The journey that made us...
I never forget that feeling when we were proudly showing off our new kitchen to some close friends visiting from Europe, when I noticed our manky disposable dishcloth hanging in all its shabby glory across our tap (as you do right..).
I was so embarrassed. My aversion to filling landfills didn't help and it was definitely past its prime.
A few weeks later, we were surprised, and of course delighted, to receive the ingenious HAPPY SiNKS Magnetic Cloth Holder from our wonderful friends, to discreetly hang our unsightly dish cloth within the sink and not in full view of anyone in the kitchen...
It was this moment that I also started my quest to find decent dish cloths that both looked nice but didn't need replacing every week.
Over the next couple of years, with work and travel taking me far and wide, I tried and tested a number of different products. But it wasn't until we were visiting family in Germany that I discovered the concept of knitted cotton dishcloths. Curious (and a little skeptical), I splashed out a whopping 20 euros but instantly fell in love!
They were a winner!
A few months later when our 14 year old son announced he wanted to do a school trip to Nepal in partnership with World Challenge. we decided it was the opportunity for him to raise the funds he needed by selling the cloths at local markets, while also learning about business, selling and striving for a goal.
In January of 2020, he and 14 other kids were having the trip of a lifetime when Covid started to hit the headlines. Fortunately, they saw out their trip creating many wonderful memories and stories along the way.
With the goal achieved, the question remained, what do we do now? We had a wonderful supportive community that absolutely fell in love with the products and the story behind them. But working full time and continuing to attend markets every weekend... meant something needed to change.
It was not long after that, that New Zealand (and particularly Aucklander's) found ourselves in extended lockdowns. My consulting work was in flux while corporates were scrambling to deal with this new normal, so I threw myself into building a website and marketing on social media to take the business online.
We started receiving lots of requests from retailers wanting to sell the cloths, so we took the leap to start our own manufacturing journey.
After 25 years of working in corporate strategy and bringing shopper insights to consumer brands, I struggled to reconcile being dubbed 'The Dishcloth Lady'. But today I'm totally owning it!
It's definitely been a journey and I'm immensely proud of the growth and reputation for the stylish, sustainable, quality products ecovask is becoming known for.
This year our focus is on extending availability in retailers throughout New Zealand and Australia while continuing to bring little moments of joy into kitchens everywhere, one dish cloth at a time.
Happy cleaning :D
Viv x
