Laura Berg - Founder, Nourish Sweat Soul

On this week’s episode of Girl Gang the Podcast, Laura Berg (Founder of Nourish Sweat Soul) came to visit from Calgary, Canada.  Laura shares her journey to a more sustainable way of living which resulted in the birth of her own eco-friendly athleisure line, Nourish Sweat Soul.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to grow gang, the podcast. I'm your host, Amy will and the founder of Girl Gang, the label.com. Hi, I'm Laura Berg and I am the founder of nurse sweat soul. And you're listening to girl gang, the podcast. Okay. Before we dive in, can you let our listeners know what nurse sweat, soul is and how it came to be? Yes. So nurse sweat soul I founded a couple years ago and it is a conscious athleisure lifestyle brand. I'm mostly apparel with some accessories and for women living active lives on the go that want to have everything in their lives be eco-friendly at the Chloe made and sustainable. If you could talk us through your personal journey with deciding to shift to a more strict eco-friendly life. Yeah, absolutely. So nurse once I was actually born from a pretty traumatic experience several years ago in 2013, my partner and I lost our home during a natural disaster, um, a flood that happened and we lost everything. And then when we were kind of rebuilding our lives, we realized we wanted to be very sustainable, simple living as much as possible. And so it was hard to find things that we were looking for. I assumed that there was already this kind of niche out there for eco-friendly, ethically made apparel, but there wasn't so much in the athleisure and active world. Uh, so I decided eventually, um, one of my mentors told me, do what you're looking for. And that stuck with me and I said, okay, maybe I could do this. I have no background in fashion or anything. So I just did a lot of research, went to trade shows, just started connecting with people and networking so that I could find what I was looking for. And then when you talk about how that niche didn't really exist in athleisure, I mean since the moment I met you last year, you are very educated on the ecofriendly and sustainable space. A lot of people, you know, kind of just put on that word on their brand as clickbait. Biodegradable is kind of this like broad term, but the way that you describe it and all the different things that I didn't realize weren't ecofriendly, it just really opened up my eyes and why I'm drawn to your brand. And now when I'm looking at new brands that I like, um, kind of figure out how those line with it. So if you could take our listeners through a what true. Eco-Friendly and sustainable fashion is kind of debunking, um, how you told us about the vinyls, why certain people have minimums. I'm kind of go through all that stick and lab slowly. So what I explained to people too is, I mean I love second hand. I love vintage, I love secondhand. I have, since I was a kid, even though I was teased as a kid for having that kind of weird style and buying things from like yard sales and things like that. Like my favorite tee shirt was from a yard sale when I was a kid. Um, and so I've always loved secondhand and thrifting. But then I realized, um, as I got older and I actually got into the fitness industry, I used to be a yoga instructor. I used to be a spin. So you're kind of, now I'm not on a platform per se, but you're in front of people and they're watching you and they also ask you a lot what you wear. So I realized I want to feel good about what I actually tell them. So I want to know more about my clothes. So it was actually, so there's a couple of documentaries that are awesome for people to watch. One is called the true cost, uh, and another one's called river blue. So one is more about the labor side of the fashion industry and one is more about the environmental side. So I immersed myself in all this education. The fashion revolution, um, is also another great resource fashion revolution.org just to learn about what's going on in the industry. So what's kind of happened in recent decades is obviously fast fashion. Um, so there's, you know, 20 to 30 seasons throughout the year. People feel the need to have a so much in their closet, which is we now know not necessary. And, and also the quality just goes down, right? When things are made abroad, when things are, are, are made on ethically and in cheap, then there is a true cost quote unquote of everything that you buy. So I always tell people, think what is behind what you, where everything has a story. And one of the founders of fashion revolution says, you're your clothing is your chosen skin. When someone looks at you, the first thing that they see is what you're wearing, right? It covers the majority of your bodies. So it is essentially our chosen skin. So how I wanted to bring that into my life was second hand I love, but I kind of draw the line at active wear. I personally don't like buying active wear second hand because I know what I do in it. I am sweating nonstop. I love spin, I love hit classes, I love orange theory and all those types of things. Um, and so I just know for myself, I would prefer to have as ethically and sustainably sourced, um, active wear as possible. So there are companies out there like girlfriend collective who does recycled polyester, recycled fish nets, things like that. There's companies that do recycled materials, but there's not a ton of companies out there doing just natural fibers. So you have one side of the active wear world. That's awesome. We're using recycled materials to make the clothing. Yes. It's still plastic