We recently connected with Tippy Tippens and have shared our conversation below.
Tippy, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I think that my purpose is ever-changing, although generally, my professional purpose always includes creativity (design/art) & finding connections between ourselves and our environments. I’ve always been an environmentalist & when the BP Oil Spill disaster happened in 2010, the magnitude inspired me to find a way to do something to help – & in creating BirdProject Soaps to help to raise funds for oil spill cleanup, it inspired me to start my business Goods that Matter.
I aim to help to protect our environment, help raise funds/awareness for those in need, design beautiful/useful objects that create ease in our day to day lives, & to be a part of great collaborations.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Goods that Matter creates everyday design goods, with extraordinary impact. We provide a trusted home for eco-conscious customers to purchase the highest quality, eco-friendly goods for use in their day to day.
We are proud to be a Certified B-Corp and to have donated $67,045 to date to our partner causes! 10% of all proceeds from GTM-made products flow to causes that impact the health, happiness, and sustainability of our communities both locally and for our neighbors around the world.
GTM both produces its own eco-friendly products (from candles, felt dish mats & sponges to soaps, cards, & totes) & offers a curated selection of beautifully designed eco goods that replace plastic waste in our day to day. The items that we source match our ethical ethos and design sensibility.
As a designer, I love creating new eco-products, sourcing beautiful products, and designing beautiful spaces for our products. I’ve recently also gotten back to my artist roots and now offer modern art prints as well. This year, I’m looking at creating some blankets & rugs w/ the shapes from the drawings.
We sell online, wholesale to other shops, & create custom items for eco corporate/client gifts. Our brick & mortar store, The Good Shop is a collective shop based in the Lower Garden District in New Orleans & we’re in the midst of finding a retail location in Asheville, NC for a second location there.
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?
Looking back, I think that three things that helped me get to each stage of my journey are: excitement in trying new things, enjoyment in problem-solving, and being resourceful. My professional experience has included: art, furniture design/building, art handling, working briefly building film sets, graphic design, photography, and industrial design. In all of these creative arenas, I’ve been intrigued by experimenting with materials and minimalist design. I often set some creative limitations for myself in a project, such as only using eco materials or using what I have on hand for experimentation.
For those who are early in their journey, I think some helpful parameters are to not compare yourself to others – find what makes you unique & build your trust in that. And, you can achieve great things with what you have – sometimes I think many of us think that we could do so much more if you just had more money, had a better camera, or a nicer paint set. But, we can always do great things with what we have, sometimes we need to take a better survey of what we do have, or question our outlook, or make some changes in our routines in order to accomplish what we dream of.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I get overwhelmed, I slow down – the older that I get the more I’m really into taking good care of myself. Things like eating clean, meditating, walking/exercising, laughing, reading, writing, taking a new class, being silly w/ my pug ChaCha, or watching some trashy tv while relaxing in my sauna mat. So slowing down & taking some me time really helps. To alleviate stress, I write in my journal, listen to inspirational audio books/podcasts, talk with friends, &/or ask questions of myself of what I could do differently to make things better.
I think being nimble in your perspective is really helpful, for example, sometimes I’m too hard on myself & am essentially torturing myself internally – in not achieving the things that I want to as fast as I would like. So when I slow down & open my mind back up to what’s good & working well, things feel so much better again. Reminding yourself to keep your outlook big & open – give yourself a carrot to work towards. Zooming in & out with your smaller & larger goals- set a big carrot to achieve & some smaller/easier carrots to achieve. I’m definitely a rewards-based person, so I set those rewards for myself to get through some of the tougher patches.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goodsthatmatter.com/
- Instagram: @goodsthatmatter
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodsthatmatter
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tippytippens/
Image Credits
Photos by Randy Krause Schmidt & Tippy Tippens
