Community. At TORRAIN, this word holds a powerful message. When I moved to Portland from San Diego, I barely knew anyone but I was immediately welcomed into this city with open arms. I noticed the strong sense of community here and a genuine desire from people to help one another out. Every person I encountered offered advice and resources to further my goals. My previous boss, owner of Aurora Silk, extended her knowledge to me as an artist and a business owner and inspired me to challenge myself in my own business. Once I decided to launch TORRAIN the connections I made were endless and they have all played a part in what TORRAIN is today. I knew that I wanted to make an impact with TORRAIN but I continue to realize how important it is to create your own community in order to impact our community at large.

I built TORRAIN to inspire travel, an active lifestyle and an overall respect for ourselves and our world. I wanted to encourage others to be conscious of the products they buy and how they are made, without sacrificing function and style. I strive to do this by producing sustainable quality bags that are great for travel, that help our environment and that give back to our communities. This mission has been unwavering but the past few years were not always easy; it was draining at times to be a one woman show and to maintain energy and inspiration… until I created a team. Upon building a team, my life and the face of TORRAIN have transformed and we’ve noticed a tremendous ripple effect. My partner in Cambodia, Sothea Yung, is a shining example of what it means to create an impact in our community. She was a visionary and an innovator. She saw what could be done to help her environment and she created a team to carry out her vision which, is now rippling throughout Cambodia and beyond its borders.

We can always take steps to better our world on our own and if you’ve been following our blog, we’ve provided many suggestions ;) But the impact we make when we walk together can be strong and vast. Community is power of the masses.