California Fire Relief

Santa Rosa's economic loss from the Tubbs Fire was estimated at $1.2 billion (2017 USD), with five percent of the city's housing stock destroyed. The smoke from the fire could be seen and felt in San Francisco. Upon learning of the realities of Santa Rosa residents from a close friend, I mobilized our team to do what we could to help. We gathered samples, prototypes, and dead stock and produced a sample sale in downtown Santa Rosa to benefit those affected by the Tubbs Fire. All proceeds from the sale were donated to vetted aid organizations. Any customers that lost their homes were welcome to take what they needed, free of charge. Experiences like the Santa Rosa Sample Sale are what motivate me to do more than sell a product. Sadly, only one year later, I would get the chance again.

The Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history and the most expensive natural disaster in the world in 2018. A close friend living in Chico was relaying the scene to me, and I once again knew we needed to do whatever we could. Again, I mobilized the team to sort through samples and prototypes. Additionally, I wanted to improve upon the prior year's effort. I created a digital campaign encouraging our community to donate unused clothing, Taylor Stitch, or otherwise. As a result, affected residents from Paradise and the surrounding area went from owning only the clothes on their backs to full wardrobe's thanks, in part, to donations from the Taylor Stitch community. New clothing may seem trivial in comparison to the level of destruction the Camp Fire caused, but what I found most rewarding was how new clothing allowed residents to feel confident during job interviews and provided a small, very small, feeling of normalcy.