Get To Know Lila Mae, Your New Feel-Good Gifting Site
We're still in the early part of 2013, but we're guessing that "thoughtful consumption" will be one of the buzzwords of the year. And, luckily, this growing emphasis on eco-friendly, American-made products means that a bounty of new e-tailers are springing up to cater to the conscious consumer. One such concept is Lila Mae, an online shop — cofounded by District native Ryan Dempsey Argentieri — that specializes in giftable goodies with a feel-good backstory.
We caught up with Argentieri to get the scoop on Lila Mae — plus, we've picked out some of our most prized finds from the site. Read on to get acquainted!
Tell us a bit about the vision for Lila Mae.
"We started out wanting to make it cool and chic to be eco-savvy, while also building a business that proactively helped rejuvenate the U.S. economy. For us, it’s about patriotism without being nationalistic or exclusionary. Most importantly, to make conscious consumption fun! No guilt, no remorse, no political agenda — something we can all agree on."
How did you transition into the e-commerce world after working in international affairs and sustainable development?
"Hard to believe, even for me! Over the years, I grew increasingly frustrated at the difficulty of finding products that were safe enough for me to consume or surround myself with. Shopping for food or other products started to be stressful for me, and I hated that feeling. I couldn't believe how hard it was to find anything made close to home that was also eco-friendly — not to mention that most of the environmentally sound products available were not really the sort of thing I could get away with wearing in the C suite. My business partner, Heather, found many of the amazing vendors and products we started with. And the rest, as they say, is history."
Sweater Toys Beautiful Bunny, $35, available at Lila Mae; Hovey Lee Oceane Bracelet, $135, available at Lila Mae.
We caught up with Argentieri to get the scoop on Lila Mae — plus, we've picked out some of our most prized finds from the site. Read on to get acquainted!
Tell us a bit about the vision for Lila Mae.
"We started out wanting to make it cool and chic to be eco-savvy, while also building a business that proactively helped rejuvenate the U.S. economy. For us, it’s about patriotism without being nationalistic or exclusionary. Most importantly, to make conscious consumption fun! No guilt, no remorse, no political agenda — something we can all agree on."
How did you transition into the e-commerce world after working in international affairs and sustainable development?
"Hard to believe, even for me! Over the years, I grew increasingly frustrated at the difficulty of finding products that were safe enough for me to consume or surround myself with. Shopping for food or other products started to be stressful for me, and I hated that feeling. I couldn't believe how hard it was to find anything made close to home that was also eco-friendly — not to mention that most of the environmentally sound products available were not really the sort of thing I could get away with wearing in the C suite. My business partner, Heather, found many of the amazing vendors and products we started with. And the rest, as they say, is history."
Sweater Toys Beautiful Bunny, $35, available at Lila Mae; Hovey Lee Oceane Bracelet, $135, available at Lila Mae.
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