Risha Walden is the Principal Creator and Owner of Walden Interiors and a leading expert in vegan interior design. Educated at the School of Interior Design, for the past 12 years she has helped affluent homeowners create beautiful homes that reflect their personality and lifestyle.
Risha has designed primary residences and vacation homes in Vancouver, Palm Springs, New York City and New Jersey. As a vegan her passion is to create beauty without cruelty by finding luxury alternatives for animal products, which are used prolifically in luxury interior design. She is taking the vegan conversation off the plate and into homes.
https://walden-interiors.com/
Show Notes
"
I feel like every single decision I make is empowering me because I get to decide how I spend my money. I get to decide what businesses I'm going to support, I get to decide what kind of world I want to create. I get to do that not only with my food choices but with every single choice I make in my business. And if I don't like a company’s practices, or how they're sourcing product, I can make a decision about [how—or whether—to work with them]. And through that decision, I can influence how companies are going to move forward. Because it's all about the bottom line for them—it's about keeping a viable business. And that means gearing the business toward consumer choices." ~ Risha Walden
🤩 Vegan interior design is Risha’s passion.
02:17🤯 The interior design industry commonly uses animal products, but as a vegan interior designer Risha has managed to align her personal ethics with her business.
03:03💪 “Every single decision I make is empowering me because I get to decide how I spend my money.”
07:03🤔 Being a vegan designer means asking questions about furniture not many people have asked before.
09:52❓ The power of questions: change will not come by wagging a finger at people.
12:13🌱 Why is it important to ask so many questions? “I’m planting a seed.”
13:38🤷♀️ People warn, “You're going to alienate your clients.” But believing in my own work is more important than that risk.
16:34😇 Risha talks about raising awareness about food to byproducts of all other animal industries.
19:52🙌 Vegan Interior Design Week is a free panel event in November.
21:16👍 Meeting so many people and communities online has been instrumental for Risha and her work.
25:28👑 Risha’s advice: Don't be afraid to use the word “vegan” in your business and messaging.
27:36💎 We can change the world and we can create the world we want through our choices.
28:57
Thanks for listening to
Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired, but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts,
Going Solo or
Fix It.