Start Somewhere

In this week’s episode of Start Somewhere, I’m so delighted to speak to the incredible Mindy Scheier. Mindy is the Founder of the Runway of Dreams Foundation, which aims to make adaptive clothing mainstream and promote people with disabilities in the fashion industry. Mindy has also created Gamut Talent Management to represent people with disabilities and create a marketplace where businesses and industries can connect to this target audience. 

Before starting the Runway of Dreams Foundation, Mindy spent 20 years working in fashion as a designer and stylist. She was inspired to start Runway of Dreams after her son Oliver, who has Muscular Dystrophy, dreamed of wearing jeans like everyone else. 

In this episode, we speak about the moment when Mindy started somewhere and challenged the fashion industry to become more inclusive, the everyday challenges disabled people face, and why adaptive fashion holds the key to confidence and self-expression. 

The ask: There is no such thing as failure because failure is feedback. Always focus on your goal and dare to be flexible in how you get there.

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For this week’s episode of Start Somewhere, we dive into the precious world of diamonds with the incredible Naseem Lahri. Naseem is the Managing Director of Lucara, a diamond mine in Botswana with sustainability, community and purpose at the heart of their business. 

Naseem is a shining example of someone who found their purpose later in life. After a successful career at Deloitte excelling in multiple roles, she got a job in mining. She discovered this was her passion and moved across the country to the biggest mining company in Botswana. In 2018, she was promoted to Managing Director, and was the first female director of a diamond mine in Botswana. Naseem is truly paving the way for other women to be at the forefront of business.

In this episode, Naseem tells us about her rise to the top, how Botswana’s mineral wealth enabled it to transform from one of Africa’s poorest countries to a thriving nation and how Lucara Diamond supports and empowers its surrounding communities. 

The ask: Consider visiting and buying a diamond locally to empower the community. Be bold and understand what you want. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Work hard and persevere. 

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This week on Start Somewhere, I’m joined by the wonderful Stephanie Benedetto. Stephanie is the Co-Founder of Queen of Raw, a marketplace to buy and sell unused textiles, keeping them out of landfills and turning pollution into profit. 

Stephanie’s fascinating story of how she started somewhere dates back to the 1890s when her great-grandfather migrated to the US and started creating fashion using discarded materials. Honouring his legacy, Stephanie founded Queen Of Raw, rescuing huge amounts of perfectly usable deadstock from landfill, saving tonnes of water and CO2 in the process. 

In this episode, we speak about what led Stephanie to leave her corporate attorney job on Wall Street, her passion for finding solutions through technology, and how people, planet & profit can in fact go together.

The ask: Read the labels of the clothes you want to buy. The clothing that’s touching your skin, you want to be able to know what it’s made of. Check platforms like Good On You to learn about the brand’s sustainability & ethical practices.

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This week on Start Somewhere, I’m overjoyed to be speaking to the extraordinary Ayesha Barenblat. Ayesha is the founder of Remake, a community of fashion lovers, women rights advocates, and environmentalists on a mission to change the industry’s harmful practices on people and our planet. 

You might know Ayesha and the Remake team from the #PayUp campaign, which launched early last year when billions worth of orders were cancelled by big fashion brands because of the Covid-19 crisis. These orders were often already produced and ready to be shipped, which meant that suddenly thousands of often female garment workers were at risk of losing their jobs and facing extreme poverty.  

In this episode, we speak about how Ayesha’s early life in Pakistan influenced and encouraged her to start somewhere and stand up for garment worker’s rights, the impact of the pandemic on the garment industry, and how Remake’s #PayUp campaign managed to return a whopping $22 billion to garment factories hit hard by the Covid crisis.

The ask: Join the Remake movement and keep up with any campaigns by following @remakeourworld, visiting the www.remake.world website and consider donating to support her life’s work.

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This week on Start Somewhere, I get to speak to the truly amazing Eshita Kabra. Eshita is the Founder and CEO of the award-winning app By Rotation, the social fashion rental platform. 

It was during her honeymoon visiting family in India that Eshita experienced the impact of fast fashion and throwaway culture first-hand and decided there had to be a better way to be a conscious consumer. It was after returning to the UK, Eshita founded By Rotation with the aim of creating a conscious and inclusive community that democratises fashion and does not harm the planet.

In this episode, Eshita tells us about her personal relationship with fashion, how community is a central theme both in her life and on the By Rotation app, and why we need a rental revolution. 

The ask: Choose to invest in high-quality items over fast fashion. Try rotating your fashion with the By Rotation app.

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In this thought-provoking episode of Start Somewhere, I had the pleasure of speaking to James Bartle, founding CEO of Outland Denim, the denim brand founded to end poverty. 

Driven by the desire to curb the trafficking of women and girls into the $99 billion illicit commercial sex industry, James created Outland to generate training and employment opportunities for women vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Each of his seamstresses gains a valuable skill set in tailoring while earning a living wage, receiving ongoing support and life-enhancing education. A shining example of what fair fashion can achieve. 

