additionally, Rebec

In episode 120, Kestrel welcomes Jessica Kelly, the founder of Thr3efold, to the show. A platform that helps connect brands to ethical factories around the world, Thr3efold also hosts Deadstock District, a private portal to sell your fabric liability and source dead stock. "I keep digging deeper because sometimes people will be like, 'oh well, this brand doesn't talk about their factories so we should question their ethics' - maybe, but maybe not. It doesn't necessarily mean there's something that they're hiding."  -Jessica Kelly, founder of Thr3efold In this episode, Jessica shares more on her journey into the fashion industry, and how she was inspired to self teach herself as much as she could about the sustainable and ethical fashion industry. Additionally, Kestrel asks Jessica to expand on a blog post she wrote about transparency and whether or not it's actually the answer to a more ethical fashion industry. Here's a quote from that blog post: “Does publishing your factories make you more sustainable? Th

In episode 119, Kestrel welcomes José Teunissen, the Dean of the School of Design and Technology at London College of Fashion, and a Professor of Fashion Theory, to the show. José is also the curator of State Of Fashion 2018 | searching for the new luxury, an exhibition that recently opened in Arnhem, Netherlands, and runs through July 22nd, 2018. "Primarily, I also think this time period will be - it's a paradigm shift, probably a big paradigm shift - maybe it's only the start of it, but I think we are definitely in a period where we start to redefine what fashion is."  -José Teunissen, Curator of State Of Fashion 2018 In this episode, José shares more context on her past experiences with fashion, and how she became intrigued with fashion theory at an early age through exploring the way fashion can reflect a snapshot of culture in different time periods.  Additionally, José explains the approach to this year's State Of Fashion event, and how she and her team wanted to "search for the new luxury" to uncover

In episode 118, Kestrel welcomes Rebecca Burgess, the founder of Fibershed, to the show. A globally recognized project, Fibershed is working to address and educate the public on the environmental, economic and social benefits of de-centralizing the textile supply chain. "What are we doing? What is our consumption doing to other people's cultures?"  -Rebecca Burgess, founder of Fibershed  In this episode, Rebecca shares more on her exceptional and unexpected path into working in the textile industry. For her, it all started with agriculture, and a happenstance loom that happened to exist at her former university. For Rebecca, she has continued to uncover and discover so many more intricacies of the textile system through her curiosity and drive to consistently ask more questions. Throughout this chat, Rebecca also shares more in depth information on the power that farmers and ranchers hold today to turn around the health of our soil, while becoming climate change heroes. The below thoughts, ideas + organizati

In episode 117, Kestrel welcomes Juan Diego Gerscovich, the cofounder of Industry of All Nations, to the show. A design and development office that was founded in 2010, IOAN has a commitment to rethink methods of production for consumer goods. "Every maker that we work with, we want to give them the chance, to let them express - via the product - their life."  -Juan Diego Gerscovich, cofounder of IOAN  In this episode, Juan shares insight into his early years, growing up in Argentina with parents in the fashion industry. He also talks about how from a young age, he had a powerful interest in the origin of things, and a curiosity connected to where things come from. While Juan originally studies architecture, he eventually realized that garments and consumer goods allowed him to create things that were more accessible to people, and that allowed him to develop a more intimate connection. Kestrel and Juan further explore this idea that products have their own identity - sparked by the below quote from IOAN's w

In episode 116, Kestrel welcomes Mara Hoffman back to the show, for an update on where the company is - when it comes to sustainability - almost 2 years later. The first time Mara came to the show (in episode 18), the company was just beginning to shift Mara Hoffman over toward a more sustainable direction. In this chat, we get a chance to understand the evolution of the company over the last couple years, in their efforts to tackle their supply chain and fabrications, with a sustainability lens. "I've been saying 'survival of the kindest' right now - this idea that people that aren't doing good things for the planet or for humanity or for any living beings (the planet as a whole), should be voted off the island."  -Mara Hoffman, President & Creative Director of Mara Hoffman   In this episode, Mara shares her thoughts on how far her company has come since they decided to move toward a more sustainable direction. Additionally, Mara shares some of the challenges they encounter regularly since the adjustmen

