Conscious Chatter With Kestrel Jenkins

In episode 155, Kestrel welcomes Jayde Scukovic, the creative and influencer behind Jayde Archives, to the show. Originally from Australia, Jayde is now based in Switzerland, and she shares travel diaries, light packing guides, and eco living ideas through her blog + Instagram Jayde Archives. She’s also a self-proclaimed #ProudOutfitRepeater and capsule wardrobe addict. “The less I have, the more I cherish those individual items, and I really love that relationship I’m forming with my wardrobe and my clothing — and even myself. Since I’ve started taking things more slowly, everything feels a lot more positive.” -Jayde Scukovic, Founder of Jayde Archives In this week’s show, Jayde shares more on her background and how she made her way into the blogging / influencer world. She also shares more on why she loves capsule wardrobes, how less is more, and her push to celebrate proud outfit repeating. For Jayde, the restraints of space + finances first led her toward capsule wardrobes, and that direction helped insp

In episode 154, Kestrel welcomes Kristen Morabito, the Creative Director of Mohinders, to the show. A small business based in San Francisco + India, Mohinders uses an heirloom process to make their traditionally-tanned leather shoes, and invests in equity and collaboration. “I think one of the key markers of modern, factory chromium tanning is that you can tan a hide of leather in 1 day, and this process that is used in India that the shoemakers engage with takes about 30 days. And it’s just a lot more similar to how leather was made maybe 500 to 1,000 years ago, compared to how leather would be made now.” -Kristin Morabito, Creative Director of Mohinders In this week’s show, Kristen shares more on her background in studio art and writing, and how she originally connected with Michael, the founder of Mohinders, as a freelance designer. Also, she explains more on the inspiration behind Mohinders, and how Michael was inspired to start the brand after purchasing a pair of shoes in a market in India. These shoes

In episode 153, Kestrel welcomes Roxy Ortiz, the founder of Elevated Layers, to the show. A community that combats the textile waste epidemic, Elevated Layers offers cost-effective and ethical solutions that benefit influencers and high-end fashion designers. “Most of these young creators just don’t have access or they can’t afford it or they’re going into debt just to stay relevant on social media. There’s all these hidden problems that I needed to solve, and bring to the surface.” -Roxy Ortiz, Founder of Elevated Layers In this week’s show, Roxy shares more on her fashion background and how she originally wanted to be a shoe designer. She ended up working in retail and then making her own way as a stylist. It was in the stylist / content creation world that Roxy came up with the concept for Elevated Layers. So what is Elevated Layers? It functions as an annual subscription model for content creators and now agencies as well, where subscribers get access to desirable streetwear brands to use as tools for th

In episode 152, Kestrel welcomes Jenny Silbert, the founder of Rewilder, to the show. An LA-based brand, Rewilder is focused on the following tenants: salvage materials, local production, zero waste, good design, ethical production and high quality. “I have always been interested in upcycling, like from the time I was a kid it was something that I would do. My parents would be driving and I would be like ‘stop the car! I need to pick up that chair or I need to pick up that table that was on the side of the street.’ ” -Jenny Silbert, Founder of Rewilder In this week’s show, Jenny shares more on her journey into sustainable fashion, from originally starting in architecture. For several years, Jenny’s architectural career was focused on materials development and architectural problem solving. Through her work, she discovered how much industrial trash was building up in, for instance, the automotive and beer industries. This helped spark her and her cofounder’s concept to utilize this waste — beautiful, durable,

In episode 151, Kestrel welcomes Gitte Dalberg-Larsen, the founder of Organicup, to the show. The award-winning menstrual cup, Organicup helps replace pads and tampons, and reduce waste connected to women’s health. “We are on a mission to improve menstrual health on a personal and cultural and global level.” -Gitte Dalberg-Larsen, Founder of Organicup In this week’s show, Gitte shares more on what led her to build a menstrual cup company, and what she has learned along the way. Additionally, she provides more of an in-depth look at how much period waste each menstruating woman generates throughout her life. Gitte + Kestrel also dive into how society historically has aligned women’s health, sexuality, and menstruation with taboo topics, and how we can continue to further challenge these systemic norms. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: The first menstrual cup was actually introduced in the 1930s, but then it never caught on or took off. “For an average woman, we use a

