“We need to acknowledge that we are all human and we all have the capacity to make mistakes” with Jennifer Boonlorn and Chaya Weiner

Acknowledge that we are all human and we all have the capacity to make mistakes. Then be mindful of when you will need to have that rock solid backbone and when you will need to let your heart melt — it’s never black and white, and it’s always going to vary depending on the situation.

As a part of my series about strong female leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Boonlorn. Jennifer, a graduate of Parsons School of Design, is the owner and founder of Soul Carrier, a handbag brand based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soul Carrier is currently carried at 21 luxury resort properties and gift shops across the US including multiple Four Seasons, Miravals, Hyatts, Silver Oak Winery and Hotel Villagio in Napa.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Thanks so much for wanting to share my story! Soul Carrier is the answer to a question my mother posed to me the summer before my senior year at ASU. That summer, my entire family was involved in a car accident that took the lives of both of my parents. Moments before my father’s SUV rolled over in a tire blow out, my mother turned around and said to me, “Where do you want to go…” She never got to finish that sentence, and I never got to tell her my answer. I thought becoming a prestigious attorney should be my answer to that question. However my soul had other plans. And so I set out for the shiny lights of Manhattan and Parsons The New School of Design. My time in NYC included interning for Oscar de la Renta, dressing models at New York Fashion Week, designing products for Henri Bendel, and working in product development at American Eagle. My fashion adventures also took me to Christmas parties with Marc Jacobs, fashion shows where I sat behind Anna Wintour, and jobs at Conde Nast that eerily resembled the movie The Devil Wears Prada.

As incredible as Manhattan was, my soul longed to be back in Phoenix. And so I moved home and started working for a marketing firm that was coordinating the festivities surrounding the grand opening of Barneys at Scottsdale Fashion Square. The mall decided to host an event called “The Mannequin Is Our Muse,” in which valley residents were invited to take blank mannequins and turn them into art.

I collaborated with my friend Bob Wilkinson. The mannequin we created was covered in vibrant rag rugs from the Dollar Store. Bob, a fellow creative, encouraged me to use my design degree, and thus, out of a pile rag rugs, Soul Carrier started to take shape.

I want to design products that bring more beauty and light to the world. Products that inspire people to carry their soul in every action they take. I want to encourage my customers to walk with integrity towards THEIR true north (not the direction other people want them to walk towards), and to be authentic to what their soul truly desires. I believe your soul is your moral compass and learning to tune out the external noise is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself.

In the words of Avicii, “Life’s a game made for everyone and love is the prize.” I hope my handbags makes an impact on you, and inspires you to pursue what you LOVE. May your soul always be your greatest guide as you journey through the game of life.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

A couple in NYC had reached out to me and told me they “owned” a factory in Leon which made handbags. I flew to to their NYC showroom and had them make me few handbag samples. Then I told the couple I wanted to fly down to Leon to walk the factory floor and meet the team that would be assembling the bags. The couple refused to let me come down. I told them they would never get my business without first letting me see the factory. We parted ways, and I decided to fly down to Leon and find my own factory.

I took a film student, (we documented the whole process) and an assistant, and we pounded the streets of Leon, Mexico in search of a handbag factory. Leon, is huge leather manufacturing city. We booked a hotel near the center of the equavaley of their garment district and made our way from one leather workshop to the next.

We found three guys who made my first set of leather handbags, eventually I outgrew those guys, and started working with a larger team of artisans.

Then I had an intern go down to Mexico City for Spring Break. She met people who had connections at an even bigger handbag factory named Style Manufacturers and so I set up a Skype meeting with this factory.

As I started chatting with this new factory and they said they knew the Soul Carrier brand and they even had my handbag patterns. I was startled and shocked!

As we chatted more, we put two and two together, that the NYC couple I mentioned earlier, who would not let me come down to see their factory, had been using Style Manufacturers, “pretending” they owned Style Manufacturers then upcharging the American designers they were working with. Once Style Manufacturers found out about this, they “fired” the NYC client.

Style Manufacturers is now my current manufacturer and I absolutely love them. We continue to laugh about this “Small World on a global scale” story. It reinforced that you need to play nice and have ethics because we are all inner-connected. It also taught me to be patient with the journey, two factories and three years later I would start to work with Style Manufacturers. The journey seldomly is linear, and there usually are plenty of life lessons and bumps along the way.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

My very first collection of handbags were made with recycled rag rugs — the vibrant, colored rag-rugs that people usually use as bath and kitchen mats.