and it's still synthetics, but at least for recycling it, right. As long as it's done ethically. And then the other side is, we've just gotten so far over moved from natural fibers were clothing started, was cotton, was hemp, was things from our planet that are sustainable and, and for some reason, yeah, we just got away from that and I guess it makes sense because of performance wear, right? Like organic cotton, you're going to see the sweat on it. So we just got away from this aesthetic of like we wanted to not see sweat. We want to look fabulous when we leave the studio all the time. For me, yes, I wear recycled plastic when I work out, but then I change right into my natural fibers afterwards. So then I'm comfortable, I'm on the go. I love my organic cotton spandex. So that was the niche that I, I really wanted to fill and, and just find the right, um, team that kind of already makes it, cause it can, I don't have a background in fashion, so I just, but I'm a natural connector, my natural networkers. So I'm like, can I just find a team that can do this for me in small batches? Because in the world of fashion, yes, things are done in very high quantities, but now there's more and more manufacturers and companies that will do things in smaller batches, which is x, which was perfect for me because NSS is fully self funded. I have a little baby business loan for it. I do not have any investors and I do everything kind of just on a little baby batch basis. Okay. And um, let's talk about too, when you talk about the, um, the multiple seasons, you know, getting, expecting all these things so quickly. I like the way you worded it. To contrast the fast fashion. Um, one time when I was asking for a turnaround time cause we've worked together in the past, we're working together now and the future, I know we will be, but I like how you said, you know, it really is slow fashion. Like it's a positive word. It shouldn't, this word fast is so intense in our society around things that it shouldn't make sense that something is made in a short amount of time for the cost. It is like that should be a red flag. Not like a, a high, I got a steel, you know how to ship that mindset. Yeah. Um, so can you talk a little bit more about um, slow fashion and getting back to the roots of seasons that are more natural and not these like 20 to 30 a year? Yeah, I mean when you think back, like even when you're, maybe you're watching old movies and old TV shows, right? Like everyone's wardrobes were so simple, timeless pieces, high quality. They're not falling apart on you because the big thing with the big issue with the fashion fast fashion industry is the waist. I mean all you got to do is a little bit of googling and you'll realize how much, I'm sorry to make name drop, you h and m, but companies like that forever 21 h and m, Zara. Um, there are a lot of statistics on how much gets wasted. Actually even designer brands too. So like Burberry was one that I read recently in the past year that they had excess inventory and it gets burnt. It literally just gets burnt or it gets put in a landfill. Um, so there's just way too much excess. The idea of slow fashion is really to just go back to the way fashion was and what it was founded on. Cause when you think back, fashion was about, culture was about local, you know, your identity and, and on a local basis. And it was a reflection of your, your lifestyle and your culture and that's what fashion was. And we just got into a completely different thing. And then in the last, you know, couple of decades, so was slow fashion to better quality handmade, right? Um, also labor costs are something that people don't really think about. They don't think about the face behind their clothing, the face, the faces behind the brand. So something that a lot of people don't realize is if a tee shirt costs$2 there's a great video out there on Youtube too. I can't remember if it was in New York or if it was abroad, but it was like a little machine that says, oh, you can buy this t-shirt for$2 and then when they're trying to buy it for$2, so it'll actually tell you, well, this is a, so if it costs you dollars, this is why. And just think about how much a person gets paid if you're paying$2 for something, right? So if you're paying, you know,$80 for something, then perhaps, you know, hopefully if you look more into the brand, they're sowers are being paid living wages. So that's something else is, you know, there's, there's fair trade, there's labor, there's the environmental costs of what we were. So there's, there's so many different factors and I get it. It's sometimes it's really overwhelming for people to be like, oh my gosh, I've been, this is how I've been consuming for forever. And it's a hard transition. It was for me because I definitely was a, you know, a bargain shopper. Yes, thrifting, but also forever 21 and all this and that. And now I've even over the years had to like stop myself and be like, do I need this? Does it go into my wardrobe? And now I have probably half the size of a closet that I used to have growing up, which I love. So like obviously I had a clean slate after the flood, everything was gone. Um, and most of the things I had was secondhand. But then I got to the active wear part and I was like, oh my gosh, where am I going to buy my clothes from? In the active wear? An athlete is your niche. So that's why I went in that direction. And I picture something I'm very fascinated with and I just want to help figure out how to merge the gap is when you have a certain budget you can, if you're a conscious consumer, you can really buy