For Theresa, our digital project manager, traveling is a way of life. This gal’s been everywhere, and she’s got a quirky little collection of souvenir pens—the kind with the floaty doodads inside—to prove it. The collecting bug hit her as a little girl: her father brought pens home from his business trips at first, and they became her thing—every family trip yielded a new one. Now an avid traveler in her own right, Theresa has been to 35 states, racked up five passports and continues to snag pens from every place she can—75 at last count!

We were so excited to speak with Olivia, Barbara and Yoana to find out more about the dress and to how Conscious Commerce is making a difference.

“I have to have a trip planned or I get really anxious. I refer to my vacations as adventures—I’ll go on a ‘vacation’ when I’m older and need more sleep. I want to see how life is lived wherever I am. I visit tiny stores and street markets and festivals to immerse myself in the local culture. I absolutely love Hanoi, Vietnam. It has this chaotic vibe that scared me at first and then became really exciting.”

"I never write with these. Maybe—maybe—if I’m in a pinch. And I don’t like when other people pick them up and write with them, either. Besides, some of them are so old, I don’t even know if they write anymore.”

“I’ve done two big road trips in California. The first was with my family during high school. I was in a car with my mom, sister and one of my brothers for four weeks!”

“The Toronto pen was from my father. He brought it back for me from a business trip. This is probably my oldest pen; it’s about 25 years old. I’ve actually never been there, if you can believe it!”

"I’m going to Peru next. You know, I’ve looked all over Asia and haven’t found any pens, so I’m hoping South America does the trick. Peru was my dream vacation and it will become a reality in May, so I’ll have to start thinking about a new dream trip, probably to Sicily."