In episode 150, Kestrel welcomes Lisa Gralnek, a Brand & Strategy Executive, to the show. The Founder + Principal of LVG & Co, Lisa has worked with brands including Chobani, moo.com, adidas, IKEA, Walmart and more over the past decade. “Authenticity really ties back to why you wake up in the morning - you know, what are your values, what’s your mission in life or your raison d'être as the French would say.” -Lisa Gralnek, Brand & Strategy Executive In this week’s show, Lisa shares more on her journey and what led her to have such a distinct interest in brand strategy and sustainability. She shares more on the idea of authenticity and its elevated importance amidst a time of disruption. Kestrel + Lisa explore some of today’s current buzzwords, and whether or not those are driven by brands, shoppers or both, and how potentially important they are in influencing our behavior. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: Cleo Wade + Rupi Kaur, poets that connect on a de

In episode 149, Kestrel welcomes Nivi Sreenivas Murthy, the founder of IKKIVI, as well as Meenal Gupta, one of the designers behind Twofold, to the show. A slow fashion platform, Ikkivi curates ethical and sustainable designers from India, and Twofold is one of their featured brands, a label that is a tribute to Indian craftsmanship. “Young designers and independent designers in general do not have the resources to expand and grow their business to a global platform because at the end of the day, they are designers and the creatives behind these brands. So, I think it’s extremely important for platforms like IKKIVI to be able to communicate their stories and communicate their creative abilities to a global audience.” -Nivi Sreenivas Murthy, Founder of IKKIVI In this week’s show, Nivi and Meenal share each of their stories and how they became interested in slow fashion. Additionally, they share more on each of their work today, and how important they feel that it is to offer global shoppers access to slow fas

In episode 148, Kestrel welcomes Belinda Kazanci, the founder + designer of Bel Kazan, to the show. A collection of globally-inspired, effortless pieces, Bel Kazan is designed with the modern woman in mind. “And then I realized the only way I’m going to be able to do the kind of business I want to do is by having a factory that meets my standards —which were: open air, there’s a garden for people to eat in, it’s clean, we provide lunches. There were just certain standards I wanted to meet, and I knew I couldn’t do it by using somebody else’s factory.” - Belinda Kazanci, Founder of Bel Kazan In this week’s show, Belinda shares more on her backstory, how she grew up around textiles in Istanbul, Turkey, and how she originally got into fashion as a way to fund her musician life. Early in building her brand, Belinda realized that she needed to own her own factory to be able to make her business work. She purchased land and started building her own manufacturing facility in the second year of running her company,

In episode 147, Kestrel welcomes Mark Price, the CEO of Firewire, to the show. A former Rip Curl and Reef executive, Mark has over 35 years of surf industry experience and is helping push the boundaries of surfboard construction at Firewire. “We’ve created a mindset where we want stuff all the time, and by definition - that can never be satisfied, so we’re basically creating a sick society that is never satisfied and is always looking for something that can never be fulfilled.” - Mark Price, CEO of Firewire Throughout the show, Mark shares more on what got him into surfing as a kid in South Africa, and how when it comes to the environmental movement, he believes a level of humility is key to bringing generations together and forging ahead. “I think that my generation has to be careful of not lecturing the younger generation because we’ve figured out what’s wrong with the world and what needs to change. I think we can do that, but concurrent with that, we also have to be apologetic and humble for the fact tha

In episode 146, Kestrel welcomes Taghrid Zorob, the founder + creative director of Rafa, to the show. A women’s luxury footwear collection, Rafa is hand-crafted by a small group of artisans in Los Angeles. “We have to remember that we’re all humans and that there’s more to life than just stuff that we buy, and consuming should be something that adds value to our life.” - Taghrid Zorob, Founder + Creative Director of Rafa Throughout this chat, Taghrid shares more on what led her to want to build Rafa, especially a particular experience she had connecting with shoe makers in Los Angeles at her previous job. Additionally, she explains more on how she really wanted to infuse Los Angeles into her brand, as it had become a large part of her identity growing up in the city. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:  “When I started this company, I really wanted to create something that was quintessentially Los Angeles - I wanted to make something that was beautiful and incorporated a

