Meet Grace McClain | Slow Living Aficionado & Conscious Consumer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Grace McClain and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Grace, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Since growing up in a multigenerational family of entrepreneurs, I always knew I would work for myself. But I have attempted many things along the way. I am deeply motivated by conscious consumerism which is why traditional retail didn’t work for me. I truly don’t want to add to the endless clutter in our lives, landfills and waterways which is why I started with a consulting model for slow living and then the refill stations for everyday essentials such as eco laundry powder and zero waste skincare. The thought process has always revolved around making it easier or more accessible for people to switch to more eco/ ethical practices across all aspects of their daily lives.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When it comes to my business, I am most proud of the fact that I once was my ideal customer. I didn’t grow up living anything close to a zero-waste lifestyle or knew anything about fast fashion and the destruction it was causing. I was the typical over-consumer who didn’t realize I was doing anything harmful. What initially started as a self-serving attempt to save money has turned into a life-long pursuit of minimalism & conscious consumerism across all aspects of my life, from fashion, home goods to groceries. Saving money has taken a back seat to saving parts of our rainforests or not participating in human trafficking via the purchase of cheap clothing. By analyzing what I was buying and why, I have taken stock of what’s actually important in my life and everything has benefited. I am less stressed, my family is healthier and happier and I know that the vote with my dollar is making an impact. And while I will always be circumspect of traditional retail, I appreciate this benefit of a supply & demand economy; we as the consumer have the power to change the industry for the better, once we start demanding more eco/ ethical products.

Ultimately, I want anyone and everyone to feel that they have agency over their lives and control over what they are bringing into their home & bodies. I plan to continue to make it easier to consume consciously while not sacrificing comfort, style, quality, etc

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As a very happy-at-home body and mom to toddlers, a lot of our fun would be centered around nap times and kid friendly environments. Hopefully you can gather from the rest of my interview that I would only recommend restaurants that purvey their food from the local farms around town which is the case with the following:
If it was summer time; we would have to go Pick our own Berries at Garden Sweet Farm and/or bum around Folks Farm hanging with the farmers or picking flowers
Coffee at the Fox Den, a no-waste cafe
Brunch and probably dinner at Little On Mountain.
Dinner at The Regional Bar
Coffee and pastries at Little Bird Bake Shop
Any time of year, the Gardens on Spring Creek is a hit for walking through with play areas for the kiddos as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate this shoutout to Robin Wall Kimmerer and her work. She is the author of the book Braiding Sweetgrass amongst others. In this book, I am captivated by the way she weaves together ancient plant teachings and traditional science, ultimately offering a sense of hope for our future, especially in the face of climate change. As an indigenous person, she is able to tell the old stories of our land’s native people and share what I hope we don’t lose. She is calm but passionate, intuitive while backing herself up with science and a gift to our generation. I hope everyone who has the chance can read this book and marvel at the way she tells stories and is inspired to change, if nothing else, the way they think about the ecology surrounding us.

Website: hyggeHABIT.com

Instagram: @hyggehabit

Image Credits
All photos taken by the talented Lindsey Spallone, Owner of Peach Street Photo Co.