Vegan Interior Design

Welcome to The Power of Healing Your Energy Show. This is Season 3. I'm Christine J Gold. I'm a spiritual medium, intuitive energy coach, old soul healer, and soul purpose mentor. And this is all about unconditional love your light, your healing, and your soul's purpose. This week's guest is Risha Walden. She is a vegan interior designer, and we're going to talk about why This is so important, you know, everything we're bringing into our body, into our mind, into our soul, and into our home. You know, what are you bringing into your home? Is it toxic? I mean, we know about, you know, chemicals and cleaners and all of that. But what about your furniture? What about the fabrics? You know, do you have plants in your home? I mean, it's all about creating that inner sanctuary. Looking forward to it, and I truly believe that healing begins where the ego ends. Hello everyone, come on in. Welcome, welcome. And I want to give a special shout out, uh, to everybody on LinkedIn. Um, I am live streaming right now on LinkedIn. This is the first time, and, uh, come on in and welcome. Let us know where you're from if this is your first time being here. And of course, I'm coming to you live today from Peru. And this is Veganuary. I mean, we're still in January. Learned so much. I don't know about you, but let me know your takeaways. You can send me a message, an email. And of course, we have a wonderful guest. This is episode 177. I mean, I can't believe it. Where does the time go? And when I first, you know, I was looking for guests for Veganuary, and I posted somewhere in Facebook. And then I, I wasn't really finding much. I was looking for something different. You know me, it's all about being different. Um, and I, I stumbled across, uh, Risha's post, and I was like, vegan interior? Okay, let's, let's explore this, because I know people are about, okay, what, what am I eating? But really, it's your home is your sanctuary. So I thought, this absolutely makes sense. So I am going to bring her on now. I'm going to stop talking. And, uh, welcome Risha to the show.

Hi, how are you doing?

Doing well, doing well. Thank you so much for being here and sharing your time and, and, uh, your colorful, uh, unique energy with us. Yeah, I mean, if you're listening, you'd have to come and watch, uh, on, you know, on Facebook or YouTube and just see what she's wearing and, um, inspiration behind her. We'll talk about that later, but I always ask my guests, where are you in the world?

Well, I'm in Millburn, New Jersey, about 20 miles, uh, southwest of New York City. Nice little suburbs. Yeah, it's not quite as warm, I'm sure, as, uh, Lima.

No, it's— we're in summer, so— and I know that it's— there's been some wicked winter stuff going on, so I do lower than 80 degrees for me is wicked. Wicked. All right. So how, I mean, tell us a little bit about yourself. I mean, I'm obviously going to put your bio up and all that. And how did you, I mean, what got you interested into interior design to start with? And then how did that segue into vegan interior design?

Sure. I have been an interior designer since 2009. And I have created homes for my clients all around the country, the West Coast, Vancouver, Canada, California, Palm Springs, as well as New York, New Jersey, Vermont. And I've been doing that for, you know, coming on a dozen years now. I became a vegan about 6 years ago, and I did it just like most people do, thinking about their diet. And I thought, okay, this is going to be a good way to get me healthier and more cognizant about what I'm putting into my body. Um, and hopefully it'll help me with— I, I never really had problems with weight gain, but I was getting older and I'm like, okay, I want to, you know, make sure I can keep this under control. Um, and just thought it would be healthier. Instantly, like literally overnight, I realized that I wasn't doing it for my body or for just for diet. It wasn't that at all, which actually allowed me to— made my choices so much easier because I was doing it for a moral reason. Veganism or being a vegan actually is not a diet. It's not considered like paleo or vegetarian or pescatarian. It's a lifestyle. And being an interior designer, I'm always talking about lifestyle in a much broader sense in your home and how you live and how you function in your home. So, it became apparent to me very quickly that even though I was choosing not to eat animals, I was profiting off of selling animal products, and that is because home interior products and goods are— use a lot of animal products in the making of it and in the application, etc. And I thought, okay, that's just not going to work for me. And I aligned my personal choices with my business principles. And you know, I said I'm a vegan interior designer. I don't— I choose not to use any animal products in the design of my clients' homes. And I feel like I don't have to compromise. I don't have to compromise your aesthetics or the function. And in fact, I'm really adding a lot of value. For lots of reasons that we'll get into. But it's been a great change. However, most people think I'm insane, which is great, fine. But there is such a connection between your home and vegan lifestyle. I mean, and being— having a, you know, connected life and one that is, uh, energy, which is full of positive, good energy because that's what you're creating in your home. You're creating energy. You're bringing in energy.

