In 2017, after over a decade of working in the not-for-profit sector, Emily KenCairn launched Apiary Studio. ”I wanted to amplify the voices of individuals and organizations who are committed to social and ecological justice,” says Emily, whose Colorado-based web design agency works exclusively with sustainable brands. Beyond working for clients that aim to better the world, Emily is committed to reinvesting time and money into her community, too. Apiary Studio donates 5% of all incoming revenue to regenerative ecological efforts and, although she’s a busy mother of two, Emily also donates her time to local organizations.
Emily KenCairn’s Desert Island 5
Mailchimp partner Emily KenCairn is the founder of Apiary Studio, a sustainability‑devoted web design agency. We asked her what she can’t live without.
Bolder Breakfast Blend Tea
Every day starts with tea. I love the ritual: the comforting kettle boiling as the sun rises, the aromatic leaves steeping in hot water, the sweet warmth of my first sips of the day. I love all kinds of tea—green, black, herbal, you name it—but my current obsession is Bolder Breakfast Blend by The Tea Spot, another Colorado-based Certified B Corp. They’ve mixed pu-erh and other black teas with chocolate and mallow flowers, and the result is divine.
ClimateAction.tech
Nothing has been more helpful in building Apiary Studio than community. Finding other Certified B Corps who support each other’s triple bottom lines of people, planet, and profit inspired Apiary Studio’s launch. Lately, I’ve been admiring the work of ClimateAction.tech, a community that brings individuals working in any aspect of tech together to address our climate crisis.
My Garden
I am a below-average vegetable gardener—let’s just say, we have yet to feed ourselves on home-grown produce—but my flower garden is the bees’ knees! I cultivate about 100 varieties of perennial herbs, flowers, trees, and shrubs, many of which are native to where I live in Colorado, and all of which feed and provide habitat for pollinators. Whenever the stress levels go up, the gardening gloves come out.
Procreate
Procreate—an art app that allows you to create sketches, paintings, and more—is undoubtedly the best $10 I’ve ever spent. Although, I had to save up quite a bit more for the iPad and Apple Pencil that go with it. I’ve used Procreate for everything from mess-free finger painting with my son to wireframing websites, but so far, my favorite use for Procreate is making digital collages.
Decomposition notebooks
I make a lot of lists. I use Asana and Apple’s Notes App for work, and have recently started using Notion, which is great for the larger, database-sized lists like the naturalist’s species inventory I’m working on for my garden. For my day-to-day priorities, I always come back to my Decomposition notebooks. These recycled notebooks, made from post-consumer waste, are eco-friendly and beautiful, too!