Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lydia Underwood. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Lydia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
I remember the first time I heard the term “fair-trade.” I was in college studying to become an Interior Designer, and a mentor offered me some Fairtrade chocolate. When I asked her what that meant, she said that it had not been made with child labor. I had never thought about who made the things I consumed, and I felt a mixture of shock, shame, and skepticism about what she shared. I promptly decided to…. dismiss it altogether and not learn any more about it because I was a poor college student who deserved to eat cheap chocolate guilt-free sometimes, you know!?
Fast-forward several years, and I have been working as an Interior Designer for a while and am intimately acquainted with the specification and sourcing process. In the summer of 2015, I was reading through the minor prophets in the Bible and came to the book of Amos – which shook me to my very core. The book uses strong language condemning social injustices of its time like: “They have perverted justice by selling honest people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals,” and “Their fortresses are filled with wealth taken by theft and violence,” and “I hate their beautiful homes.” Of course, as an Interior Designer, that last one was especially poignant. As I paused to survey the issues of my time, I realized that the society I live in contributes to similar injustices, and so I was forced to reconsider the fair-trade subject I had been avoiding.
It didn’t happen overnight, but I began taking the next right step and never looked back. I started by challenging myself to only purchase my clothing from Fairtrade certified or secondhand sources, later extending that practice to the purchase for my home, and then ultimately expanding it into an entire business because I realized, as an Interior Designer, that I not only have more buying power than the average person but also have the incredible opportunity, not to mention responsibility, to support ethical sources through my material and product selections.
Therefore, I founded Aisthesis Studio to provide an ethical alternative to conventional interiors where beauty extends beyond the surface to the source. “Aisthesis” is a Greek word that means perception from the senses (feeling, seeing hearing, etc.) as well as the intellect, and the combination of which results in moral discernment on ethical matters. As we craft each bespoke environment, we consider the earth’s resources, both its people and materials because while we believe life it meant to be beautiful, we also believe that everyone should have the opportunity to earn a living wage, and we have a responsibility to preserve our planet for future generations.
In summary, I believed that founding and building Aisthesis Studio would be a worthwhile and successful endeavor because it was simply the next right step for me to take. Knowing that gives me the faith and persistence to persevere even when I am confronted with challenges, doubts, and failures. My passion for ethical sourcing has only grown – and that exponentially – on this journey; and I am just getting started!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
First of all, I am a lover of Beauty and cannot help but be a creative person. It flows out in so many ways, from interiors & art to music & literature. I have always been that way, but whether it is nature or nurture, I cannot say. My dad is an Architect and always encouraged his children in our various creative pursuits, and his mom kept an impeccable home and always wished she had been an Interior Designer. Whatever the case may be, I knew from an early age that I wanted to be an Interior Designer.
Therefore, I attended a CIDA accredited school (the University of Louisville) and graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in Interior Architecture during the recession. I was fortunate enough to work for a boutique Interior Design firm on projects large and small, from commercial to residential, on every phase of a project from beginning to end, and specializing in high-end hospitality. I took and passed the professional Interior Design exam (the NCIDQ) applied to the Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners, and received the title of “Registered Interior Designer” from the state of Tennessee. I am proud of my education and experience because it gives my clients confidence in my expertise to bring each project to a successful and beautiful conclusion.
Aisthesis Studio is a full-service Interior Design firm providing design intent, construction drawings, specifications, construction administration, and purchasing assistance for both commercial and residential projects. We help conscientious brands and consumers invest in luxurious interior experiences that not only transforms their quality of life and benefits their guests but also transforms the way interiors are constructed and furnished to positively impact the people behind the products. We are incredibly fortunate and proud to partner with our clients in creating spaces that look good on the outside and feel great on the inside!
We begin all of our projects by nurturing a positive, personal, and professional relationship with our clients. Then we develop a custom, innovative design solution for each project based on the client’s goals and feedback. Our designs consist of a unique blend of (10-60%) existing, salvaged, or repurposed architectural elements and refurbished furniture combined with (40-90%) new finishes, fixtures, and furnishings with priority given to sources with labor certifications and local artisans. The design process can be intimidating and convoluted, but we are here to guide the process, hold your hand through it, and oversee all of the details in order to bring the vision to life. And of course, all of our design services are completely customizable and tailored to fit each project and budget because no two projects are the same!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Oh my goodness, resilience is a muscle that I have to exercise and grow every week if not every day of the week. It is difficult to pick just one story… I think resilience is one of those things that every entrepreneur has to have in order to make any progress. It never happens overnight, and it is never easy; but, as they say, anything worth doing never is. …Let’s see now, I think I will tell you about one of my most epic failures.
