We were lucky to catch up with Sinclair Lewis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sinclair, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

Well, In the industries I work in (fashion, beauty and food & drink) I have managed to have all natural, organic and vegan ingredients and materials used in my products without fillers and additives. I’ve noticed that in those industries there has been a huge surge in the use of vegan and organic ingredients, and I love it. As time has gone on we as a society have grown to understand and learn about what’s in the products we use, wear and consume on a daily basis. So I appreciate the companies that have made the change to healthier options in their offerings.

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?

My name is Sinclair Lewis. I own House of Jade Made, Jade’s Tea Co. and co-owned VeggiFace with my late mother Debra Dupree.

House of Jade Made is s a small batch vegan slow fashion apparel & accessories brand. Jade’s Tea Co. is a handcrafted vegan loose tea company and VeggiFace is Plant Based Personal Care & Beauty for everyone at every age.

House of Jade Made offers colorful vibrant vegan clothing, jewelry and handbags to people of all ages and sizes from XS-5XL. I’m proud to be able to have so many offerings that insight joy and fun to those who wear them. Also knowing that everything is vegan and hypoallergenic makes it that much more exciting.

Jade’s Tea Co. offers loose tea with no added flavors. The teas are crafted with 100% natural high quality herbs, leaves, petals and fruits. Therefore, the taste is pure and you achieve the benefits the ingredients offer, as nature intended it.

And lastly VeggiFace (co- owned by The late great Debra Dupree and myself). VeggiFace is a Plant Based personal Care & beauty brand. We cater to a broad range of people and demographics ,of all hair types, and skin types. Our products help those with the goal of achieving clearer, healthier skin & hair. A positive body image improves ones self-esteem and that is our main mission.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

One great marketing story was from VeggiFace. At VeggiFace we pride ourselves in having products that are from the farm to your face with ingredients that are so clean and natural that you can taste the product. So when we started holding seminars/workshops to gain customers, a few of our customers exclaimed that they tasted the products and had no issues. Then our new customers were calling and texting us raving about their results, stating that they also saw clearer and healthier skin in as little as one week.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Art has always been my side hustle, as well as jewelry design and fashion has always been a passion of mine. So that spawned the birth of House of Jade Made, where I use my skills in jewelry making, fine arts and graphic design to to create colorful apparel and accessories. Growing up my mother sent me to art camp from the age of 6 to the age of 14. There I was able to perfect my talent in the arts and expand my range. when I was 11 I sold my first painting and at that moment I realized this could be a career for me. So I immersed myself in all things art then later jewelry and fashion design. I watched how-to videos, read books, and studied Vogue magazines. My breakout collection “Candy Colors” was launched through a fashion show in November 2022. I felt so accomplished seeing my wears and seeing the smiles one everyone’s faces as they wore them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.houseofjademade.com, www.veggiface.com, www.jadesteaco.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/veggi.face , instagram.com/housofjademade , instagram.com/jadesteaco

Image Credits
Sinclair Lewis