whatever you want, but if you have a smaller budget, where do you start? And I feel like it does start at this foundation level where people are not getting paid living wages because the demand from people that have the budgets are feeding into the like, look at what I just scored. I just did like a$300 holiday h and m and it's just this vicious cycle. We're in this like huge gap. And so I think the one thing to counter it and think about it a lot as if if you do have a good budget for fashion, if you can spend$200 on a dress on these staple items, like that is a step you can help take to move the needle a tiny bit and like shift this entire thing. Like do it. It's not going to change overnight. But if you have the budget, don't spend$200 at h and m by like one beautiful piece and lead by example and start to push it forward. And something that I realized too, and this was something I did more in college and like my sorority house was we just borrowed each other's clothes. We were a poor college girls. Yes, I did most of my shopping at like thrift stores and buffalo exchange in places like that. Once in a while I would, you know, go to like department stores and forever 21 and stuff too, but we would just trade outfits or like, here, you borrow my dress, will you do my hair and makeup? You know what I mean? And I think that's something that's becoming more common. Clothing exchanges, um, different events that kind of evolve around that. Um, I'm a part of my local kind of chapter for the fashion revolution. And when we had our events in April, it's at the third week of April. Every year, it's the anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, which was a huge garment factory that literally because of such poor conditions, it collapsed. And from that and over about 1200 people died because they were stuck there. And it was just a, the biggest tragedy. So this spurred the fashion revolution. And so every year I'm a part of a board that does local events. And one of them we did was a clothing exchange. We did a screening of one of the documentaries. We had a cocktail party, what was called meet the maker and you come and you meet everyone that's in this, um, industry locally so that you can help support and be a part of it. And then we had ethics one oh one sustainability one oh one where we have like panels of people to discuss everything. And we partner with brands like Patagonia and different other local brands to a smaller brands like NSS to just bring more awareness and education. So is tell people to like have a clothing swap with your friends, with your girlfriends. I mean I actually, did I just do that on a one on one basis? Sometimes, like sometimes, um, I mean I think for women too, we fluctuate a lot in our sizes. You know, throughout the years. Like I know when I retired from teaching fitness, like my body changed. It just did. I wasn't burning thousands of calories every day. So I, I couldn't wear all of my size smalls anymore. So I literally got together with a friend who, she was kind of the opposite. She'd gone into weightlifting. So we literally kind of swapped sizes and then we just kind of went through our closet and we swapped a bunch of things and didn't need to buy a single thing brand new. And the other thing that I, I like to kind of bring to light for people as consignment is big now too. Consignment shops, vintage shops where you can go and you can get the percentage back for the clothing that's sold. But what we're seeing now, which is very unfortunate, is we're seeing people buy still fast fashion, but then wear it once and then can sign it. So that is something that I've noticed more recently where I just kind of noticed people on social media, like they go to Coachella and they just go buy some fast fashion just for Coachella and then all and then all of a sudden it ends up in a consignment store because they're probably not gonna wear it again. It was a festival outfit. So one, why not just trade some clothes with friends and to like that's perpetuating the cycle too. If we're still buying fast fashion and then putting it in consignment stores, we're still not doing anything to support the change in the industry. So it's just things to be mindful about. And I think it's, it's important for there to be more opportunities for education, but there's just kind of like think about it from a budget's perspective too. Um, I always like to save up for these, these really awesome pieces where I know I'm supporting a small local brand. I remember it took me a really long time to buy. For example, it was a fishermen's sweater. It was literally just a knit sweater from this company in the u s that is just so awesome and everything is made ethically and just beautifully. But the sweater was like 180 bucks. And I was like, I really want this sweater, but I had to save up for it. And then after six months I had enough in my little paypal account. Um, and I sent off and I got my sweater and I love it. And it's just one of the like key pieces in my wardrobe that I love. So I think to think about who you're supporting, I mean you can relate it to like also kind of the whole, the whole big business corporation perspective too, is you just have no idea what's going on in their supply chain. So when you have small companies, local businesses that are making things locally that you could actually literally see what their factory looks like, meet some of the people in their brand, then that's something that you're going to feel so good about and it becomes contagious. So I think too, even if you support some of the larger brands, no big