In this episode, James tells us about the film that changed his life and compelled him to start Outland Denim, why it’s important to pay garment workers a living wage and why people and planet must both be addressed when it comes to creating a sustainable industry. 

The ask: One of the lies we’ve learned growing up is that failure is failure. Failure is actually necessary, it’s what forges humility.

Do you have a comment, question or would you like to share your own advice on Starting Somewhere? You can find me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/saravaughan)  or send me a DM on Instagram (www.instagram.com/saravaughanofficial)

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This week I have the pleasure of speaking to a true pioneer in the sustainable fashion industry, the incredible Bethany Williams. Bethany is a sustainable fashion designer, humanitarian and artist, and has recently won the British Fashion Council Designer Fashion Fund. 

In 2017, Bethany launched her label with a mission to create positive social and environmental change in the world. Since its inception, the label has seen huge success, establishing itself as a leading label in the fashion industry when it comes to setting sustainability standards. 

In this episode, we speak about what the intersection of fashion, art and social justice means to Bethany, the empowering and healing nature of craft, and how collaboration is essential to push the fashion industry further. 

The ask: Be a conscious consumer. As a consumer, you have the power, which is money. With that, you are choosing to keep businesses alive.

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For this week’s episode, I’m delighted to be speaking to the incredible Annick Ireland. Annick is the Founding Director of Immaculate Vegan, a curated online shop for those who want to live a sustainable and ethical life without compromising on style. 

When Annick decided to become a vegan, she found herself spending a lot of time hunting out brands making high quality, beautiful but also vegan products. Immaculate Vegan was born from a desire to help conscious consumers of every kind easily find vegan things they love, so they can make better choices every day.

In this episode, we speak about the surge in conscious consumers, how to adopt a sustainable and/or vegan lifestyle, Annick’s favourite immaculate brands and what her hopes are for the fashion industry.  

The ask: Start small, and start where you can, and celebrate the small wins. You don’t need to do things perfectly. 

Do you have a comment, question or would you like to share your own advice on Starting Somewhere? You can find me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/saravaughan) or send me a DM on Instagram (www.instagram.com/saravaughanofficial)

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This week we’ll be doing some time travelling back to pre-Covid times, when I visited the amazing Future Fabrics Expo, the world’s largest showcase of responsibly produced fabrics and materials. In this episode, I spoke to its organisers, Founder & Director of The Sustainable Angle, Nina Marenzi, and Amanda Johnston, who works as a curator and consultant at the Sustainable Angle.

Nina set up The Sustainable Angle in 2010 to initiate and support projects aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the industry. In her research, the need for a curated sustainable textiles showcase became apparent and the Future Fabrics Expo was born. 

In this episode, we explore the impact of non-sustainable fabrics and materials on our planet, why in the fight against climate crisis we should focus on solutions rather than issues, and how we can design our way to a better future. 

The ask: Reframe your relationship with fashion. Instead of going shopping for leisure, consider going out into nature. Not only will it bring you joy, if we understood nature, we would take much better care of it. 

I’m delighted to let you know that the new Future Fabrics Expo will take place both virtually and in London from June 22nd through to the 2nd of July 2021. This event will be a key sustainable sourcing destination for fashion professionals, offering a physical showcase of materials, information and networking events. For more info, please visit www.thesustainableangle.org. 

Do you have a comment, question or would you like to share your own advice on Starting Somewhere? You can find me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/saravaughan) or send me a DM on Instagram (www.instagram.com/saravaughanofficial)

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In this episode, I’m so excited to be speaking to the wonderful Charlotte Staerck, Founder and CEO of Handbag Clinic, a leading luxury handbag restoration and preowned resale retailer. I’m a huge fan of Handbag Clinic which has given some of my favourite bags a new lease on life. 

Self-confessed handbag addict, Charlotte, has always known handbags would be part of her destiny. She takes us on a designer bag journey, from a DKNY bag, bought with her first ever pay cheque, through to the life-changing moment she bought her first Mulberry. It was after meeting her husband who was the Managing Director of a leather restoration company, that the penny dropped and Charlotte founded Handbag Clinic.

In this episode, we hear about how Charlotte and her team can make your long-cherished handbags live many lives, why a bag is a form of investment and how the growing awareness about the negative impact of fast fashion and throwaway culture has transformed her business. 

The ask: Ditch any judgement of buying pre-loved items, because this will be the way going forward. Something that might be sitting at the back of your wardrobe will be sure to give someone else heaps of joy, so consider selling it or bringing it in to be restored. We want to see you keep reusing your fashion items.  

Do you have a comment, question or would you like to share your own advice on Starting Somewhere? You can find me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/saravaughan)  or send me a DM on Instagram (www.instagram.com/saravaughanofficial) 

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