We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Micki Weiner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Micki, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I knew my purpose for a long time. And then suddenly, I didn’t.
I started training to be a professional dancer from a very young age. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my response of wanting to be a ballerina—despite the juvenile appearance—came with absolute certainty. By the age of thirteen, I was living away from home, honing my craft at one of the nation’s premier ballet schools, resolute in my determination to transform my dream into a reality. By eighteen, I secured my first traineeship with a professional dance company.
I’m proud of my career in the performing arts; for its longevity, its span across genres, and the opportunity to work on household name productions. I’ve toured much of North America and worked on projects abroad. I’ve performed on stages for thousands of people and in intimate venues.
But a dancer’s life is finite. Much like professional athletes, with age comes a diminishing ability to perform at peak level. December of 2019, I discovered a major issue in my left hip. Only three months later, the world shut down from the pandemic, effectively ending my dance career. Facing an industry that suddenly went dark, I found myself adrift, frustrated and confused regarding my place in the world to which I had dedicated my entire life. My days as a professional dancer were already numbered. I needed to ground myself in a new purpose.
Yearning for a pursuit to occupy my days of isolation, I seized upon a burgeoning idea—melding my love for lingerie with my passion for sustainability. And so my obsession with learning everything I could about materials and the intimate apparel industry began. At the beginning of my journey, I enrolled in sustainable textile masterclasses through The Sustainable Angle and two certificate programs at the Fashion Institute of Technology here in New York City—Intimate Apparel Design and Sustainable Design Entrepreneurs. I developed a stronger understanding of undergarment construction and sustainability within the industry, however I realized this came with a limited purview. I didn’t want to develop a solution that unintentionally created another problem, so I sought out to gain a macro-understanding of the climate crisis and where the apparel industry fits in.
Newly appointed with a Masters in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, my time there was transformative. I explored circular systems aimed at reducing waste, enhancing durability, and diverting products from landfills through reuse or safe degradation. With every course, diving deeper into the nuances of sustainability, I felt myself becoming more and more tethered to a new purpose.
I believe my dance career, in a roundabout way, led me here. Living a purpose-driven life is what motivates me to embrace each day, and I’m grateful to have found my purpose twice.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As a former professional dancer, I spent my life staring in a mirror, working to “fix” the imperfections in my body’s form. Despite a constant struggle with body image, wearing beautiful lingerie was a rare occasion where I felt good in my body. For me, lingerie wasn’t just an undergarment; it was—and still is—a transformative garment, empowering me to feel truly beautiful in my own skin.
However, I was having trouble finding a lingerie brand that also spoke to my values. While basic, sustainable undergarments exist in the market-space, none quite met the more elevated, lingerie aesthetic I desired. Through this search for lingerie free of plastics or toxic dyes, I discovered a white space in the market. In speaking with industry professionals and friends, I learned I was far from alone in feeling this way, both in issues with body image and in wanting undergarment options that don’t sacrifice style for responsible materials or practices.
Currently pre-launch, Petal + Ash is poised to fill this void in the intimate apparel landscape. A mission-driven brand, we aim to create lingerie made from materials safe for your body and the planet, from material creation to garment end use. Petal + Ash seeks to support women through the production of comfortable, non-toxic lingerie, while enabling responsible consumption through design for disassembly and a circular business model. With plastics and toxic chemicals seemingly pervading nearly everything in today’s world, one place they definitely shouldn’t be is next to the most intimate parts of your body.
While at Columbia, I had the opportunity to validate my idea and flesh out my minimum viable product. Currently, I am collaborating with my technical designer to seamlessly integrate alternative materials into our designs, ensuring both comfort and support. Additionally, we are preparing to undergo rigorous dye testing to guarantee the safety of our products for both people and the planet.
I invite readers to join us on this exciting journey through our newsletter or Instagram as we work towards a late 2024 or early 2025 launch date.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Determination and tenacity have guided my entire life. Professional dancers endure countless rejections mixed in with the occasional “yes.” Despite this, we don’t give up, we keep pursuing our dream. It is this determination that also propelled me to pursue my new passion and to believe that I am capable of launching my own brand. Yet, the path of a startup is fraught with challenges. Tenacity becomes indispensable, woven into the fabric of every day, whether it’s diligently sending follow-up emails or making cold calls to potential leads.
At a time when many have settled into their career trajectories, I am embarking on a new path. To do so, I have undertaken a massive amount of learning over the past few years. Pursuing my masters happened to be the right path for me, but further education can take many forms. At the heart of it, a willingness to learn and to embrace evolving perspectives is essential. Particularly in a field as dynamic as sustainability.
Having a clear vision of what you want to achieve is vital. The end result might not be exactly as you imagined, and there might be many unexpected turns along the journey, but I’m a firm believer that if you’re centered in your purpose it will come to be.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
A solopreneur has to wear five thousand hats. Some days I feel so on top of my game, and others I feel like I’m failing at everything. I work out of my tiny NYC studio apartment, so it can also feel like a really lonely journey.
I’ve made it a point to connect into multiple communities, both in-person and online. Some of the spaces are intimate apparel industry specific, some are sustainability focused, and some are more general entrepreneurial spaces. I actively accept coffee invitations and also initiate many myself. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting remarkable individuals and found it to be an invaluable space for seeking advice, asking questions, or simply engaging in conversations with fellow like-minded professionals. These communities have been a saving grace in the most difficult moments of entrepreneurship.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.petalandash.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petalandash/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickiweiner/
Image Credits
Dirty Sugar Photography, Michael Goldman Photography, Murphy Made (Matt Murphy)
