Duty Calls
Last-minute flights, epiphanies & danger in shampoo
Today I am on a plane. It has been a while. Ok, a month, but it feels like much longer. I didn’t think I would be on a plane again this soon, or even at all this week, but duty calls.
The residential project in Lisbon is kicking off, and ASAP meant traveling two days after signing the contract.
This isn’t new for me. I have had clients pay the deposit while I was in flight to see them. It is not the ideal situation, but it happens. In NYC, back in my firm days, I had a few nights where I was up late preparing the presentation and material boards for the principal, and they would decide that I would be joining them on the flight the next morning.
On call for design.
I can pack a suitcase in record time.
And, of course, it will be stylish.
However, we aren’t saving the world with design (although we may think we are). Yes, there are design fires, but we cannot compare ourselves to emergency services. I say this now as my younger self should have heard this. Oh, the stress I put on myself to perform, be available, and present excellence. It was a lot. I may have lost some personal relationships to my dedication to the craft, but I also learned lessons I carry with me today. And I’ve since learned to set boundaries.
As I write this, I am flying to Amsterdam. I had wanted to travel through Paris, but I let my client do the booking. This was the fastest flight, but it did get me in closer to midnight, which I was trying to avoid. It was also the most cost-effective. Here’s a clue: this client likes speed and cost savings.
I am thankful for the flight via AMS. KLM serves vegetarian sandwiches on board and beer is an option for beverages, all complimentary. Now if they would only switch to seaweed packaging…
I had arrived at the airport early. We’re in a period of frequent delays, technical glitches, and miscommunications, so I thought I’d err on the safe side. Much to my surprise, I was practically the only one there! I recorded videos of the eerily empty (yet surprisingly cute) coworking spaces. Where I did find people was on the terrace. So I joined them and called my mother. I wasn’t much of a conversationalist this time, as I was exhausted from packing, working out, running to pick up my new lenses for my seaweed sunglasses, doing a 2-hour language exchange, rushing to the bakery for the croissant I promised myself before they closed, and making not only lunch but a snack for my flight.
Perhaps I will sleep on the second leg of the flight.
I am looking forward to Lisbon. It’s a place that is quite familiar to me, yet I never lived there. I’ve passed through many times but never stayed more than a few days. Perhaps one week, once. It’s a transient city home to many nomads, many New Yorkers, and quite a few friends. I have my go-to spots and a map of saved ones that I have yet to visit. I hope I run into someone I know and reconnect with others I haven’t seen in some time.
Ooh, and then there’s cake.
I must go back to my favorite joint and get the famed lemon meringue cake for two.
This cake started a great friendship for me, and I have yet to find something else quite like it.
As I go back to a familiar place and familiar faces, I lean forward into the future. This is what I can change, what I can create with. Saudades (that deep Portuguese longing) aside, it is time to step it up a notch.
Are you ready?? I sure am!
In this edition:
Sourcing Shampoo
Saunas & Seashells
Setting Up Shop
Sourcing Shampoo
Our team has been reviewing our various seaweed options across all categories of amenities for our upcoming Seaweed Suite™ launch in May. (More info on this here if you’d like to join). Our goal as a company is to make regenerative travel available and accessible, and it’s not an easy feat.
First off, what does regenerative travel even mean? If sustainable means to maintain for a period of time (some say durable), then regenerative takes it a step further. It keeps it alive and growing. Yes, this also relates to the natural world. It doesn’t damage the surrounding environment; it composts in place at a bare minimum. Remember that we are L’EAUTELIER, though, and we stay connected to water. Where does the water from hotel drains go? It can be treated, but it also goes into the rivers and winds its way to the ocean. Think about that next time you take a shower.
So a few weeks ago, when I was thrilled to specify a refillable seaweed shampoo for our project, one of our collaborators brought up some sad news. Although the company uses seaweed, they also use SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) as a primary ingredient. Sulfates are added as a non-essential foaming agent just to create lather, but they have the potential to induce toxicity in marine organisms, negatively affecting their growth, reproduction, and overall health. Even worse, the foaming properties of sulfates can interfere with the natural surface tension of water. This impedes oxygen exchange and jeopardizes the delicate marine environments and coral reefs we are trying to protect.
On a follow-up call with an adviser, I also learned that refillable, pumpable bottles score poorly on hygiene. Continuously topping off hotel dispensers without thoroughly sterilizing them creates a high risk for bacterial contamination. Lastly, the packaging and labels are plastic.
Although we love seaweed, having it as a single ingredient won’t make it into our suite. We have to have the full package aligned with our values.
What we dream of happening is that all of the single-use items in hotel rooms and airplanes be made with seaweed bio-plastic wraps and films. After use, they would get collected and, with a little warm water, dissolve away into a biostimulant or simply go back to the soil.
These solutions already exist. We just need to switch to them or pressure our preferred brands to stop using plastic, especially in coffee cups. Yes, that inner layer of your cup is plastic film! Best to have this drink in ceramic or BYOC (some planes and trains will give you a discount for it!).