I had been invited to showcase my designs at the MAGIC tradeshow in the Emerging Designer section. And I was worried if I got a huge order, I wouldn’t be able to fulfill on the order, if I did not have enough rugs to make the bags.

Multiple fashion industry contacts drilled into my head that retail buyers get super annoyed if your product takes too long to deliver. And since I wanted to be extra prepared, I ran around to every Home Depot, Walmart and Dollar Store to buy up their entire inventory of rag rugs.

I never got the “huge” order and I ended up changing designs and textile choices after that trade show.

Consequently, I was left with a gigantic pile of rag rugs that I ended up donating to an animal shelter.

It was a lesson in balancing the fashion industry war stories, with testing the market to see if we even had a viable product. I honor, revere and respect those that have gone ahead of me, however, we ALL have to walk our own path, scrape up our own knee, and learn from own personal mistakes. Just because an industry veteran says something is one way, does not mean that advice will be applicable to your own journey and business.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I want to use fashion and design to help shape people’s conscious. If Soul Carrier causes someone to contemplate what it means to be authentic, have a true north, and act as an essentialist, then I have not only brought a bit more beauty to the world through my designs, I have also illuminated ideas that could positively impact someone’s journey.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Our Essentialist Collection is launching September 1st. We were inspired to create a collection of sophisticated handbags that carries your daily essentials with style and grace while also being practical and convenient. This collection features five styles that include a bucket bag, backpack, a small duffle bag, clutch and coin purse. Made from subtle-full-grain leather, as well as speckled cowhide and buttery-rich velvet liners. We will debut the collection at the ISPA expo in Vegas. The ISPA expo will bring together all the key decision makers within the spa and resort world — which is currently Soul Carrier’s sweet spot as far as brick and mortar locations.

What advice would you give to other female leaders to help their team to thrive?

● Get crystal clear on what you want your team to accomplish, and then be just as crystal clear in how you deliver that vision and set of tasks.

● Set your expectations from the beginning and then allow your team the chance to show up and REALLY deliver.

● Don’t micro-manage, however, also be bold enough to step in if things have really gotten off course, it is your vision, your brand, your money at stake, it is okay to pump the brakes and change course when needed.

● Remember that done is often better than perfect. Aim for excellence versus perfection, (there is no such thing as perfect). And then find a team that also intends to aim for excellence.

● Give people the chance to shine. Let them work on projects and in departments where they are naturally talented. Someone who is in their zone/flow state will take a fraction of the time to accomplish a project, as opposed to someone who is being forced to work on a task that is outside their natural wheelhouse.

What advice would you give to other female leaders about the best way to manage a large team?

● Have a rock solid backbone and a soft heart.

● Know what you stand for, the pillars of truth you will go to bat for, and how you expect your team to behave in various situations.

● Be translucent on boundaries from the beginning.

● Acknowledge that we are all human and we ALL have the capacity to make mistakes. Then be mindful of when you will need to have that rock solid backbone and when you will need to let your heart melt — it’s never black and white, and it’s always going to vary depending on the situation.

● Stay organized. You set the standard. How your team shows up will be a reflection of how you show up.

● Learn to delegate and have mini-leaders who can take responsibility and who will share in the joy and pride of seeing a vision brought to fruition.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I am uber grateful for Andrea Nelson. She was my neighbor for years and then 2.5 years ago we started working together. She came on as a business consultant and helped me solidify my business plan and tighten up my back end operations. She has been an absolute angel and a gem! She came with me to Leon to interview Style Manufacturers, San Diego to bring on a new marketing agency and to Napa to pick up new wholesale accounts. It is a delight to work with her and she makes the journey all the more enjoyable.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

