STEPHANIE HEPBURN
Author & Founder of Good Cloth
Stephanie and I connected through an online business Facebook group. When I read an article in Forbes about why she started her mission-based business, I just knew that I wanted to meet her in person!
I was planning a visit to New Orleans so, of course, I reached out to her to see if she needed some professional images to help grow her brand and business. Timing worked out perfectly and we had a fabulous time creating stunning images and sharing some laughs.
MDP: So, Stephanie, can you tell the world a little bit about you and why you started your business?
SH: I’m a journalist who stumbled into starting a business. It was never my goal, but I felt compelled. Having moved to New Orleans soon after Hurricane Katrina ravaged it, there were remnants of natural disaster all about, leaving the city to pick up the pieces. That meant a significant spike in construction.
I can't tell you exactly what the red flag was for me or if it was just a sense in the pit of my belly that something wasn't right, but I began to wonder about the workers rebuilding New Orleans: who they were and if they were getting proper protective equipment, where they lived, and if they were getting paid. It took me down a six-year-long rabbit hole, researching and writing on human trafficking not only in New Orleans but the entire United States and 23 other nations.
That experience culminated in my book ‘Human Trafficking Around the World: Hidden in Plain Sight,’ and it changed me. It altered my perception, making me aware of the many threads that connect us as consumers to the people who make the products we buy, and the impact we can make by paying attention to that fact.
It was then that I decided to open Good Cloth, a sustainable fashion retailer and certified benefit corporation, and wow, what a wild, strange trip it has been trying share with people that they can vote with their dollar for change and in doing so, consumers can push an entire industry toward transparency. Yes, we need legislative change, but when people stop buying from stores that don’t have supply chain transparency, those companies will jump on board to earn those customers back, and that's powerful.
MDP: Wow, yes, that’s really powerful! So, in light of all this, why did you decide it was time to have professional images taken for your business and your brand?
SH: Coming from print journalism, I’ve mostly been a behind-the-scenes kind of person, but that doesn’t work as the CEO of an online business. People want to know the face associated with Good Cloth, and they want a window into what we do here each-and-every-day. It’s part of my job to foster that connection but to be honest, I was kind of dreading standing in front of a camera.
MDP: So, how did I help make you feel more comfortable?
SH: You are phenomenal at making clients comfortable. The result was that you got a lot of photos of me just being me, not an uncomfortable version of me doing things I wouldn’t usually do. That’s huge in, and of itself, but working with you was so much more than that: you talked with me about how I could use the photos, ensuring that I stayed on task with my ethos…you made sure that the final product was what I needed to grow my brand. It was an incredibly worthwhile investment.
MDP: I am so happy I was able to help you feel comfortable and confident! So, now that you have these images, how does it make you feel?
SH: Before the shoot, whenever a publication reached out to me for a photo of myself, I’d cringe because that meant I would hem and haw about what to pick. Since you and I already worked out what pictures are best for what, all I need to do is reach into my gallery and done, and then I can move on with the rest of my workday. It makes my life more efficient.
MDP: Thanks so much for your time, Stephanie. Before we finish, tell me how do you want people to find you on the internet and social media?
SH: You can find me online here:
www.instagram.com/shopgoodcloth
www.facebook.com/shopgoodcloth
MDP: So happy we connected and I’m excited to see you grow your reach and your mission, Stephanie!
