Today we hear from Everyday Sabbatical Founder and Creative Director Mini Kil.

Mini is an adventurer at heart.

From her work in product in tech, she brought a deep understanding of agile leadership, collaborative teamwork, and creative product design to her latest venture: Everyday Sabbatical.

Everyday Sabbatical started as an exercise in problem solving for Mini’s desire to have a handful of items that effortlessly transitioned from work to play. In this interview, Mini shares her journey as a curious and multidimensional entrepreneur.

“I always say yes to an adventure”

It started when she was living in London at the start of the pandemic and couldn’t find leisure wear that she loved. With no experience in fashion, she started designing out all the pet peeves to make a collection she loved. She also committed to a European mindset of sustainable clothing and a capsule collection.

Along the way, she discovered just how unsustainable cutting fabric is so she saved the scraps. Eventually the big scraps became Scarves and Pashminas. Rather than greenwashing, it was motivated by her personal philosophy which also informed sustainable wages for the hands that cut and sewed everything as well as how she ships everything directly to customers (Spoiler: No pretty packaging because it all just ends up in a landfill!)

“A big part of this was working with people… I think often decisions are made in a spreadsheet… but you also have to feel it in your gut. I’m so glad I did it locally.”

Mini took classes at Denver Design Incubator after moving back stateside and connected with Teacher Keti. They somehow laughed through getting fired by a grader and stuck to their guns in the demand for quality production.

“In a world that is so digital, we are losing our other senses and (touch or) feel is one of them.”

That’s one of the downsides to being a direct-to-customer shipping unless you find us at a pop-up. We talk about all the challenges of building one’s brand in the age of fast fashion and disposable, considering pricing from a cost per use perspective, the validation that comes from repeat customers, the benefits of self funding, and how a “Fit and Feedback” event transformed an iconic aspect of her brand.

“Listening to women is foundational.”

Please check out the video below! Want to follow along with Mini’s journey? Sign up for the newsletter HERE!

Full disclosure, I’ve worked with Mini since she took a role in Panama so if you order something from Everyday Sabbatical, I’ll likely be the one to fufill your order. Each order comes with free shipping and free 30-day returns.