So that's my story. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I think of Feng Shui. I mean, a lot of people know about Feng Shui. Um, and you know, um, I won't— don't come in the house with your dirty shoes. I mean, how really is that any different than what you're saying? You're right. You're— so what would be— I mean, the first thing that came to mind when— is a leather couch. Is that—

sure. Yeah, that's the number one thing people think about. They think about leather. Oh, I don't have leather in my home. You know, that's— I'm pretty vegan, but I thought that, and I actually have some leather in my home. Okay, well, besides the leather, you know, I'm pretty vegan. No, no, no, no, I am not. Because there's so many other animal products. And I would say the number one animal product that is being used in homes is down, is feathers and down. We see it in our pillows, in our duvets, on our bedding, stuffing and furniture. And You don't even think about it, but it's prolific in interior design. You know, we're looking for that fluffy, fluffy upholstered piece that is soft and cozy, and down has been the traditional product that is used to create that.

Okay, and I'm hearing, so then what do we use then? A lot of people are, you know, do we use something Synth— because they— what would you recommend, I guess, instead of down?

Well, it is a synthetic. It is a polyfill, polyester, polyurethane fill. You can find things like hemp or seeds and pillows and stuff like that, but predominantly it is a petroleum-based product. So how does that work? Because, you know, we're trying to reduce our use of petroleum products and try to reduce our use on chemicals. But if you look back at the animal product and how it is used or how it— not used, but how it is cultured, the agriculture of it. There is so much harm on the environment, on the animal's life, and the amount of water usage for animal agriculture. Down is really sourced from live birds, mainly geese and ducks. They are live plucked. It doesn't matter what people tell you. There are some places where, yeah, they're using, you know, dead ducks and they're plucking it. Okay. But that's not the main source of down. They're live plucked, taking their feathers, sent back out, and then regrown. And they do that until, you know, pretty much the animal is exhausted, then it's killed. And, you know, when it's not producing more. Down. So that to me is not sustainable. And when it comes down to what, what do I want? Do I want to bring this, I mean, really violent product, you know, through the acquisition into my home, this down that's been pulled out of this? And you just have to watch one video to see that this is not a nice, humane practice.

No, or any, any PETA video. I think I stopped watching those videos because I, well, I can't.

Yeah, it's disturbing. Um, so do I want to do that, or do I want to choose, you know, a petrochemical-based product, um, that has a lot more restrictions on, um, the manufacturing of it, it reduces the use of water as well as land and raw materials because it can be manufactured in a facility and it's not, and not even just on a facility that the people in the facility as well. Because if we're looking at leather, which is another product that is used predominantly in interior design because it has a cachet, you know, leather is like, wow, that's cool. But most of the leather produced has to go through a preprocessing, and most of that is done in third world countries such as India and Bangladesh. Where there are no laws or any regulation for the use of the water and the disposal of water. And the— in the prepping of the hides, it's very water intensive. So this water that's used, and it's used with acids and other chemicals in order to create a product which we say, oh well, it's a natural product and it will decompose. No, it won't. They treat the hide with chemicals so it won't decompose. That's why if they, if you took a, the skin of a dead cow and put it on your leather sofa without any treatment, it's gonna decompose cuz it's a natural product. Yeah. But that's not what happens to processed leather. They process it so it will last as long as possible. And the water usage in that is 5 times as much as the water usage in a, in a, like, a polyurethane. Um, and it's, as I mentioned, it's done in countries where the workers are— there are no protections for the workers. Their lifespan is much shorter. They live—

it's like trafficking. Yeah, essentially.

Yeah, because they're, they're standing in the water that's full of petrochemicals and full of acid, and, um, they have no protection. And then that water is then flushed into local rivers and streams, etc. So the environmental impact of that is tremendous. It really is.

It is. Um, yeah, no, I mean, I wanna— if anybody has comments, questions about, you know, all of this, and then how maybe you'd want to design your home, what would you want to bring in? And I'm looking just at your site and I see, um, cotton, microfibers, polyester, hemp, sisal, bamboo, linen, and more. So, yes. Um, now does that Because I'm hearing, oh, isn't that expensive? I mean, it's the same thing as people think if they go vegan, it's going to be expensive, right?

Is it expensive? Okay, so natural fibers can be expensive, but not necessarily expensive because the— I mean, the product can be a little bit more, but where the expense lies is those natural products are wonderful and they have great characteristics which make them desirable. They're soft, they're, you know, they're lacking in chemicals, etc. But they don't withstand the use of everyday living. So if you were to use 100% cotton on a chair or a sofa, you're going to find that it deteriorates very quickly. It's going to discolor. It's not going to— you're not going to be able to clean it. And so as a result, you're replacing. So it becomes expensive because you're going to have to replace it. You're not going to be able to have the durability of a— right now, which is a Krypton, which is right now, you know, a material of choice in upholstered goods because Cryptons are very durable, easy to clean, don't stain, they don't mold, they don't mildew. And so you can now use this Crypton for infinite number of years versus a cotton, which with it looking good with, but a cotton wears in a year or two. Or linen. Linen's gorgeous, feels great, wicks away moisture, but it's just going to deteriorate. So it's this balance. So then you, you're replacing it, you're redoing it, and that is where the expense can add up. Whereas an alternative, which is probably not, which is a polyester, a nylon, it's going to last so much longer. So that's where sustainability becomes interesting because what is more sustainable? Something that you're going to use for 20, 30 years or something that you're going to have to replace in 2 or 3 years? And they do treat natural cottons and linens, etc. So it's not completely free of chemicals, much less so, but, you know, the manufacturing, the manufacturing of upholstered goods is getting better and better.

