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Sustainability + Versatility | Business with Purpose Podcast EP 248: Kristi Soomer, Encircled

Sustainability + Versatility | Business with Purpose Podcast EP 248: Kristi Soomer, Encircled

Sustainability + Versatility | Business with Purpose Podcast EP 248: Kristi Soomer, Encircled

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  • Sustainability + Versatility | Business with Purpose Podcast EP 248: Kristi Soomer, Encircled
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Click a timestamp below to be taken to the exact spot in the episode…

My guest this week is Kristi Soomer, founder and CEO of Encircled, a line of innovative, sustainable and versatile women’s wear based in Toronto. She wanted to help women do more with less in their wardrobes. She launched her online store in 2012 and now has a studio in Toronto. 

5:58 – Kristi 101

  • The brand started as a travel clothing line. Kristi came from a corporate career and never went to fashion school, but she wanted to make comfortable, stylish clothes. 

7:41 – The beginning

  • She was packing for a yoga retreat in Costa Rica and didn’t know what to pack. She liked the concept of a piece of clothing that could be versatile and used many different ways.
  • She used a versatile scarf she had and improved it until she created her own prototype.

12:16 – Creating a brand

  • She started with a product instead of a brand and developed a brand that wrapped around her product. 
  • She named her company Encircled because it made her think of her circle scarf.

14:51 – Ethical fashion

  • Kristi was ahead of the curve when it came to sustainable fashion, but some people didn’t understand why it mattered. 
  • She says authenticity and integrity are really important to her, so she became curious about sustainable fashion and human rights in the fashion supply chain.

19:18 – Progress over perfection

  • Kristi says it’s impossible to shop perfectly, but you can find better brands, better fabrics and better options. Try to take incremental, small steps. 
  • People expect her to be perfect and they criticize what she drives, but there’s a lot of grey area in sustainability. 
  • She believes in progress over perfection.

29:23 – Turning point in her business

  • It was a hard decision to quit her career, and her family didn’t support her desire to be an entrepreneur.
  • She started seeing growth in the business in 2015. She began hiring people to help her, and she plans to have 20 employees this year.  

35:50 – On the horizon

  • She started a podcast, is doing interviews and started an email marketing course and goal setting course. She wants to help female entrepreneurs level up. 
  • She wants to keep creating comfy, dressy clothes and expand product development and find new fabrics. 

39:35 – Get to know you

  • Favorite meal? Hamburgers
  • Song she has to sing? Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’”

FEATURED QUOTES

“Authenticity and integrity are really important to me.” – Kristi

“I became very curious and very interested in human rights in the fashion supply chain.” – Kristi

“There are very few women who ever surpass the million-dollar mark in revenue. We passed that in 2015 and continue to grow, and I want more women to be able to do that.” – Kristi

CONNECT WITH KRISTI: 

  • https://www.kristisoomer.com/
  • https://www.encircled.ca/

ABOUT KRISTI:

Kristi is the founder and CEO of Encircled. A line of innovative, sustainable and versatile womenswear based in Toronto and retailed exclusively online. A former management consultant who virtually lived in airports, Kristi started Encircled with the dream of helping women do more with less in their wardrobes. Frustrated with the lack of versatile and stylish travel clothing, she started designing it. With no fashion background and little capital, she launched her online store in 2012. Today, Encircled has a beautiful studio in the Junction Triangle area of Toronto, a team of 12, and makes all of its clothing within 35km of their studio.

Encircled has been featured in publications like FASHION magazine, NOW Magazine, The Globe and Mail, and Apartment Therapy. Encircled is also a certified B Corporation, and winner of the StartUp 50 Fastest Growing companies in Canada in 2018. In 2018, Kristi was named to the Clean50, a list honouring the top contributors to clean capitalism and positive environmental impact through business in Canada. Kristi holds a degree in Finance from the University of Western Ontario, and an MBA from Queen’s University. Learn more about Encircled at: www.encircled.ca.

Thank you to our partners of the show:

It’s time for a SPRING CLEAN REFRESH! Let’s get that home sparkling, the safe way with MamaSuds!

Castile soap is the superhero of soaps, it really does it all- from the windows to the walls! It’s truly the only soap you need. What can you do with MamaSuds Castile Soap? Clean the floors, scrub the counters, bathtubs and tile, clean the baseboards, the windows and the blinds, you can even use it to clean the carpets! Grab a gallon of MamaSuds Castile Soap and start tackling all of your Spring Cleaning to-do’s at www.mamasuds.com and use code MOLLY for 15% off your order!

—

I’d like to introduce you to Deux Mains. In French, Deux Mains means two hands. Why ‘two-hands’? Because everything they create is made by trained artisans who use their two hands to make their life better while crafting beautiful products.

Truly, this is a company that set out to change lives and make a positive impact in the world. It started when the founder, Julie, wanted to create dignified jobs in Haiti, a place she was growing to love, and that was exploding with creativity. She wanted to share this talent with the world.