In episode 145, Kestrel welcomes Carly Burson, the founder + CEO of Tribe Alive, to the show. Focused on investing in women globally, Tribe Alive makes sustainable women's apparel and accessories through building artistic collaborations around the world. “A lot of women are employed through fashion, but the way I view the industry as it is today is that a lot of women are kept in poverty because of fashion.” -Carly Burson, Founder + CEO of Tribe Alive Throughout this chat, Carly shares more insight into what led her to build Tribe Alive, and how the adoption of her daughter was a massive part of shifting the direction of her career. Additionally, she shares more on how Tribe Alive truly believes that women are the key to eradicating poverty. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:  Causebox, an order from them helped transform Tribe Alive from a side hustle to a main gig Nonprofits that Tribe Alive works with: Mi Esperanza in Honduras + Maya Traditions in Guatemala + Haiti

In episode 144, Kestrel welcomes Zinzi Edmundson, the editor + cofounder of Knit Wit Magazine, to the show. A website for fiber freaks, Knit Wit explores everything about fiber arts and their makers. “Just like cutting out fast fashion and knowing about your materials and the process behind where your clothing is coming from, that’s equally as important with buying your materials for crafting.” -Zinzi Edmundson, Founder of Knit Wit Throughout this chat, Zinzi shares more on Knit Wit's recent shift from print to digital, and how listening to her readers was an integral piece of this decision. Additionally, she shares more with us on which crafts are "all the rage" right now, and how even though there are trends in crafting, makers tend to not ditch the past trends when they find a new one - instead, they just add them to their fiber art arsenal.  The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: Sashiko, Mend and Make New, article Kestrel wrote for Knit Wit about Jessica Marquez’s new

In episode 143, Kestrel welcomes Barrett Ward, the founder + CEO of ABLE, to the show. A lifestyle brand, ABLE is focused on ending generational poverty through providing economic opportunity for women. “We also know that when a woman is empowered and given a job - this is a statistic, it’s a fact - that a woman has a far more significant impact in her community than does a man. If you want to have a serious impact on poverty in the world, the fashion world is an extraordinary place to start.” -Barrett Ward, Founder of ABLE In the introduction of this episode, Kestrel shares a bit of context as to what constitutes a living wage, according to The Clean Clothes Campaign. A living wage is a human right. And as The Clean Clothes Campaign outlines, a living wage should be earned in a standard working week (no more than 48 hours) and allow a garment worker to be able to buy food for themself and their family, pay the rent, pay for healthcare, clothing, transportation and education and have a small amount of savin

In episode 142, Kestrel welcomes Holly Staves Olson, a marketing wizard + her cofounder of a new venture called Left Edit, to the show. A new direct-to-consumer womenswear brand for those who don’t want to sacrifice ethics for style, Left Edit builds essentials that make an impression. “I think it’s so cool because our relationship always revolved around this entrepreneurial spirit. I think that’s where you and I really connected is every time we’d get together, we’d be brainstorming different ideas, and we’d be talking about fashion and we’d be talking about new businesses and how we can make a change.” - Holly Stavnes Olson, Cofounder of Left Edit In this episode, Holly and Kestrel share more on what drew them together as cofounders, and how they ended up finding their way to building Left Edit. They also share more on how incredible the designer community has been in supporting them in the development process and sharing information to help them along the way, from sourcing fabrics and materials to connec

In episode 141, Kestrel welcomes Lauren Engelke, a professional sustainable stylist, blogger + the curator of The Minimalist Wardrobe Shop, to the show. A new project, TMW Shop offers a curated collection of quality garments, perfect to help build a minimalist wardrobe. “I never expected this in a million years, but the major pain point was shopping — and a lot of the clients that I worked with had actually almost over minimalized their wardrobe. And they had come so far from big wardrobes to a paired down, lean wardrobe that they were afraid to shop again.” - Lauren Engelke, Sustainable Stylist + Curator of TMW Shop In this episode, Lauren shares more on how she started questions some of the realities of the fashion industry, through her work as a stylist. Whether it was overproduction or the chemicals in the apparel she was steaming, she realized firsthand the disconnects between her values and what was happening behind-the-scenes in the industry. After giving herself a crash course in sustainable fashion,