deal, but maybe you look into them. For example, the one big box sports brand, I love his Adidas, they just have more initiatives for sustainability. They partner with parley to do recycled plastic sportswear and shoes and accessories. And so they're the only large sport brands that I support because of their efforts. Same thing as like Levi's with jeans. They are a big company but they have some really big goals when it comes to sustainability and they are hitting the mark and you can actually, they talk about it a lot in their social media, in their, on their website. So you can just do some investigative work. It's quick, see where this company is on that scale. Or You have a, for example, there's an app called good on you and they actually rank and um, look into every company that they have on their app and they rate them from animal cruelty, uh, environment and labor. And then they talk about their efforts or a lack of efforts to, so they give them like so many stars or something like, or they say awesome brand, avoid the worst. I don't know the thing, but they just like rank them. So there are resources for people to make it easier because I remember for me, I did it the old school way, research, research, immersing myself in podcasts and documentaries. You don't have to do all that. There are things out there that can help you and you can always send me a message too if you're curious about something. And um, yeah, I think this is the most powerful thing we can do right now is what we do with our dollar and supporting the local economy, supporting the local makers. There's only so much awareness I can do. And I just think step one is education. Step two, where are you putting your dollar? And that's like the phase of life I'm in right now. And trying to be better conscious consumer. I mean, I just took like five trash bags to buffalo exchange and I'm like, this is the last time I ever want to do this in my entire life. This makes me just sick. That's just so much money. Like the energy that you're putting out in money, the energy that it's used to make, the clothes that aren't longstanding, like everything is just so intensive. And there's something I'd tell people too. Like another great quote, which I didn't come up with is every dollar that you spend as the vote for the kind of world you want to live in, Dallas, every dollar you spend is a vote for the kind of world do you want to live in. So I mean, yeah and then people feel overwhelmed by, oh my gosh, I've, and I did this too. Oh my gosh, everything I've ever supported was not good. And it's okay. Um, you didn't know. I think like when we know better, I think this is an Oprah thing or something like some really wise woman that like when we know better we do better. And that is true. And that's a choice. It is a conscious choice. Okay, I know better now, I will do better moving forward and mind you two, mass media, social media and society is not helping us either. We are inundated with ads to have consumerism every single day. Even today. For example, and this is, and I'm someone who's pretty strict about things to date, but I was at yoga and then I went into their little boutique area also from market research, but I went into their little boutique Gary to see what kind of things they're carrying. And then they had the sale area and there was some things that were 50% off and there was a pair of leggings where I'm like, I want those. I didn't buy the leggings, I don't need them. So even with my own brand, I tell people, maybe you're not in the market for this type of product now, but maybe you will be in the future or share the knowledge. You might have friends that like, oh, I'm really, I'm looking for, you know, a sustainable natural fiber active wear for yoga. Do you know of any? So it's just about spreading the word again. I don't, I don't think people need to have all 1200 pairs of the leggings that I've ever carried. Maybe you just have one pair that you love that fits best and your color Palette in your wardrobe. But then I just say, Hey, I'm a small business, so just spread the word. Tell people about it, share it on social media when you do wear the product, right? Because again, that's just going to help spread the positivity and the goodness that is out there. And again, like take your time. I remember my process was, um, because even after the flood, we reaccumulated so much in a short amount of time. Again, like we literally rebuilt our home, rebuilt everything, got a bunch of stuff. Then we got back home after all the renovations and realized how the hell do we still have so much stuff? We literally just lost everything two years ago. How do we have all so much stuff? And then we did like the, the con process where we're like, we're creating a home for our lifestyle and for our needs. And we personally, we travel a lot. We like to only travel with a little carry on in a backpack. So we just, we don't need a lot of stuff but I'm still tempted. I'm always tempted to get another handbag to get another this to get another that and I just always one, I have a rule too that I find handy that I never buy anything the first time I see it. And even when it's consignment cause online like can you know even now can signers, they post a lot on social media and you can just buy things right away on social media and like Ooh I really want those. The something I love to do too is I'm always waiting. I love getting ethical brands second hand. That's like a passion of mine when I can get a pair of I, this happened recently, I love the brand ace and Jig but I can't, I can't afford anything full