My earliest memory of sewing was attempting to make clothing for my family’s two cats at around age 7. The experiment failed spectacularly, however I was undeterred. As a kid, few treats delighted me more than being allowed to choose a remnant from the bin at Gold’s Fabrics in my hometown of Vancouver. 

 

As a teen and in my 20s, I patched jeans, quilted unique duvet covers, made custom garments, did repairs and basically anything that my friends or family asked me to make. I also traveled extensively and developed a passion for social change leadership that ultimately led me to taking the leap to entrepreneurship.

 

I operated a small boutique and production studio under the everyware label from 1995 to 1998. I had also started making and selling a collection of reusable menstrual pads and period underwear called Lunapads in the early 90s, and even wrote a business plan for them in 1994. I sensed a different opportunity for these items than the store and studio. Something about them felt timely and uniquely compelling and I set aside my fashion pursuits in 1999. 

 

In 2000 I co-founded Lunapads, a founding Canadian B Corp, with my longtime friend and business partner Suzanne Siemens. Lunapads (rebranded as Aisle in 2020) went on to become one of the first ventures in the world to commercialize reusable period products, now a widely accepted mainstream category.

 

Our work in championing respect for the menstrual cycle catalyzed the category’s recent growth into a billion dollar marketplace and resulted in the provision of millions of free period products across Canada and around the world.

 

I exited the company in 2024, and in 2025 I resurrected everyware to promote sustainable textile use through my own designs, as well as creating workshops and public engagement events.