We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Stimmler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

Today we purchase over 80 billion pieces of new clothing each year. That’s 400% more than what we bought in the early 2000s.

After two decades of global design experience in fashion and textiles I began to notice a gap within the market: People were not being educated on the environmental and social impacts of the fashion and textile industry. In many ways, neither was I. I felt called to learn, educate, and eventually guide consumers to buy more consciously; our purchasing power has an astounding impact.

While my business is now a flagstone for sustainable fashion, it was not always this way. I began my career working in fast-fashion and was blind to my employer’s impact. When I switched companies and began designing for Levi’s, I was able to learn from the inside out. At Levi’s, I learned the larger impact that the fashion industry has. Not only this, I was inspired by many of my coworkers who were taking initiative and making innovative changes within our industry.

I wanted to reach a more targeted audience on a deeper level, and to create more change within my community. From this drive to bring sustainable fashion and education to a more personal level, I founded VENITA.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Most people have no idea where their clothing is coming from, what it’s made out of, and the impact that it has on the environment.
I felt called to be a disruptor within the fashion industry; I want more people to understand how their clothing is being made and the social + environmental impacts that occur within the fashion and textile industry. Consumers have the power to shift the market in a more sustainable way — they just need to be taught how to.
The way we buy clothing has changed so much and so quickly that only a few people have taken steps back to see the destruction of the fashion industry. Cheap clothing is now abundantly available and we are beginning to see the items we wear as disposable, rather than garments we should wear timelessly. This “Fast fashion” is quickly made and mass-produced at a very low cost.

VENITA is rebelliously anti-fast fashion. I found that most people have a massive closet filled with cheap apparel, but still feel as though they have nothing to wear. Their main complaint is that they can’t pull together a coherent outfit, not because they don’t have enough clothing, but because they continue to buy the latest trends without understanding how to wear them.

My business is built around elevating personal style. Clients come to VENITA already overwhelmed by their busy lifestyle: they don’t have additional time to sift through thousands of brands or spend hours reading about textiles. Lucky for them, I do!

I help people make more conscious buying decisions. To understand their individual impact, and how to invest in brands that are revolutionizing the fashion industry. I teach my clients to think about buying with intention, consuming mindfully, and owning things responsibly by caring for them longer. People are less likely to trash clothing that isn’t falling apart. But more than that, I teach people how to find value in what they already own — how to use it, repair it, reuse it.

At the end of the day, I want my clients to be more conscious about how and where they spend their money. And, of course, I want them to look good. That’s my commitment.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

One of the flagstone offerings of VENITA is a personal shopping experience where I bring clients to some of the most beautiful and sustainable boutiques within the greater San Francisco Bay Area. These secret gems are full of elegant garments, trendy but timeless pieces, and a beautiful find for everyone.

With my best friend in town, we would obviously pass by a few:

Jenni Kayne values slow fashion, natural fibers, local production, and fair working conditions. They’re constantly exploring ways to further minimize their impact—not only for today, but for the future. The collection of items sold here are high quality and built to last, so you wear more and waste less.

Sezane is B Corp certified and believes in sustainable production that benefits people and the planet. Guided by a desire to create timeless pieces that respect the planet and its people, ¾ of the materials in their current collections are eco-friendly. Plus, their pieces are certified by five of the industries most reliable certifications: GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), Oeko-Tex (cleaner dyes), FSC (responsible management of the world’s forests), RWS (Responsible Wool Standard) and RMS (Responsible Mohair Standard).

General Store in SF is an arbiter of beautifully imagined works from the creative minds of many inspiring craftsmen, bringing thoughtful, functional design to our local community and abroad. You will discover sustainable apparel brands like Jesse Kamm, Nu Swim, Micaela Greg, OZMA, alongside other vintage items. The General store also has carefully curated handcrafted one-of-a-kind pieces to decorate your home.

The Real Real is a high-end consignment store + online platform that buys and resells luxury fashion to give new life to the products. They have an amazing selection of designer brands that would oftentimes be incinerated or dumped into the landfills, however they revive the garments to sell.

After a quick shopping spree, we would go for a healthy, delicious lunch at Wildseed. With locations in both San Francisco and Palo Alto, Wildseed is fully vegan with gluten free options as well. The food is gourmet, local, and oh-so-fresh.

If we’re taking a full weekend, my best friend and I would undoubtedly take a trip down California’s iconic Highway 1, basking in the natural beauty and pristine coastline of Big Sur. Along the coast we would stop at Nepenthe restaurant with the most breathtaking views, then shop at their family owned Phoenix gift shop. This mecca of poets, artists, travelers and vagabonds has served guests for many decades, opening for business on April 24, 1949.

The dramatic coastline of Big Sur is a reminder of how grand our world is. It is also a reminder of how small, but powerful we can be to influence its destruction. Whenever I feel like I need a reset, I like to take this drive down the coast. Beautiful spots like Big Sur are why I do what I do. We deserve fresh air, clean mountains, and a personal sense of connection to our earth.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

When I think about the many individuals who have supported my personal and professional development over the years, I feel so grateful! Among all the amazing people who have inspired me, I would like to shout out Paul Dillinger for the way he has inspired me to think outside of the box and show up in a larger way in order to make a broader impact. It was through his inspiration that I saw growth I otherwise never would have accomplished on my own.
Paul Dillinger is the VP of Global Product Innovation at Levi Strauss & Co.
Paul changed Levi’s. Paul’s fusion of creativity and innovation into the bottom line of Levi’s piqued my interest and inspired me to analyze the supply chain process more deeply.

At the time many brands, including some I had previously worked for, would not give designers visibility into the production process. This often left us feeling disconnected from the product; we would continue creating beautiful concepts, sketching, designing textiles, and selecting trims from various suppliers without having insight into the backend process. Paul Dillinger changed that. He invited all designers to push for answers.

It was through his guidance that we then created the Dockers WellThread Levi’s Collection. The WellThread Collection is a portion of Levi’s that is built for durability and recyclability; it’s considered the “dream lab” of Levi’s and is devoted to sustainable design, ecological production, and social welfare of textile workers.

We started from the source: the fiber of the cotton plant and how the crop is produced and developed. We began to analyze the various pesticides or toxic chemicals used to create the fabrics; the water usage to grow the cotton; which dyes and fabric finishes the mills were using.

We asked ourselves deeper questions such as: Who was sewing the clothes? How was the garment being sewn — was it a cheap overlocked seam or was it constructed in a way that would be built-to-last?

Then, we thought about the consumer and the end use of the garments: how will they dispose of them? Will consumers continue to throw away garments in the trash or will they start to think about how they can mend and repair the items rather than disposing of them quickly without thinking about the implications?

Ultimately, we wanted to create products that can be recycled back into the production process or decompose if someone were to throw them away. We were challenged to think about the entire lifespan of the garment and how we can create products that were more sustainable. In a perfect world, designers would have a product made that could be recycled back into the production process by the consumer, sending it back to brands and the company responsible for taking care of it.

It was through Levi’s that I learned the power and potential of the circular economy. It was with Paul that I was inspired to think more deeply about the intersection of fashion and sustainability. I was able to grow exponentially and became inspired to lean in fully with sustainable fashion.

Website: www.venitastylist.com

Instagram: @venitastylist

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-stimmler

Facebook: www.facebook.com/venitastylist

Image Credits
Image Credits: Tien Berny, Founder of LUMAX PHOTOGRAPHY @lumaxphotog

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