In episode 140, Kestrel welcomes Katie Pruett, the founder and editor-in-chief of Ethical Style Journal, to the show. A platform to help shape fashion culture into one that is as much about awareness, action, and accountability as it is about style, Ethical Style Journal is a stunning publication stacked with substance. “If you look at the history of our country, they’ve always kind of helped shape peoples’ perspectives - they’ve always had that authority. Specifically if we’re talking about fashion magazines - I mean look at Vogue and their influence. I wanted to get in on that and say hey - let’s do some good with this, because we have that power and that’s what media has always done - and let’s use it in a positive way.” - Katie Pruett, Editor-In-Chief of Ethical Style Journal In this episode, Katie shares more on how she went from searching for a pair of boots to building an independent magazine. For Katie, Ethical Style Journal is a way to use the power of media for good, and she's bringing dynamic voic

In episode 139, Kestrel welcomes ethical fashion blogger Benita Robledo and Casey Dworkin, founder of sustainable footwear brand, Sylven New York, to the show. Benita + Casey together are the co-founders of The Better Shop, a new Brooklyn-based pop-up, open this November + December 2018. “We want people who are as interested in community and collaboration as we are, because we feel like - that’s how the sustainability movement is going to grow is if we foster community over competition.” - Benita Robledo, Cofounder of The Better Shop In this episode, Benita and Casey talk a lot about how they bonded over wanting to make the sustainable and ethical fashion conversation + shopping experience more accessible. They also share more on how they feel The Better Shop stands out from the crowd. For Benita + Casey, they want the shop to bring people in from the community, which is why they are hosting an array of activations to connect people with sustainable lifestyle activities. The below thoughts, ideas + organizat

In episode 138, Kestrel welcomes Shannon Lohr, the founder of Factory45, to the show. An online accelerator program, Factory45 takes sustainable fashion companies from idea to launch. Shannon’s newest project, Market45, is an ethical fashion marketplace, and it just made its debut in the e-commerce space. “Now we are living in a world where you know, the average consumer, they’ve at least heard sustainable fashion before - they’ve heard those words. And that’s really cool. It’s really great to see the growth and the recognition of what’s happening in the space, and remembering that there’s no such thing as perfectly sustainable - if you’re making something new, everything has an impact, but knowing that we’re getting better, the conversation is at least moving along, and we have these independent fashion brands that are trying to provide better options for consumers.” - Shannon Lohr, Founder of Factory45 + Market45 In this episode, Shannon gives us an update on where things are at with Factory45, and how muc

  In episode 137, Kestrel welcomes Pierre Nicolas Hurstel, the founder of REMODE, to the show. A conference that is meant to unite fashion brand leaders and industry-wide professionals to inspire solutions for growth and innovation, Remode’s inaugural event is taking place on November 13th and 14th, 2018 in Los Angeles. “The future for brands is sustainable, vertical, omnichannel, purposeful - and this future has started now actually, because thanks to the incredible innovations that are now available, it is now possible for brands to do that at the same time, and sometimes the same technology can help solve both sustainability and retail problems.” - Pierre Nicolas Hurstel, Founder of ReMode In this episode, Pierre shares more on his background and what led him to want to build ReMode. Additionally, he outlines a selection of the panels and speakers he’s looking forward to hosting at this year’s inaugural event. Given the cost of entrance to ReMode, Kestrel asks Pierre to share his thoughts on accessibility

In episode 136, Kestrel welcomes Sebastian Juhola, the creator of The Minimalist Wardrobe, to the show. A platform and popular Instagram, The Minimalist Wardrobe is meant to help people minimize their wardrobes, with a focus on ethical and sustainable values. “Minimalism brings instant results for your personal life. It has those practical effects right away, in addition to sustainability and the environment. It also helps you personally in tremendous ways.” - Sebastian Juhola, Founder of The Minimalist Wardrobe In this episode, Kestrel gets the chance to connect with Sebastian about what led him to start @theminimalistwardrobe Instagram. Surprisingly, he started it on a whim for fun, and at one point in 2017, left it dormant for several months. Now, the account is growing an average of 500 followers per day. Throughout this chat, Kestrel asks Sebastian to share his insight as to what storytelling + social media tactics are resonating with The Minimalist Wardrobe audience. Also, they discuss the potential th