Alice Saunders of Forestbound

From Kara: It's no secret that I am a lover of small businesses. Every month, I will be highlighting an individual or a business who inspires me. I hope you love them as much as I do! This month is Alice Saunders of Forestbound.

How and why did you create Forestbound? 

Forestbound started in the winter of 2007 when I was between farming seasons and needed to make a bit of extra money. Etsy had just started and I thought it could be a good opportunity to sell the handmade bags and accessories that I had been making in my apartment from reclaimed textiles. Well, I opened my Etsy shop and it just snowballed from there! Within a year I was making my first order for Anthropologie and soon after that I quit my farming and gardening jobs so I could focus on Forestbound full time. 

What's your favorite thing about being a female small business owner? What's the biggest challenge? 

The community of other women small business owners that I’ve found myself a part of has to be the greatest aspect of this whole thing. I started Forestbound in my early 20s kind of by accident; I never thought it would turn into my full time job let alone a company with hundreds of retailers throughout the world and collaborations with brands like Levis and Patagonia.

I had always sensed an entrepreneurial spirit in myself (as a kid I would pick blueberries in our yard and sell them at the end of our driveway and in high school I spent weekends at the Salvation Army finding perfectly worn in vintage t-shirts and sold them on eBay) but I had zero business experience or knowledge when I started Forestbound.

I would never have been able to navigate the ups and downs of creative business ownership without the support and partnership of other women who were on similar journeys with their own companies.

I think the biggest challenge for me has become the separation of business and personal. When you are a one woman operation running a company that demands your full creative vision—from designing bags to developing scented candles from scratch for my new Forestbound Home line to running an Instagram account - life can easily become one big blur of nonstop work.

While I greatly love and appreciate how much of myself I put into Forestbound, I’ve also come to find that it is incredibly exhausting to have your whole self wrapped up in a business that is your sole livelihood.

It’s an ever-evolving journey to figure out how and when to separate the two, especially since I know my customers love having a personal connection to me and Forestbound, but I believe it’s vital to prioritize this kind of separation otherwise mental and physical burn out comes at you fast and hard! I have yet to figure out the formula but I am always striving to be more mindful and intentional with the balance of Forestbound Alice and just Alice. 

What's your favorite thing you create for Forestbound?

The one-of-a-kind pieces I create out of reclaimed materials are the heart of Forestbound and will forever be my favorite part of the business that I’ve built. Forestbound Originals are made from storied textiles that I find at flea markets, barn sales, and antique stores throughout New England.

I mostly work with WWII era duffle bag canvas, old military tents, feed bags from the 1920s to 1950s, and any other worn-in yet durable canvas that I uncover along the way. These pieces combine my two greatest loves: forgotten pieces of history and remarkable antique textiles—and I work hard to create unique bags that bring a bit of history back into the present. 

What's your personal favorite female-owned small business? 

My friend Maura Ambrose has a small business called Folk Fibers where she creates heirloom quilts that are hand stitched and made with naturally dyed fabrics. Not only is her work out of this world beautiful, but her creative mind inspires me like no other. We’ve collaborated on one of a kind quilted bags in the past and I’m sure we’ll find ourselves working together on another limited edition series in the near future.

I am also endlessly inspired by my graphic designer and friend, Ashley Brooks, who has a design studio and small shop Caus in Essex, Mass. You know when you just click with someone creatively and you read each other’s minds and finish each other’s sentences? That is how Ashley and I work together on packaging and logo design and I will never, ever take it for granted. She is also a mom of four and has an incredible eye for color. Simply put, she is a one-of-a-kind creative powerhouse! 

What are your favorite classes on Range?

I could never choose between the Origin and the Foundation! I love them both equally and they fulfill me in similar but different ways. But I have to say the classes you film by the river at your parents house in Vermont are far and away my favorites.

Range in general provides a movement and fitness experience unlike anything else out there, but when you combine that with riverside Vermont in the summer it just transports me into another world that I can't get enough of.