In celebration of all the great dads out there - many of whom have been under more pressure than ever to take good care of their families this past year - we recently collaborated with Sealand to create a very special Father's Day Kit.
Four popular Goodleaf products come contained in a limited edition version of Sealand's bestselling Toastie toiletry bag - lined with none other than upcycled Goodleaf advertising banners.
We recently caught up with Jasper Eales, co-founder & creative director of Sealand as well as a new dad himself, to hear how he juggles the demands of both roles, and to learn more about this sustainable local company.
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Q: How are you feeling?
A: Excited for the journey ahead. First day with our new production manager in place.
Q: You recently became a Dad, tell us about that?
A: Honored and super proud. Doing my best to be a rad dad, and sharing the good things in life with my Lola, our daughter. ‘Me time’ has certainly reduced, and a new number 1 priority has arrived. It has been a very special journey since then, and I'm incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to experience this.
Q: How has that affected your lifestyle and time?
A: Initially it took some getting used to, and as an infant extra time and attention is required, however quite quickly we established our routines, and looked to integrate Lola into our lifestyle. Before she was 6 months old, she went for a picnic in the snow, spent a day on the beach, climbed up a mountain and camped alongside a dam. So she is having a fab time. As mentioned, my ‘me time’ has been reduced, but the time spent with Lola is awesome, so it's a good compromise. I'm very lucky to have such a cool wife too, as we continue to encourage one another to engage in our own personal activities still. This makes a positive difference.
Q: How do you balance life and work?
A: I have recently learnt that trying to balance these two areas of living is impossible, but rather look at integrating them. Importantly one needs to enjoy the work they do for this model to succeed, which I fortunately do. If the above is aligned then you can merge elements of work with play and play with work. Before you know it you are not sure if you are working or playing. I have also learnt to accept that work and life go through different phases, where it is impossible to keep them consistently balanced.
Q: What rituals or daily practices have you put in place to manage the demands of dad, creative director and husband?
A:
- Daily mindfulness
- Body work in the form of exercise and stretching
- Healthy eating/living
- Daily morning rooibos tea with fresh ginger and lemon
- Quality time in the morning and evening with Lola and Alex
- Frequent leadership meetings
- Transparency
- Kindness
- Guidance and support
- Surf when there are waves
- Atlantic ocean/cold water submersions as frequently as possible
Q: How has the use of CBD assisted you on your journey?
A: After strenuous exercise I find that the use of CBD helps ease my body and muscles, allowing me to have a restful night sleep and be better equipped to tackle the next day. With work, I often have a lot on the go and many things bouncing around my mind, especially when I work at night. This then makes it difficult for me to fall asleep. At these moments I will have a few drops of Goodleaf CBD in my tea before bed, helping me to have a restful night's sleep.
Q: A brief intro into your journey with Sealand?
A: After completing an honours in Product Design and traveling the world in search of perfect waves and creative rich cultures I settled back home into Cape Town, and founded my own product design firm. I focused on the development of niche products that I found a need for in my day to day life. This has always led to the creation of my best designs. The personal need for something inspires me to create interesting things.
Combining the above with my love for the outdoors and realization that these natural playgrounds were at risk due to irresponsible production and consumption, followed by the lack of waste management systems, the idea was born to build a brand that would revalue various forms of waste material through a process known as Upcycling.
Combining creative minds with incredibly talented craftspeople, we began our journey of upcycling old yacht sails, advertising banners, bedouin stretch tents, and truck tarpaulins into beautifully unique bags and accessories. This empowered me in many ways; knowing that I, through Sealand, was playing my part in protecting and creating a much needed awareness towards the people and planet.
Today the brand can be found in some of the most respected retail stores on the globe, from Selfridges in the UK, to Mr Porter internationally, to Nordstrom USA, and Holt Renfrew Canada. I feel honored to be part of this journey, as this aspirational brand continues to inspire and create awareness with its educational voice.
Q: Tell us about the Goodleaf collaboration
A: I have been a fan and friend of Goodleaf since the brand was born, so when I was asked to be part of a project I was automatically interested. Being a founder and creative director of the Sealand brand, I was excited to position Goodleaf and Sealand together. Understanding more about the Goodleaf brand direction we decided to put together a functional selection of Goodleaf products, housed in a customised Sealand pouch.
The Toastie is Sealand's best selling product since we launched the brand in 2015. It is a multifunctional pouch, which assists with organized storage. At an entry level price point it has become a perfect gifting item and can be used as a toiletry bag, a cable management solution, make up bag, even a great surf accessory storage pouch, this was automatically the piece we decided was best suited for this project.
To make it truly unique to this project, and offering the special Sealand story, we took previously used Goodleaf advertising banners and upcycled them into the internal lining of the Toasties. Externally we brought together a first time combination of pre consumer waste in the form of PVC offcuts and B-Grade canvas, which was then subtly branded with a heat transfer and embroidery detail.
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You can check out the Goodleaf x Sealand Father's Day kit for yourself here.