My Why
My name is Lydia Underwood, and I founded Aisthesis Studio to provide an ethical alternative to traditional interiors for conscientious consumers. I knew that I wanted to be an Interior Designer from an early age, but I discovered my passion for ethical sourcing during my professional career. I remember the first time I heard the term “fair-trade” - I was in college, and a mentor was telling me how the chocolate she was offering me was “fair-trade” and not made with child labor. I had never thought about who made the things I consumed, and I felt a mixture of guilt, shame, and skepticism about what she shared. I dismissed it and decided that I didn’t want to learn any more about it because I was a poor college student who needed to consume cheap chocolate guilt-free sometimes - you know!?
During my design career I became intimately familiar with the sourcing and selection process. I sat through dozens (if not hundreds) of product presentations by reps and knew the most important information – appearance, price, durability, and lead-time. I took pride in ethical business practices of staying within the timeline and budget, providing transparent pricing and regular updates, and always specifying durable selections from vendors that would stand behind their products. But one summer in my mid-twenties, as I was reading through some of the minor prophets in the Bible, I came to the book of Amos and my understanding of the ethics related to my profession was expanded. The book uses strong language about social justice issues at that time, and when I paused to survey the issues of my time, I realized that the society I live in has some similar issues. So I was forced to reconsider the fair-trade subject that I had been avoiding…
Passages like these shocked me and caused me to consider the source behind the possessions I purchased to enhance my quality of life:
“They have perverted justice by selling honest people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals. They trample helpless people in the dust and deny justice to those who are oppressed.” (2:6-7)
“Their fortresses are filled with wealth taken by theft and violence.” (3:10) and
“I despise the pride and false glory of Israel, and I hate their beautiful homes.” (6:8)
But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.
Compared to the rest of the world the U.S. is the leader in both household wealth and consumption of resources. And I realized that when we make a purchase, our wealth can either take advantage of another’s weaker position or partner with them to elevate their life while elevating our own. And then I began to think of the possibilities: What if we could use use our economic privilege as an advantage to benefit others while benefitting ourselves? What if it was normal to pay the people who make the things we consume a wage they can live on? What would the world look like if we paid what something was actually worth? Yes, we might have less (Would that really be such a bad thing?), but what we do have would be better quality, and we could either resell the investment or pass it down through the generations rather than leaving behind fast-fashion and fast-furniture in ever growing landfills for our posterity to clean up. What if beauty could extend beyond the surface to the source? What if…
It didn’t happen overnight, but slowly and steadily my thinking started to shift and so did my practices of personal consumption. I began by challenging myself to only purchase clothing from sources that were either fair-trade certified or second-hand, and then that practice extended into my home goods, furniture, and fixtures purchases. And I realized that as a designer I have the advantageous opportunity to support ethical sourcing since Interior Designers are responsible for specifying billions of dollars’ worth of product every year. And so the idea grew into an entire business model. With our dollars we can “vote” for sustainable business practices that are good for the earth’s people and materials. We can change the world’s economy one purchase, one project, and one person at a time! Are you with me!?
Such a radical shift in mindset can be overwhelming because there are so many things to think about and learn, but that is why we are here. We do all of the vetting and sourcing so that you can feel good about your investment and enjoy luxury interiors guilt-free. To schedule your free 15 minute discovery call to see if we would be a good fit for your next project simply fill out the form on our contact page today!