Meet Lisa Weaver of Hustle & Blush

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Weaver.

Hi Lisa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am an avid purveyor of global design. As the daughter of a philanthropic interior designer and contractor/developer, I had exposure to building and design from a young age. As a young person, I would take apart and somewhat-put-back-together furniture, which my parents greatly appreciated. I am a self-proclaimed “tool hoarder, tinkerer, widget manipulator and crafty nature lover.” I worked internationally for a number of well-known beauty and esthetic brands for over 15 years and the best part of traveling for work was learning about different cultures and communities. I would bring back treasures from my travels to customize my own space (my home is filled with trinkets from Morocco, Israel, El Salvador, Peru, Nepal, Thailand, Chile, Ukraine and so on.) These include a yak-hair rug, a lamp shaped like the Taj Mahal, and a silver, turquoise and amber Moroccan teapot that supposedly brings love into your life when you brew tea! Soon, my friends asked me to help design their homes too, and before I knew it, I was working professionally as an interior designer. To further develop my skills, I enrolled in a trade school and took classes in furniture upholstery, sewing, design and building. My specialty became beautiful, functional spaces with a unique global twist (I design a lot of Airbnb/vacation properties).

In early 2020, I ordered a blanket online from a Ukrainian weaver for my bedroom. When it arrived, I was so impressed by the craftsmanship that I immediately struck up a friendship with the artisan (Olesya). That friendship blossomed into a partnership, and Hustle & Blush was born. I founded Hustle & Blush to combine my lifelong goals of helping women around the globe preserve their traditional crafts while supporting communities with ethical business practices. Hustle & Blush is a line of fair trade-compliant, handmade items that partners with artisans in developing markets. We seek to honor their storied crafts while making them more relatable to the modern consumer. Hustle & Blush then reinvests a portion of our profits back into each of the markets we work with to create an equitable loop.

Our launch collection, Hutsul & Blush, featured a variety of handwoven wool goods from the Carpathian Mountains of Western Ukraine. Shortly thereafter, we released our Fluff Ewes wool dryer balls that are hand-felted by female artisans in Nepal.

Our Fluff Ewes quickly became a cult favorite and category leader on Etsy. Briefly, after achieving traction in the US market, I sent samples to contacts in Korea. Last summer, we debuted on Korea’s number one home goods TV Home Shopping Show and sold out of over 8,000 units in 15 minutes of the 30-minute broadcast. We have since been on four additional live shows and have achieved further distribution in the market. The consistent volume has allowed us to employ over 400 women in Nepal in a full-time capacity.

We are currently looking to expand in the US market and are excited about what the coming year has in store. I still have the original blanket Olesya made at the foot of my bed as a reminder of all that H&B has accomplished and will continue to do in the years to come.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Over the years, there have been many personal and professional challenges that have kept me focused on creating a life and career rooted in balance, creativity, connection and meaning.

I was in a life-altering car accident about nine years ago that changed the trajectory of my life. The left side of my face was crushed, my eye socket was demolished, 5 teeth were knocked out and my upper and lower jaw were broken. I had 25 surgeries over an 8-year period to rebuild the internal structure of my face and mouth. The need for work flexibility and time to heal became paramount to career growth. I shifted from working internationally for beauty companies to consulting and ultimately doing interior design. At the time, it was devastating. Yet, looking back, it was a gift. I was able to look inward and outline what would truly bring me joy and ultimately serve others, too.

Hustle & Blush launched during one of the most difficult seasons we, as a society, have faced. Due to Covid travel restrictions, we had to create our entire first collection virtually. Picking color combinations, fine-tuning patterns, sizing adjustments, etc., was all done over Google Hangouts – with a translator nonetheless! What made it even more challenging, with respect to our Ukrainian partnership, was that all of the patterns are drawn out on a type of grid/graph paper by hand. Our weavers are executing designs that go back hundreds of years and they were not comfortable with us digitizing the process. This added another layer of complication to executing new styles and color combinations quickly and efficiently.

Like many companies, supply chain issues, Covid outbreaks at our production sites and import delays littered our first year of operation. All of these struggles seem trivial in relation to what we faced next.

At the start, we employed about 50 people in Western Ukraine. Our team of weavers there are our family and our brand’s priorities shifted in February of 2022. The current war and local devastation has greatly impacted our team, their production capacity and the ability to export product. We have continued to work with those that still remain in Ukraine, despite the current hardship, and have provided thousands in both financial aid and wool goods to help our people and the local communities where they reside. I am ecstatic to finally be visiting our remaining team members in the Carpathian Mountains in June. We have some exciting new products in the works and it will be a joy to work on them together in person.

We’ve been impressed with Hustle & Blush, Inc, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Women are born hustlers. We run businesses, take care of our families and somehow find time to do a face mask at the end of the day. Hustle & Blush was founded out of a desire to combine my passion for interior design and meaningful causes— along with a commitment to support the hustle of women all over the globe.

On our site (hustleandblush.com) you’ll find unique, contemporary items, crafted with ancient techniques and materials local to the region, so you can design your own cool, one-of-a-kind space (and feel good about supporting ethical artisanal partnerships, too).

Our line of goods spans from handwoven bed/couch runners, statement blankets, wall art and rugs from Ukraine to playfully hand-felted wool dryer balls, holiday decor, pet products and slippers (launching this summer), that are made in Nepal. While our eco-sensibilities and quality are unsurpassed, it’s our playful branding, whimsy and creativity that truly sets us apart. We believe ethical products can be fun, too.

It’s hard to narrow down to one thing I’m most proud of. I am incredibly moved by how our Fluff Ewes dryer balls have achieved global traction in such a short time, allowing us to hire hundreds of Nepalese women in a full-time capacity. I am equally as touched by the steadfast dedication of our Ukrainian team amidst such unfathomable hardship.

As for my design services, I specialize in creating warm, inviting and intriguing spaces at a value-laden price. I have experience managing design jobs from construction through to decor completion and have crafted a method for increasing a vacation property’s marketability and profitability potential.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Americans are becoming eco-conscious and are willing to make shifts in their daily habits in a more mainstream way. Consumers are also becoming wise to the benefits of purchasing products that compensate their people with Fair Trade-compliant wages. While these choices seem insignificant or the norm in a city like Los Angeles, they make a huge global impact. The top reasons people immigrate from developing nations to countries such as the U.S., are lack of jobs/wages that create financial stability and prosperity for the next generation, war/violence and/or religious persecution. As a brand, we are committed to keeping artisan crafts alive in regions where they are in danger of being extinct. We will continue to launch meaningful, eco-friendly goods that shape-shift the global community while embracing a playfully creative edge for our consumers.

Pricing:

• Fluff Ewes Dryer Balls: $24-45
• Hutsul & Blush Statement Blankets: $295-375
• Hutsul & Blush Baby/Throw Blankets: $195
• Hutsul & Blush Bed/Couch Runners: $225

Contact Info:

• Website: hustleandblush.com
• Instagram: @hustleandblush
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hustleandblush
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/71644601/admin/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HustleandBlush