We were lucky to catch up with Hawnuh Lee recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Hawnuh, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I’ve failed consistently. I’ve wanted to drop out of something at every stage in life but credit my stick-to-it-ness to my mom. Quitting was never an option. (In some cases to a detriment.) My sisters and I found consistency as a means to an end. If we weren’t allowed to disengage from an activity, a community, a situation, we learned to adapt, endure, and improve. Resiliency became second nature and a necessary tool for survival. It’s something I’ve carried into adulthood–an unconscious skill I find gratitude in, even as I unlearn some of these maladaptive tendencies. I am reminded in every transitional moment that I am capable of hard things.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Hi hi! I’m Hawnuh Lee Cook. (Fitting, right?) I’m a designer and self taught chef running Closed Loop Cooking–sharing plant-based, low waste recipes and resources. I also run Closed Loop Studio–focused on design and strategy for people and planet first brands. I put on community centric pop-up events and classes in Portland, OR under my local brand, Tzimmy. I’m on a mission to make sustainability accessible and elevated through good mood food and design.
I send out a weekly Closed Loop Cooking newsletter that highlights hot foodie finds, the best low waste tips, and creative food minded folks doing the work so that you can take action with intention. It’s a wonderful community and I’m appreciative of finding solidarity in an online space. I’m just about to launch an exciting subscription addition to the newsletter where you can find even more accountability in your eco efforts. More recipes, meal plans, and community gathering. Can’t wait!
I recently took the plunge and left a dream job at Nike to focus on work that moves the needle. As cool as it was to create custom kicks for Lebron himself, it’s cooler to make sure you’re appropriately compensated for your time and effort. Especially when we consider our environmental impact through mass consumerism–there is so much work that needs to be done to reduce our carbon footprint. I’m betting on my ability to bring about change through mindful practice and encourage y’all to join in.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Most importantly, an ability and desire to learn. I may not know how to do everything but in any situation I can rely on my capacity to figure things out. Learning and iterating is a superpower and understanding how you learn best will help you adapt to almost any situation. McGyver would be proud.
Hyper-empathy. It’s only been in recent years I’ve understood my own neurodivergence and the ways I’ve unconsciously used it to navigate social settings. Growing up, I was constantly told I’m overly sensitive but I’m proud to know this sensitivity has been a powerful guiding force in my life. I’ve learned to set better boundaries around empathy as an adult and know it’s a vital factor in any success I’ve found so far.
Finding the funny. Just a reminder that none of us get out of here alive–there is a constant deluge of trauma and terror happening all around the world and I chose to live in moments of levity. Dog farts and questioning if lasagna is technically cake and laughing at the insanity of it all, with people who can commiserate, is what makes any of *this* worth living.
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?
Imposter syndrome and building an ethical, lucrative business under capitalism. I’m working on my inner financial dialogue–rewiring my brain to act from a place of security, not scarcity and reminding myself that I can create stability for myself. Corporate safety is just as much an illusion, layoffs can happen at any time, and I am capable of building a foundation for myself, just as much as any other entrepreneur who’s made the jump. If this election cycle has taught us anything, you don’t need any credentials to get the job! I say, laugh / crying.
In building an environmentally forward brand I’m integrating values from the bottom up. Working in my design / strategy practice with femme + NB identifying impact founders to create longevity. Choosing who I give time to and setting a precedent for how I want to work. In my food endeavors, connecting everything back to planet, sourcing locally, trying and failing and improvising and pushing so that I can share everything I know.
It’s with the big picture in mind. We’re all working and most often, just surviving, to move things forward. But it’s with a better future in mind that we shift towards sustainable practices to thrive. That’s revolutionary, that’s worth the effort.
A few books to recommend for mindset work:
<i>We Should All Be Millionaires</i> by Rachel Rodgers
<i>Braiding Sweetgrass</i> by Robin Wall Kimmerer
<i>How To Do Nothing</i> by Jenny Odell
<i>The Mountain is You</i> by Brianna Wiest
Contact Info:
- Website: closedloopcooking.com | closedloopstsudio.com | tzimmy.com
- Instagram: @closedloopcooking | @tzimmypdx
Image Credits
Event photos by Skye McNeil | skyemcneill.com Top down food photos by Hawnuh Lee
