Jul 20, 2020
Lauren Petersen is the founder of Travel Patterns, a fair trade lifestyle brand focused on traditional global textiles, economic empowerment and long-term sustainable change. Lauren grew up in a creative household and followed her father’s footsteps (he had his own architectural firm) by pursuing interior design in college. Post college and the start of her career was also the Fall of 2008 - which we all know was the year the economy crashed. Having to go back to the drawing board, Lauren moved from Chicago back to Alabama and eventually landed a job with the army for almost 10 years. This job enabled her to travel around the world where she developed partnerships with local artisans. She originally founded her company in 2014 while working full-time, but it was hard to give her company as much attention as it needed while working full-time. Leaving her job was not an easy decision because she actually loved her career, but she knew that she wanted to make a bigger impact. She finally took the leap from a stable job she loved to becoming a founder. She then re-branded and re-designed her business model in a way that could be more economically sustainable for the artisans she was partnering with. In our conversation we discuss what it was like to leave a job she loved to pursue something bigger, why pivoting and learning should always be integral to a social impact business model, and why she is passionate about the preservation of traditional textiles and patterns from around the world. We also discuss the importance of setting boundaries as a form of self-care, and why this is includes setting boundaries with technology. With big goals for growth, Lauren is helping to create sustainable change on multiple levels in the textile industry.
https://www.shoptravelpatterns.com/
https://www.instagram.com/shoptravelpatterns/?hl=en
Our podcast theme song is "Pico & Westwood" by Esbie Fonte. For more info, visit https://www.esbiefonte.com/