Cute cows, sharp tools, and successful careers

A ten year old girl without a care in the world sits in front of her TV and turns on a movie with a cow on its cover. The cow was cute, but the 2005 documentary certainly wasn’t. Eyes opened, stomach knotted, life changed, the girl makes a vow to never eat those adorable farm animals again. And she’s kept that vow to this day.

As she grew, her love for the environment grew with her. It’s quite ironic, considering she lives in the “concrete jungle” of NYC, but she did what she could. She told everyone who would listen and who wouldn’t about what she learned from “Earthlings” and her following research. That girl did not know that in another ten years she would be an undergraduate at Yale University, majoring in Environmental Studies, or an entrepreneur, or a sustainable fashion designer. She just knew one thing— that whatever she did she would help the planet doing it.

Surprise! That girl is me, Rakel Tanibajeva, and that vow I made ten years ago was in fact an easy one to follow, considering that almost everything you do affects the environment. Even art, no, especially art. As a designer for my own sustainable clothing brand, “Berries Fashion,” and a stylist for events like Refashion Week NYC, environmental impact is acknowledged throughout the creative process- from the sourcing of materials to their cutting and sewing. This is all to say that designing and producing clothing makes me happy; but even more than that, knowing that my endeavors are helping the planet and educating others and myself brings me the truest joy and fulfillment.

In fact, my very first creation for the brand, an orange silk dress, was inspired by my time in Japan the summer before my senior year of highschool, specifically the week I spent living with and learning from Buddhist monks in Kyoto. In total, I spent nearly three months traveling the country, visiting places like Tokyo, Kyoto, Sapporo, Asakusa, and Hokkaido. The trip was life changing for a number of reasons— the people I met along the way, the food I tasted and learned how to make, the amazing architecture and advanced technology, the magnificent countryside with its luscious mountains and waterfalls, and the fashion. Walking through the streets of Japan, specifically Tokyo, was like having the front row tickets to a fashion show. I basically grew up in my mom’s art studio, surrounded by creatives, but the styles I saw on people browsing the produce section of the grocery store were like nothing I had seen before. All the reasons that those months impacted me to such an extent can be encapsulated into one concept— education. Everyone I met taught me something. For instance, I practice the Zen meditation I learned from the monks to this day. I had an entire conversation with the stylish woman in the grocery store about her outfit— from where she got the individual pieces, where I can find the best clothing places that tourists don’t know about, where her inspiration came from, and about Japanese fashion culture in general. These types of interactions happened several times a day, some people even approaching me to compliment my clothing and strike up conversation. I could talk about so many other educational experiences, like learning about sustainable farming, or how to make sushi from sushi master, but there’s one in particular that came to mind as I was writing. During this time I took an origami and paper art class, and was amazed at how intricate, detailed and exact the process is. The materials are purposefully selected, of high quality to ensure longevity, the tools so sharp and precise that they must teach people how to use them first and the safety precautions before we could begin. The instructors told us about the history of the craft, its importance to Japanese culture, and how we can continue the craft on our own. Although that experience may not seem the most exciting, it impressed upon me the importance that tools have in creation. An excellent product requires excellent tools, and I could see this excellence in all aspects of creation, from the food to the art.

Ten years ago my heart would become full when I taught someone something new about the environment and the effect of human behavior upon it. I get that feeling to this day, which must mean that I’ve been on my career path for a decade, because isn’t that what a successful career is? To earn a living off something that makes your heart full, while helping and/or educating others doing it. While I’m still working on the former, I look forward to continuing to exercise the latter.