Encircled was founded by Kristi Soomer in 2012. Coming from a non-traditional background for a fashion designer, she graduated in 2003 from Western University’s Huron University College with a bachelor’s degree in Administrative and Commercial Studies, specializing in economics. After a few years working in marketing and branding, Kristi decided to go back to school and complete her MBA at Queen’s University in 2009. Post-Queen’s, she worked as a brand manager at Colgate-Palmolive, as a management consultant specializing in retail at PwC, and most recently, at ThoughtWorks.

While she was working in management consulting, Kristi started Encircled in 2012 as a side gig. She eventually quit her corporate job to focus solely on Encircled in late 2014, when she opened its first studio space in the vibrant Junction neighbourhood of Toronto.

Today, Kristi is CEO of Encircled and manages a customer-focused team in Toronto. She is committed to ensuring a transparent manufacturing process from start to finish, along with fair wages and good working conditions for her team.

In this episode, we discuss:

the shift towards sustainable fashion the impacts of fast fashion how to build a sustainable wardrobe the Wear Your Closet Challenge: https://mailchi.mp/encircled/wearyourclosetchallenge

Resources:

Website: www.encircled.ca Instagram.com/kristisoomer Instagram.com/encircled_ Facebook.com/getencircled Giveaway: Subscribe, Rate & Review & Send your screenshot to [email protected]for a chance to win a pair of the Dressy Sweatpants!