I grew up on a small lake in the mountains in the north east. I was always outdoorsy. I was into action sports and started working in the snowboard industry early on. A few years ago, I was in a car accident in the mountains in Vermont and I broke my neck and my back. I tried to get back into the lifestyle and doing the things that I loved but it was tough. I realized that I needed to take a different approach. So I moved to California on a whim to be near the ocean. It’s been really healing for me, physically and mentally.

I’m freelance so I work remotely. I make sure to do at least some sort of outdoor activity every day. Usually heading to the beach and getting in the water. I hike a lot, and I go sailing pretty often. I’ve had to rearrange my priorities so I can find the best balance between work and life. I work hard but now the hours I want, rather than keeping to normal 8-5 office hours. It’s allowed me to be much more creative as opposed to having a straight eight hour time frame to fit my work in.

The ocean has opened up a huge creative portal for me. Water, in general, has always shaped me in a way- but getting to spend time in the ocean is allowing me to become a more creative individual. The texture, the way the ocean moves, and connection with the moon is fascinating. I’m also really interested in colour theory and I’m just starting to explore that side of my connection nature.

Jess and I have a really organic relationship and we naturally gravitate to each other. We do our own thing but we’ve always kept tabs on each other. She reached out to me with her idea on Voited when it wasn’t tangible, it was just a concept. The community idea and brand approach was there, so she brought me in to bring help these ideas to life.

We worked together on what the product would be, and also who the VOITED customer is. It’s not about one type of person, it’s more a state of mind. We want to attract people living an authentic life, as creatively as possible. People who are doing their own thing and living an interesting, honest and unconventional lifestyle.

I was spending a lot of time back and forth travelling between the mountains in New England and beaches of California. The first collection is full of vibrant earthy colours. Deep reds, navy blues, forest greens and mustard. They’re familiar colors that you need to “breathe in” when you see them. It’s a very innate and simple palette. It is vibrant colors with simple designs that complement nature wherever you are.

My career has been in product development and management. I definitely gravitate towards technical design - deciding exact parameters that need to be put in place in order to make a product. Dimensions, materials, how things work, how the product is being realistically used. The aesthetic part of design is something that I’ve always been interested in and it was great to put the two aspects of my expertise together in creating this first collection. The Monadnock Pillow Blanket is my signature design and I think speaks really well to all my strengths showing in one style.

Everywhere I’ve been, everything I’ve done, has taught me something valuable so I have no regrets. But I might say get to the ocean sooner! It took me a while to figure that out.

I’m grounding my roots in California. I’ve been a bit of a nomad for about 13 years and it’s really nice to be in one place. I love the idea of living somewhere that I thrive and can see myself shaping wellness around that. I hope to dive deeper into what it means to build a home, but I’ll always have some sort of travel bug!