We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kathleen Tesnakis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kathleen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Apparently, I love risk taking. From the very creation of my business in 1996, to the everyday workings of my recycling design studio, taking risks is what ekologic is all about.

In the beginning, the risk was being ahead of my time by manufacturing products out of post-consumer textile waste. I connected with used clothing dealers in my community and sought to balance the 99% of textiles that were being landfilled at the time. Only 1% of post-consumer materials were considered recyclable in 1996. Today that number is 15%, so the push to do better is still critical, 26 years later.

I also took a risk with customers. Would they see value in purchasing something made out of post-consumer materials? The answer is…YES. The functional luxury and unique beauty of our products create a vehicle to educate and connect. In fact, the individual nature of each piece, due to recycling, gives our customers an object that inspires complete strangers to reach out to them, and so the conversations begin. The story of textile waste transformed helps to instill our eco ethos in others. I’d say that was a risk worth taking.

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?

Hi. My name is Kathleen Tesnakis. I am the Founder, President and Designer of ekologic, Inc. My circular design studio is dedicated to up cycling textiles, specializing in recycling cashmere. Our studio is based on a circular recycling design system I created to enhance and manipulate post-consumer cashmere knit wear. Circularity in our studio means that the scrap of one project is transformed to create another. This philosophy has led us to the point where we are very close to zero waste.

I became an entrepreneur when I realized that I didn’t want to compromise my values and sought a way to live in alignment. Having grown up around the world, I had a deep connection to the environment and respect for other cultures. I was appalled by the destructive path of the textile industry but loved textile production and design. I earned a BS in Textiles from Syracuse University.

Recycling has allowed me to make products that are as unique as the people who wear them. The celebration of this diversity is one of my very favorite aspects of the items we create.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Authenticity along with active listening are two traits that have served me well. Being authentic builds trust within your customer base. This openness creates space for real connection and allows us to guide an individual to the right product.

Active listening supports showing up authentically. I learn so much from our customers. They tell us stories of how our creations play a part in their lives, providing the inspiration for new designs as well as the means to keep us going through all the bumps and challenges.

We also keep a customer email list. Communicating and connecting through email is vital to our business. We’ve learned that our customer enjoys sharing our journey.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I have fully embraced resilience. As a business owner, I laugh at the numerous times of crisis that have occurred in our 26 years. Some issues you create yourself but truthfully, there are many more you don’t. Examples: 9/11, The Great Recession and Covid-19. You also have the small bumps in the road daily. Being elastic, action oriented, fearless are all traits of an entrepreneur and ones I embrace. I am so thankful for resilience.

During 9/11 my work was on the cover of a national magazine ‘Organic Style’. Our hats and accessories were being sold in numerous shops and galleries in NYC and across the country, then the order cancelations flooded in. Needless to say, recovering from that financial disaster took years.

Seven years later we entered the age of the Great Recession. Knowledge from my previous experience gave me the skills to identify the issues and respond quickly. I have always followed my instincts during these tumultuous times. Just recently, Covid -19 stopped us in our tracks, changed the way we did business and required us to learn how to connect virtually and be transformative.

Our company has grown from outdoor art markets (1996-99), moved to wholesale shops and galleries (1999-2009) and finally, to direct retail (2009 to present). Each step on the journey has been invaluable, every moment in time unique. I am thrilled to be entering an age where recycling textiles is the norm and new manufacturing processes are being developed to manage our waste and curb our worldwide pollution issues.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ekologic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ekologic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ekologicny

Image Credits
Kathleen Tesnakis – Saturn Hats, Fingerless Mittens Ariel Einbinder – Jackson zip
Demetrius Green – Saturn, Mitts, Trixie sweater and skirt.