price but I found a pair of wide leg bottoms second hand and I was just so happy. I was like, yes I can rub this brand. I supported a small local business and that's, and I think I've done that too with like a Nicole Bridger Blazer, that's my one blazer in my closet or it's vintage. So take things little by little. I kind of started with food first, how I nourished myself and how, how am I getting things locally in terms of how I nourished myself. Then I moved into fashion and personal care. So it's a process. I mean I always tell people use what you have, where what you have, even if it's fast fashion, wear it, repair it, right? Like actually take really good care of it and when you're ready to pass it on to somebody else do that. And then the one thing I like to mention too is look into wherever you live locally. If there's a way to recycle textiles. So some things you'll wear to absolute death and they are not repairable or they have stains or something like that. And No, I'm not saying you need to go and like dye your own clothes and like give them a whole new thing. But maybe there's, I know for us, we have a local organization called clothing for a cause where we are, um, and there's bins throughout the city, blue bins that you can just recycle textiles. So that's like literally obviously clean everything first because you know, we don't need that. But socks with holes in them, underwear, old underwear, tank tops, things like that. And you can actually just recycle textiles and they have a process of where everything will end up getting recycled and, and in their process, however they do it. So there's always things you can do. Like I always tell people the last resort should be to throw things away, which, I mean, it happens. I used to do the same thing. I was like, oh, I don't need this anymore. My Chuck, those pairs of that, that outfit or that dress, no. Now I like also go to a local place to repair my clothes. I don't know how to use a sewing machine. I don't know how to sew, but I have friends that do, or my, my, you know, um, my partner's mom knows how to, so I'm just gonna do everything I can to extend the life because I also, everything I own, I also really like it, so I want it to last. And, um, so yeah, those are just a few tips. When you said Nourish, I love you for you to also go over your, the inspiration for your name, nourish, sweat, soul. It's really aligned with all the values that we're talking about. Um, but that is one of the first things I believe when people have an idea, what do I call it? Yeah. So can you take us through that process of naming your greatness? Yes. So that was, um, it was actually in 2016. May I still remember it was when I thought of the name and I love things in threes. So I remember, and at the time I was still a yoga and fitness instructor and I was, I'm also a holistic nutritionist, so I was, um, at the time I, my like branding was called Ben Balance. My name is Laura Burg. So Ben balance was for whatever reason, what I was calling, calling my little brand, my little consulting brand. But then I was, when I decided I wanted to start like eco-friendly active where, um, I was just trying to think of, you know, what my values are. So nourishment and transparency. When I was doing my yoga teacher training, those were some of the two values that I ended up coming up with is I believe in transparency and I believe in nourishment. So transparency doesn't sound that great in a title. And um, so I was like, how can I translate this? So nourish was easy and I believe Seoul is easy. If I remember right, two of the words came to me, but I was like, no, it needs something. And the idea of sweat, which most people think is sweet, but it's sweat, it actually is supposed to be like sweat, but it's not supposed to be like necessarily just going and working out. It also is like the hustle of our lives, the, it's all about balance. So for me as like a teacher and as a student of like yoga and life, I believe in balance between hard and soft it and Sukkah those, those are the two terms used, I guess in Sanskrit, steer it and balanced between hard and soft. So nourishment and soul, they're very soft words and sweat sounds more like the hustle, the detox vacation of our lives like right. So it's, it's just, it was meant to be like a balance. And I don't remember, I was just writing a bunch of names down, nourish this, Dah, Dah, Dah, Dah. And I just was. And then finally nursed, swept soul happened. I know it doesn't roll off the tongue. Amazing. But I think it looks amazing and written out. And I love NSS too. I love, I just love the initial, so NSS for short, so it stuck and yes, I mean you're probably not gonna run a marathon and nurse sweat, soul clothing, but it's not necessarily about the activity that your physical body, cause something else I always think about too in creating is as human beings, we don't just have a physical body. We have an emotional body, a spiritual body, a mental body, an intellectual body. So we have all these aspects of our being that we're trying to balance and everything that we do and find, you know, fulfillment in our lives. So that's in a nutshell, a very long winded side of that question is that's how I came up with the name and it just stuck. I mean, it's beautiful. I think if you're gonna create something on your own, it is an extension of yourself and the name is one of the most important things. And it's such an interesting journey. I have hard a hard time describing to people. Um, but I think yours is just such a, it really is so aligned with your values. So I think you're like a