In episode 115, Kestrel welcomes Tomide Awe, the founder of Olori, to the show. A handbag line that incorporates traditional African textiles into modern designs, Olori was built with an intention to help women become actively involved in solving women-interest issues, especially with regard to education.  "It's not about just donating money - we are not a charity organization, this is not a charitable affair for us. We are on a mission to build this network of future empowered women, and we wanted to ensure that the girls feel the full effect of every dollar that we spend."  -Tomide Awe, Founder of Olori   In this episode, Tomide shares more about her journey, and how growing up in Nigeria helped her realize the impact an education can have on women's lives. According to UNESCO, a girl in Nigeria has a 73% chance of not going to school. For Tomide, her mom helped to ensure she was able to get an education, and now she has multiple degrees. She wants to pay that forward to help give other young girls the opp

In episode 114, Kestrel welcomes Emily Katz, the founder of Modern Macrame, to the show. An artist, designer, business owner, and teacher, Emily also just released her new book Modern Macrame, which showcases 33 stylish projects for your handmade home.  "For the most part, if you're interested in craft and you have some knowledge of it, it's pretty easy to pick up. And, I think that because there's this low entry, it creates a lot of relaxation for people. In this hectic world that we live in where everything is at the speed of light and we're all accessible all the time, I think that macrame has this beautiful tactile quality that you can bring into your home."  -Emily Katz, Founder + Author of Modern Macrame In this episode, Emily shares her unique journey into macrame, and how while she was always interested in making things (from fiber art to clothing to embroidery), she didn't actually learn how to macrame until she was in her 30s. For Emily, learning to do macrame was part of a powerful reconnection wi

In episode 113, Kestrel welcomes Lawrence Lenihan, the CEO of Resonance, to the show. A venture operating company, Resonance partners with brands to enable them to build a fashion business that is as beautiful as their creative vision. "WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE RETHINKING. THIS WHOLE INDUSTRY WAS BUILT ON THE IDEA THAT YOU MAKE MANY - LOTS AND LOTS - BIG RUNS ... WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING COMPLETELY THE OPPOSITE. RATHER THAN HAVING FEWER STYLES OVER MORE AND MORE UNITS, OUR WHOLE ARCHITECTURE IS: HOW DO WE MAKE ONE UNIT AS EFFICIENTLY AS A THOUSAND?"  -LAWRENCE LENIHAN, FOUNDER OF RESONANCE  In this episode, Kestrel asks Lawrence to talk more about how Resonance intends to fuse the worlds of art and commerce, when so often they tend to resist each other. For Resonance, it's about bringing business and art together, but allowing art to be the driving force. Lawrence shares more about how fast Resonance can move their brand partners' designs from inception to customer doorstep - in less than nine days. Kestrel and

In episode 112, Kestrel welcomes Sarah Holley Gonzales, the owner + creator of neo•thread, to the show. An Albuquerque-based brand, neo•thread is dedicated to transforming discarded clothing into fresh, one-of-a-kind pieces.  "It was actually my Dad that taught me how to sew when I was little. And, even greater than how to work a machine, he taught me how to find beauty in the resources available - specifically, things that people would discard."  -Sarah Holley Gonzales, founder of neo•thread In this episode, Sarah shares more about what inspired her to build neo•thread, and how she took the leap from a "real job" to pursuing her dream job. Also, Sarah tells a powerful story about how her Dad taught her to sew + be resourceful as a child, and how that has influenced the way she values used things. While neo•thread's branding approach is that "cool girls care," it was surprising to learn that Sarah's shoppers aren't generally sustainably or ethically minded when they make their first purchase with her. For th