Julie set up an educational program to train people with artisan skills and then went on to build a factory that operates on 100% solar energy. Deux Mains now employs more than 40 artisans that handcraft premium leather goods, jewelry and sandals. Their lives are forever changed by their craft.

What’s also cool is their products incorporate an eco-friendly twist, working with responsibly sourced materials and repurposed inner-tube and tires in their designs.

When you buy from Deux Mains, you get to be part of a movement that is making a difference in the world, while adding an incredibly well-made piece to your closet that supports conscious living!

You can discover their products online at deuxmains.com.

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Our girl graduated fifth grade today and sang the National Anthem 🥹 And yes, I was a blubbery mess. I’m so grateful God saw fit for me to be her mama. We are so proud of the amazing young woman she’s becoming. #lillstillhomemovies

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Our girl graduated fifth grade today and sang the National Anthem 🥹 And yes, I was a blubbery mess. I’m so grateful God saw fit for me to be her mama. We are so proud of the amazing young woman she’s becoming. #lillstillhomemovies

🇺🇸 ❤️ remembering her and all those who gave their lives in service to their country.

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🇺🇸 ❤️ remembering her and all those who gave their lives in service to their country.

Spam texts are like a box of chocolates… I just start replying with Forrest Gump quotes ‘til they leave me alone. #spamtexts #lifeislikeaboxofchocolates

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Spam texts are like a box of chocolates… I just start replying with Forrest Gump quotes ‘til they leave me alone. #spamtexts #lifeislikeaboxofchocolates

He is risen indeed! ✝️

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He is risen indeed! ✝️

It’s wild out here in these pollen streets. #thepollening 🤧

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It’s wild out here in these pollen streets. #thepollening 🤧

🎊 ONE WHOLE YEAR 🎉

My debut memoir, “If I Don’t Laugh, I’ll Cry” has been out in the world for one whole year today. Writing this book was hard and holy work, and it’s been such a joy to see how many of you have laughed, cried, and laughed till you cried.

Thank you for the support of this book. ❤️

If you’ve read it, would you do me a *huge* favor and leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads? And would you share the book with a friend or on social media? It would mean the world to me.

And if you haven’t picked up a copy or downloaded the audiobook yet, what are you waiting for? 😉

#ifidontlaughillcry #iidlic #nelsonbooks

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🎊 ONE WHOLE YEAR 🎉 

My debut memoir, “If I Don’t Laugh, I’ll Cry” has been out in the world for one whole year today. Writing this book was hard and holy work, and it’s been such a joy to see how many of you have laughed, cried, and laughed till you cried. 

Thank you for the support of this book. ❤️

If you’ve read it, would you do me a *huge* favor and leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads? And would you share the book with a friend or on social media? It would mean the world to me. 

And if you haven’t picked up a copy or downloaded the audiobook yet, what are you waiting for? 😉 

#ifidontlaughillcry #iidlic #nelsonbooks

Nine is fine! Happy birthday to the sweetest, kindest, funniest, smartest, best basketball playing boy we know! We love you, buddy roe!

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Nine is fine! Happy birthday to the sweetest, kindest, funniest, smartest, best basketball playing boy we know! We love you, buddy roe!

13 years of being married to the best man I know. Life with you is more than I ever could have dreamed. I love you, J. 🤍 #happyanniversary

📷 @katelynjames

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13 years of being married to the best man I know. Life with you is more than I ever could have dreamed. I love you, J. 🤍 #happyanniversary 

📷 @katelynjames

And the people of God said… AMEN!

#leviticus #allfatisthelords #biblerecap #biblehumor

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And the people of God said… AMEN! 

#leviticus #allfatisthelords #biblerecap #biblehumor

I often wonder if he’d be a red head like Amos or if he’d be musically gifted like Lilly.

Would he love snuggling or be a boy who only wanted hugs on his terms?

Would his eyes be brown like his dad’s or would he be covered in freckles?

What would his laugh sound like? Who would be his best friend? What would his favorite book be? Would he say Gen Alpha slang words like sigma and skibidi or would he love his mom too much to do that?

Would I be mommy or mama or mom to him?

So many questions I won’t get to answers to on this side of heaven. But I think about him today, just like every day, and I hope he’s getting a slice of strawberry cake for his heavenly birthday.

7 years. 🤍 #elijahtimothy

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I often wonder if he’d be a red head like Amos or if he’d be musically gifted like Lilly. 

Would he love snuggling or be a boy who only wanted hugs on his terms? 

Would his eyes be brown like his dad’s or would he be covered in freckles?

What would his laugh sound like? Who would be his best friend? What would his favorite book be? Would he say Gen Alpha slang words like sigma and skibidi or would he love his mom too much to do that? 

Would I be mommy or mama or mom to him?

So many questions I won’t get to answers to on this side of heaven. But I think about him today, just like every day, and I hope he’s getting a slice of strawberry cake for his heavenly birthday. 

7 years. 🤍 #elijahtimothy
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