My intention is to design products that bring more beauty and light to the world. I want Soul Carrier to be a catalyst to conversations that make people ponder and think. I want to grow my company so that I can further endow a scholarship I started at Arizona State University in my parent’s name — The Paisan and Joyce Boonlorn Scholarship at the W.P. Carey School of Business.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Alignment Must Supersede All Else! It doesn’t matter how talented, connected or hard working a potential partner is, if they do not share my values and vision, there is going to be A LOT of friction. Who I partner with, matters, just as much, as my initial goal or vision. Every time I have gotten off course, it is because I became intoxicated with promises of grandeur, as potential partners told me they could deliver the moon. In the beginning, I did not stop to evaluate if there was alignment and shared values.
2. There is no magic pill to success. The magic pill is called hustling, hard work, and being patient enough to let the journey unfold organically. In a world where being Instagram Famous is the new gold bar for success, it is extremely toxic to compare my journey to someone else’s success. First, I have no idea what it took for them to get there, I am only seeing the highlight reel, and second that was THEIR journey, my journey is going to be completely different simply because I am a completely different human.
3. I am enough. I am worthy regardless of what I accomplish. My identity cannot be tied to the success or failure of my creations. My value resides in that I exist.
4. Allow people the space to be upset. Allow myself the grace to pivot away. Some people may disapprove of my actions, designs or decisions. That is more than okay, they are allowed their opinions. I have ZERO control of the passing thoughts that wander through someone’s mind. All I can do is come from and stand in love, act with kindness, and then ALLOW myself the grace to pivot away, when necessary. In the words of Liz Gilbert “Being criticized is the tax you pay for having a voice.” For me, having a creative voice, is worth all the tax in the universe.
5. Have the courage to say no. It is going to take every ounce of energy, time and resources to get your dream off the ground. You have to be disciplined and laser focused. Over committing and stretching yourself too thin will only dilute your dreams and pull you off course.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Get ready I have a long answer, but I am super passionate about this! ;-)

I have a saying “More Grace and Empathy. Less Entitled Expectations.” And I posted this on Instagram explaining my thoughts on it:

One of my core values is grace. In my personal life, I want to extend grace when people need to change plans at the very last minute, get super busy and forget to return my texts, or just need a break from the pressure & chaos, life is demanding of them.

My intention is to have empathy & realize that people are doing the best that they can with the resources, time, & awareness that they have, and it’s not my place to hold them to my own personal standards.

I have witnessed a lot of “Should Shaming” lately. I see people being chastised for a whole manner of things. And the judgement usually originates because those judging are holding other people to their own personal values and codes of conduct.

Judging is quick, easy and CHEAP — it removes the responsibility of us embracing EMPATHY.

When we judge, we hold people to our own personal standards, without taking the time to acknowledge that we have NO IDEA what is actually happening in the other person’s life. We hurdle towards expecting and assuming, without allowing any room for the other person to be HUMAN.

For instance, I won’t indulge in the notion that I “should” be tethered to my phone, nor will I allow others to shame me because I am not responding/acting in the manner they are expecting. I get to choose where I spend my time and what projects and relationships I will nurture. When I witness a sense of entitlement, assuming behaviors, or unrealistic expectations in how people expect me to relate to them, I tend to back away & not want to nourish those relationships.

I aim to come from & stand in love & that includes loving myself enough to remove myself from another person’s shame storm. I know that if I come from a place of more love, more light and more grace, & someone still is not okay with my behavior or communication, well than that is something they will internally have to look into. I am only accountable for how I show up in the world, I have no control of what people will think or how my communication will land in another person’s mind. With loving kindness and grace I will hold my own and then I will LET GO of needing everyone to approve and deem my actions as appropriate & worthy.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Square everything against your true north.” Your true north is the vision, dream, overarching values or destination you are trying to move towards.

One of my best friends, Cameron Donnell, instilled that quote in me. I had taken him on a product development trip to Leon, Mexico to work with my manufacturing team.

Cameron and I were chatting through all the many ideas, designs and goals I had hoped to accomplish on that particular trip. And as Cameron helped reign in my thinking, he forced me to get crystal clear on where I wanted to take Soul Carrier, what I wanted to accomplish, and how I would have to narrow down my list of goals in order to be able to manage it all.

His philosophy resonated with me and it felt very in line with the last question my mother would ever ask of me “Where do you want to go?” It made me realize that as choices, requests, decisions and forks in the road are presented to you, you have to get crystal clear on what you want (your true north) and then you have to square everything against that end goal and ask “Will following this particular path/decision/request or choice take me closer me to my true north or lead me further off course?

This philosophy is also very in line with the idea of Essentialism (Essentialism, as defined by New York Times Best Selling Author, Greg McKeown, “is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter.”) which is the name of the collection I am about to debut.

We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)

I am a huge fan of what LeeAnn Sauter and Eric Lopez at Maris Collective have created, I would love to share what I have created with them. Maris Collective is an innovative company that brings bespoke, high-end retail to luxury market segments around the world.

And the EDM dj Kygo will forever be one of my creative muses — I listen to his music and the ideas and designs just start flowing out of me. He is my go to when I need a heavy dose of inspiration.

Thank you for all of these great insights!

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About the author:

Chaya Weiner is the Director of branding and photography at Authority Magazine’s Thought Leader Incubator. TLI is a thought leadership program that helps leaders establish a brand as a trusted authority in their field. Please click HERE to learn more about Thought Leader Incubator.