I was extremely ambitious and originally launched Aisthesis Studio in January of 2023 as a platform that provided not only ethical design services but also offered a range of ethical and sustainable products (called “Artist Collections”) for sale online and in-person beginning at arts and crafts fairs. I had a long-range vision, of course; but this is where I started. That year my largest financial expense and the biggest drain on my time was by far the product development and all of the behind-the-scenes for the sales. Being an artist is an incredibly vulnerable thing because you are creating something from your heart and mind that you are offering to the world, where it could be misunderstood or rejected by everyone; and on top of that, being an entrepreneur is equally vulnerable for the same reasons. I say all that to convey that a LOT of resources, preparation, and heart went into this endeavor.
The first arts and crafts fair I showed at was outside in the height of summer when it was about 100 degrees (but it felt like 150 in tent!). The products were unique and beautiful and the display was interesting and attractive. Everything came together as planned, and I was incredibly proud of myself. People enjoyed looking and often complimented the experience, but I did not make a single sale the entire show! I realized that at a craft fair people are usually prepared to spend around $10-15 per product, and mine were bespoke, specialty products starting around $50. I packed up at the end of the show feeling like my worst fears had been confirmed.
Then, just a week later, I heard back from a high-end art fair (the attendees of this fair come prepared to pay more per product) that my application had been denied; and they actually shared their scoring and comments with me. One juror scored a category as 1 out of 7 (a 1 being the lowest score) – to which my husband commented that it was a score more befitting of an elementary school art project than the luxury items I submitted. Their comments made it clear that they didn’t understand or value the concept of reusing pre-existing elements in a relevant yet respectful way. They hated everything I showed and didn’t even try to be kind. It is one of most brutal rejections I have ever received.
It took a little while for me to mentally and emotionally work through the feelings of rejection and how they echoed deep seeded feelings of rejection from childhood. (Don’t we all know what that feels like…) But one of the things that kept repeating in my head during that season was the thought, “It is going to be ok because I am perfectly loved.” That constant reminder gave me the security that I needed to bravely, consistently, and courageously face my fears, become more of myself, and rise above the negative voices both on the outside and on the inside.
I went on to show 5 more times that year, learning from each experience, and with each show being more successful than the last. I ended up recouping my losses by the end of the year, and I am incredibly proud of myself for challenging myself, learning many invaluable lessons, and growing in resilience through it all. Ultimately, I decided to pivot in 2024 to focus my energies solely on developing the Interior Design (the primary) aspect of the business and leaving the product development and sales until further down the road.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Yes! My goal is to transform the building industry to positively impact the people behind the products because I believe that we can build a better future to benefit more than just ourselves. As Design for Freedom says, “Every building tells a story of humanity – either of dignity or exploitation.” The built-environment uses more raw materials than any other industry. And forced-labor and human exploitation taints the extraction and manufacturing of the most common materials used to construct, renovate, and decorate our buildings (from textiles to stone, timber, polysilicon and everything in-between).
Currently there are an estimated 28 million children, women, and men trapped in some type of forced labor worldwide. And every year the US imports an estimated 170 billion dollars’ worth of goods that are at risk for having been produced with slave labor. Walk Free, an international human rights group, describes slavery this way: “The significant characteristic of all forms of modern slavery is that it involves one person depriving another person of their freedom for profit. Its cost is individual freedom and economic stagnation. Its impact is global, and no country is immune.”
In our impressively industrialized society, we have become increasingly removed from the people who make the products we use. Modern slavery impacts the primary industries of food, clothing, and shelter (buildings). We may never meet them, but the fingerprints of exploited children, women, and men who have had a hand in producing the products we use are all around us… and tragically they don’t belong to a mere number, but to real lives, names, faces, families, personalities, and dreams.
Unquestionably, modern slavery is one of the most critical and overwhelming issues of our day. It requires bravery to face the truth and allow it to change us because the easiest thing to do would be what I did at first – make excuses and avoid thinking about it. But what if, instead, together we each used our own individual agency and buying power to positively impact local economies around the world by supporting ethical sources, thereby increasing the demand, and so improving the lives of underprivileged peoples around the world.
Truly, we can change the world yesterday one person, one purchase, and one project at a time! All we have to do is stay committed to taking the next right step in front of us. That step looks different for all of us, and for me, continuing to take the next right step ultimately led me to found Aisthesis Studio to provide an ethical alternative to conventional interiors, where beauty extends beyond the surface to the source. I hope you think of us with your next interior project because we would love to help craft a beautiful design solution for you and/or your brand while making a world of difference together!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aisthesisstudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aisthesis_studio_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aisthesisstudio
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydiaunderwood/
Image Credits
Smallhands Creative (first 6 images) and Nikayla Skolits Phototraphy (last 3 images)