The pandemic stunted travel for over two years with thousands of airline employees laid off or losing their jobs. After twelve years of flying the skies, furloughed Flight Attendant Leesa Beeson was missing travel immensely. “While I was a Flight Attendant; I was continually inspired by the feeling that overcomes you when you arrive at a destination and start exploring. Cities, oceans, parks, museums, architecture, cafes, languages; all of it sparked in me a profound gratitude for our planet and cultures. Travel made me a better human.”

With that, Beeson founded WanderlustStuff – a curated ecommerce boutique that serves travel-lovers with a world conscious approach. Her website www.wanderluststuff.com showcases travel products by independent makers that are either sustainably made, use ethically sourced materials, provide wages to artisans in developing countries or donate back to earth or charity.
A few examples include: Hand made Moroccan Weekender Bags of natural leather and recycled Moroccan carpets; Canadian-made bags created from seatbelts pulled from junkyards; Canvas bags created from upcycled military tents; and intricate hand-beaded totes from India created with sustainable materials and employing over 700 people in nearby villages.

They also currently retail the National Geographic PhotoArk Bag Collection - featuring endangered species with proceeds to wildlife conservation; and carry a small selection of Official Van Gogh Museum merchandise imported direct from the museum in Amsterdam. Beeson personally inventories most of the independent makers she showcases and ships worldwide.

“In my flight career I learned many ways to travel easier (and always look for that in products), but I also saw independent makers creating really unique items that were doing good things in the world. I felt if I could connect the makers and their products to the world and travel lover, that we it would be a small step towards thoughtful purchasing, and could possibly nurture appreciation for the world we are very fortunate to live in.”

She’s also passionate about working with young women. She regularly contracts a female ecommerce virtual assistant in the Philippines and social media assistant in Toronto. Since opening, she’s also utilized technology platforms to mentor three young women from Spain, Korea and USA - all who have played a part in getting the business off the ground.

WanderlustStuff opened last summer to a small audience of friends and family. In the last year the online store has had 10,000+ visits from 11 different countries and customers from 27 different cities in Canada, USA and Europe.

For more information contact
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