great example for someone to look to if they're like, I have this great idea, but like, what is it? What is this thing? Like how do I get it outside of my brain? And like by the domain. Like what is the website? What's the Instagram? What's the logo? It starts with like, well what is it? You need to name it. It's an existing living, breathing entity out there. Absolutely. And I think that's what's so cool is like I remember too, and I don't have necessarily the A, I'm not an artist. I don't make the clothes that I sell, but I have amazing people that I partner with. So like the, even the pineapple. So NSS is not always branded as nurse sweat, solar, NSS, it's branded just as the pineapple, which again, um, the pineapple was a weird thing for like, it Kinda just happened again, like I don't remember why I wanted a pineapple, but there was a local artist who was a, um, the boyfriend of a friend of mine and he does very geometric, really cool art. And I said, hey, have you ever done food? Because at the time I was still a nutritionist and I was still doing like coolest of nutrition consulting and workshops and I was like, I really have an idea that I want like a very crisp, artsy pineapple because Avocados are not as pretty as pineapples. I love Avocados too. But pineapples are very nutritious, but they're sweet on the inside, hard on the outside. Again, like the balance of steer and Sukha strength and softness. And then the pineapple has the crown too, so there you go. So it's just like the, it was just kind of the image in my head that encompassed what I was going for with nurse sweat, soul. And then I had a lovely intern too. I'd mostly interns in the beginning and now it's just mostly me now that the brand is kind of doing its thing is I had a um, an intern, um, that just graduated from her undergrad and her with her art degree and I said, Hey, do you want to take a stab at, at creating the digital version of the pineapple? Cause I had an art version that was screen printed on apparel in the very beginning of NSS. But then I wanted something that was really clean and simple for marketing, for the brand, for the website. And so she took that art and kind of what I described to her and she created the image that's the pineapple now. And she created nurse sweat, sold the font, which again, I told her, I just want to balance of soft and heart. I want it to flow, but I want it to have crisp edges. I have no idea what that means. But if you could figure it out. And then she took like three different fonts and then created like a custom font. And again, I don't know how to do that stuff. So I was like, bless you. Got Yours are awesome. And now actually this, um, this former intern is now I think doing her master's in Sweden and, and she's done so many logos for different brands and you can always tell they're her right. And it's just so cool. And then she recently, um, was building a portfolio on her website of all the logos that she made. So again, supporting local people. Again, we're going to make that fun factory whole nother podcast. But yeah, being able to like literally support the younger generation because I remember my intern, she got like a contract at a, at a, at a music, um, I think convention center locally. And then the Banff national park also hired her for a contract and now she's in Sweden. So I just think that there's a lot to be said for finding people locally that just align with you on like you guys jive as individuals and just seeing what kind of magic you can create. And yeah, I do believe that everything kind of just will flow as it's meant to and if we manifest things, there'll be created. So NSS was like, technically is like three years old. Took me another year to actually get things going of research and just building kind of the idea behind the brand. And then it Kinda took another year of trial and error to then create the final website. The final concept, the little baby book, which I worked with, with a consultant, um, a friend who's a marketing consultant. So yeah, it was kind of like two years in the making. And then NSS finally launched last June. The last thing I really want to hone in on before we sign off is the art of collaboration and teaming up with people. And we met close to after you kind of had that like final lap, I want to say a nurse, what soul you are in town because you're based in uh, Calgary and you were in town at wanderlust yoga. Um, I was there, I think I'd just done a yoga class and you were selling clothes. I was just drawn to your energy and how passionate you were about talking about your ecofriendly brand and sustainable fashion. I would've thought you had it for years, how knowledgeable you are. And it was so refreshing. So I bought a piece from you and it sparked this, you know, La, I mean it's been over a year now since we first connected. Um, and so I just think if you like what someone's doing instead of I w I looked up to you and the fact that you knew so much about sustainable fashion, I wanted that to be a bigger part of my life. So instead of getting down and being like, oh, I should be doing better, it's like, oh, here's a, here's a channel to do better. I'm going to put my dollar towards this and I want to align with you and learn from your mission and your values and let's like, let's just start making things together and bring people together. And all in the works too. Yeah, that was crazy because literally I launched the first collection, I kind of launched two collections within three months of each other when I called essentials, which was kind of an experimental collection cause I