Our Story - Part 1

Hello, I am absolutely thrilled that you are here! I’m Katelyn Price, owner and proprietor of Juniper. You can call me KP. Over these first couple blog posts, I’ll share with you the Juniper origin story, from the very beginning through to today. It’s a bit of a jaunt, so if you are more interested in learning about what Juniper has to offer, please feel free to skip to the heading “What You’ll Find In-Store” in Part Two.

The concept of Juniper first began to take shape last spring. At the time, I was on a long overdue soul searching journey, reflecting on the aspects of my life that were causing discontentment. Namely, both my career path and my lifestyle habits were contributing to an overall feeling of directionless dissatisfaction. Having come to grips with this discontent, I figured I should get on with it and make some changes. After all, if I didn’t, nobody else would for me. Sounds straightforward, but this reflection and resolve were months in the making, always taking a backseat to the day-to-day grind.

Professionally, I had worked for the same company in the education administration field for the last three years, moving up the ladder to a management position. Objectively, I was doing well. I had found the “career path” that still eludes so many Millennials. I held a fairly high position in the company, with a good salary and benefits; it was the kind of job that many would feel content to have and keep for the rest of their professional careers.

However, and I feel a bit guilty to admit it, I was totally uninspired by the thought of staying in the same position for the next thirty years. The work itself was fine, but did not speak to any of my own interests or aspirations. You know the saying “I work to live, I don’t live to work?” I don’t like the binary – why can’t we do both? Why can’t we find fulfillment in both our professional and personal lives? Regardless of whether you’re working to live or living to work, a huge part of our lives is spent working.

In my personal life, as well, I found myself annoyed by my own lifestyle habits. I found that in most areas, my lifestyle and my values were unaligned. I have always considered myself to be a conscientious person, aware of and moved by important issues. Most pointedly, I have always considered myself an advocate for both environmental and animal welfare issues. I’ll be the first to admit, though, that these passion-points of my identity have been rather abstract in application.

I care about the treatment of animals, but what have I done to promote animal welfare causes? Well, about twelve years ago I stopped eating meat. I suppose this decision alleviates a bit of internalised guilt, and allows me to say to myself, “I’m doing my part, I’m doing something....”

With environmental issues, my advocacy has been even more abstract; I care about the environment, so…sometimes, I’ll shop at the farmer’s market? I’ll turn the lights off when I leave the room? I’ll always carry reusable bags, and say “no thanks” when offered paper napkins? Now don’t get me wrong, every little bit helps. If we all cut down our waste output by just a little bit, the world would be a much cleaner place.

If I’m being honest, though, my care for the environment has often been susceptible to my own convenience. For example, I’ve known for years that fast fashion is terrible for the environment. So, I resolved to shop second hand. More accurately, though, I’ve shopped second hand up until I “need” something specific - a nice outfit for a wedding, or something for work, or a bathing suit (or, or, or…).

Going zero waste is another fantastic initiative that, in theory, I totally support. Or at least up until I find that I need some random thing, be it shampoo, or sponges, or whatever else. Inevitably, things in general seem to either be made with or packaged in plastic, and my intention of producing zero waste goes out the window. In short, despite my best intentions I’ve struggled to make consistently sustainable choices.

So, during the aforementioned soul searching, my want for a fulfilling and meaningful career and my frustrations with my own inability to maintain sustainable habits came together. The idea of solving both issues by opening a store offering sustainable goods began to infiltrate my mind. Soon this idea had taken over my every waking thought.

Click on for Part 2!