MEET THE MAKER : WANDERING SOL
Wandering Sol emerged out of the joint desire of two friends to create functional and desirable ethical products that supported their family’s commitment to sustainable living. Working together Zoe Dent and Narelle Kristiansen have created a soulful, values-aligned business and we can't wait for you to meet them...
THE QUICK-CHAT
Meet: Zoe DentOften Found: In the ocean
Listening to: Teskey Brothers
Whilst sipping: A margi!
Passionately discussing: My latest health obsession
And working on: New ideas for Wandering Sol alongside our next marketing campaign.
Meet: Narelle Kristiansen
Often Found: Riding waves or Horses
Listening to: Pretty Lady by Tash Sultana
Whilst sipping: My latest warm elixir crush
Passionately discussing: Life, love, waves and horses
And working on: Wandering Sol product designs…and a tonne of spreadsheets!
THE DEEP DIVE - MEET WANDERING SOL
Can you please tell us a little bit about the brand and what it is you do?
Wandering Sol emerged out of the joint desire of Narelle & I to create functional and desirable ethical products that supported our family’s commitment to sustainable living. We design our conscious lifestyle range right here in Avalon and innovate with the natural world at the heart of all we do.
What was the spark that led you to launch Wandering Sol?
ZOE: Wandering Sol’s launch product is a sustainable, foldable market and trolley that we had both needed, but could not find existed. We had actually both started to develop the product independently when another local mum connected us, and we realised our talents were better when combined. We had both already launched and sold prior businesses, and for this project we had an innate understanding of the need to create a soulful, values aligned business. Luckily Narelle’s finance and logistics background aligns perfectly with my marketing and health background and so we can seamlessly juggle workload.
What have been the biggest challenges for you and your brand?
NARELLE: Pandemic aside! Designing totally new and unique products is definitely a challenge – thankfully one that we thoroughly enjoy!
My husband is the head engineer behind our cart designs, this really enables us to take our designs from concept all the way through to fully designed solutions. We’re also very lucky to have such a supportive manufacturing team who are willing to go that extra mile to bring our designs to life – prototype number 20 anyone!!
Has your approach and mission changed since you started Wandering Sol?
No. A few years in we have definitely learnt and evolved along the way, however our core mission is still to ensure our range is as sustainable and ethical as possible, leaving behind only a positive footprint.
Sustainability, ethical manufacturing and circular economic design processes are at the heart of Wandering Sol’s philosophy. Can you tell us a bit more about that? Circular economic design processes lie at the core of our business model, and we make sure we consider the full life cycle of every product we create and support. The bamboo forest that we source our cart frames from is FSC certified, and the only water used is run off from the neighbouring tea plantation. The canvas from our bags is recycled, and our baskets are made from sustainable seagrass. Our Cool Down cooler bag is truly sustainable as we use wool offcuts for insulation instead of cheap plastic or aluminium otherwise used. Finally, our entire range is shipped using only using carboard as padding with not a cheap poly bag or plastic bubble wrap in sight!
Where do you look to for inspiration?
NARELLE: I am inspired by nature and function. Our products are made using natural fibres, in earthy Australian landscape tones designed to be used every day.
Can you recommend any resources for those trying to become more educated about sustainability?
ZOE: I love Green + Simple for their educational and inspiring features , and I am also proud to be a strategic adviser to the Environmental Music Prize that has recently launched to not only help educate our musicians on sustainability advocacy, but in turn to inspire a whole generation to become passionate about sustainability through the power of music.
What’s next for you and the brand?
NARELLE: We are really thrilled that our products are proving popular in overseas markets. We are currently looking into ways in which we can more seamlessly distribute our products globally.
We plan to continue to perfect our current designs alongside of designing new products and colourways to add to our functional range.
THE GIRLS' FAVOURITE THREE PRODUCTS
Zoe and Narelle share their fave three from the Wandering Sol collection - click through for more information and to buy online
The Wanderer Cart Set
Your ultimate eco friendly shopping and beach companion, The Wanderer Cart Set has been designed to help you move from the supermarket, local butcher, bulk foods or farmers market with ease. Multi versatile, it is also the perfect beach or picnic cart, and can carry all your weekend camping, BBQ or sports gear with ease.
The Grande Waxed Canvas Bag
The ultimate carry all waxed canvas bag, The Grande Waxed Canvas Bag has been constructed with reinforced seams and only using canvas without any cheap polyester detail, and so will only get better with age.
The Sol Shopper Seagrass Basket
A plastic free alternative to supermarket baskets, the Sol Shopper Seagrass Basket will carry your everyday shopping weight with ease, with its dimensions designed to nestle the courtesy supermarket baskets inside it. Keep on hand in the car or by your door and never be caught out needing plastic bags again.
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