did a dress, a bodysuit, leggings, a sweater, a tank. I kind of did a little bit of everything in hopes of just figuring out what people loved the most. And then the second collection was Veggie Dye, which is a whole nother world of like really awesome eco-friendly, just tie dye, hand dying, which is really rad. So I had those too. And yeah, literally we met my first weekend in La launching the collection and I had a few popups. Um, my first customer, you were actually my last customer that day and Drew Barrymore was my first customer that day. I was gonna say we need a root cause I just found this out when we were at lunch with my mom last weekend and just casually said how drew Barrymore has been a customer and she's a repeat customer. Right? So I was setting up, it was a Sunday morning, I'll just never forget this. Cause obviously like when you start a business, no matter what, it's a risk. Right? And I did, I had, I have a business loan for a very humble business loan for NSS and I'm freaking out. And I'm like, I really, and my launch in Calgary was awesome. So I was like, oh my God, I hope this goes well. So yeah, my first pop up I booked was wanderlust. I was setting up my table. I don't remember what happened, but I was running late. I, and the first class of the day is the class by the Terran to me, the class, which now a friend of mine actually teaches every Sunday morning 9:00 AM go. Um, and, um, and I was setting up my table still and some, a lot of like the celebrities. I remember Rooney Mara like walked out and be aligned it to the door. I just gave her a smile and a wave. And um, and the celebrities seem to leave early because they want to beat the people. And your berry mark came out and I didn't see her at first. I was still setting up my table and she was somebody who was looking at the bras and I looked up and he was drew Barrymore and I just almost like peed myself. I was like, because growing up she was like my idol. Like she's just an iconic person. She had laryngitis so we, she couldn't really talk. So we were like signing to each other. And I remember I had the vege dye outfit on and I had a sweater over it and she was interested in buying bras. I literally lifted my shirt for her and I was like, look, I'm wearing a size small, I think you're this size. And so she just kind of pointed and signed and yeah, she bought six Vegeta eyebrows and I assumed she was going to be just gifting out most of them. And then I saw her again because I met another studio owner, Marnie of Barbell, the o g barbell. Um, and uh, I think in Lebraya and I've been there too. And so I was doing my first pop up there and drew was there too. And then she bought, I gifted her a pair of the matching vege dilate jeans and then she bought a sweater as well, and then she could talk. So I was able to actually hook her and s and it was just incredible. I was just like, it was one of those moments like that day at wanderlust on that Sunday, like meaning drew first and you were the last person that it was just meant to be where I was like, oh my gosh, this is real. Like I can't believe I'm doing this. I have a business, I still call it a baby business, but I'm like, I have a business and people like Andrew Barrymore's. My first[inaudible] was my first customer in La and I just wanted to, and I cry. I waited til the end of the day, but I got in my car, I took some deep breaths before I went back to whoever I was staying with that day. And I just bawled my eyes out. I was, I was just crying because it was, it's just such a crazy thing to, to start to actually launch the business. And of course there's going to be things that are criticized. There's going to be things that people don't like. I just had no idea that the reception would be so well and no, I'm, I'm, I'm such a small business. I don't have even a marketing budget. I have nothing. I just literally built the website myself. I build the collections myself and I just hope people love them and I hope people will eventually find me in some way and find a piece that they love that will be in their closet for a very long time because, um, yeah, I mean I don't have millions of dollars to like market online and through Google and things like that. So it's all organic. And so that's why events like that that just like proved to me that you guys feel my passion and you and it's received. And then we ended up, yeah, doing a little something together and now we're going to do more together. I'm so excited. Well, I just love your energy. I'm so grateful we get to share your story and educate people on the sustainable practices you personally use and about your brand that I personally love so much as well. Nurse what soul? I'm so can you let people know where to find you, where they can purchase your Swiss soul. So the website is just nourished sweats, sold.com. Um, and the Instagram handle is the same. Nourish, sweat soul. I'm, Hey, I'm lb. Um, but really even I love doing wholesale and co-branding and things like that. So always tell businesses, just send me a message. My emails lb at nurse Sweat, seoul.com and um, yeah, I have some like you can go online. There's a few, there's a few retailers. I've a few. I don't have very many, but um, yeah, it's, it's where you can find me. And also I tell people, I would love to help you brand things too. So just contact me and let me see what kind of magic that we can create together and amazing. Yes. And support your local girl gang supported all Calgary girls, la girls. You'll soon be back to southern California. I'll be back asap. Oh my gosh. Well, thank you so much. Thank you.