Yeah, because— is that because people are demanding better?

Yeah, people are demanding better. They want You know, they want their homes to look beautiful despite the dogs and the cats and the kids and, you know, the red wine and the chocolate everywhere. And so in some ways that's really good because then we have products that can last for a long time and that's sustainable where you're not going out and getting new, getting new, getting new.

The consumable. We've got to stop this consumerism, consumable culture, and, and the quick fix, the quick hit.

Yeah.

And, and thinking we need more, we need more. Actually, we need— we waste so much.

Yes, we do.

Yeah. So I'm always reminded of that when I see something sparkly or shiny or whatever it happens to be. I'm like, do I really need this?

No. Right.

So Yeah, go ahead.

No, I was gonna say, um, that's, um, part of this, you know, my idea of vegan lifestyle is that, you know, if you want to go in and change up and like you think, okay, I want to be a vegan, like, I'm vegan, I'm going to get everything vegan. Well, come on, that just doesn't make sense because I have lived in, you know, uh, I've, I've had a home for like 20, 30 years and I've acquired goods. And so there are leather products, there's wool products, there's down products, and I'm not going to throw all that out and then just get all vegan. That doesn't make sense. But what I have done is I have reused pieces. And I know that in the— my sofa, I had it, I've had it for 20 years while I reupholstered. And that just meant that when I reupholstered it, I'm thinking, okay, the new pieces, are they made, are they a vegan product, are they a non-animal product? And then I can make this as vegan as possible, even though it's an older piece. And I can add to sustainable, sustainability, because I'm reusing something and bringing it back to life. Something that was getting old and used and blah, blah, you know, I could, refinish it, reupholster it, restuff it. Um, and now I have a beautiful new sofa that doesn't look anything like the old sofa because I redid it.

Yeah, that, that's perfect. I just think of antiquing and all of that. And in Peru, they fix everything. They have cars that are from the 1940s, '50s, and they look brand new. No rust. Yeah, it's just— I mean, obviously the climate's different here, but they really treasure you know, things that last, and they like tradition, and I think that's an important piece too.

So, well, I think it's also part of having a home that expresses you and yourself. It's, you know, your home should remind you of what a wonderful, abundant, wonderful life that you have. It should reflect that back to you so that when you come home after a long day or after a hard day and you're, you know, sad or depressed and you're like, "Oh my God, what am I doing?" Your home should now reflect that energy to you and say, "No, look at this beautiful place that you've created. Look at this, your surroundings that help to lift you up and remind you of this abundance that you have in your life. That's part of the energy that I like to create for my clients. So they come home, they're like, oh yeah, this is why I'm working so hard, this is why I'm doing this, this is like, here it is, this is my castle.

Absolutely. And I, I mean, it's their sanctuary. You've got to have a place of respite, as they say. It's, it's really important, especially everything that's going on. And we're, you know, staying home and everything else. And, you know, whatever's going on in the world, wherever you are, it's— it should be a sanctuary, not a place, you know, I have to stay home. No, you get to. Yes, there's the, the choice factor too. But, uh, you, you had some, uh, show and tell as well. And I'm just saying hi to Patty. Hi, Patty's here. Thanks for being here. Let us know if you have any questions about vegan interior design. But you brought a few little items to, to show, show us. I did love to work with—

well, you know, I, I do like, um, leathers because— I mean, leathers because, uh, they add a different dimension. They have a different, um— I'm sorry, this is like all tangled up here and making lots of noise there. Um, they add, uh, texture, etc. Um, so, but there are some wonderful, uh, vegan leathers and, and animal skins that are so beautiful. Um, and, and rather than sacrificing an animal to do so, they're, you know, celebrating the beauty in this animal. It's like, why, why is it that we want, you know, the crocodile skin or, uh, ostrich skin? Because it's So beautiful. And now we don't have to sacrifice an animal to get that, and we can appreciate it. So I just had some— like, I think you can see here.

Oh wow, yeah, it's got some neat texture to it.

Yeah, and then it comes in like some wonderful, wonderful colors, etc.

Okay, wow.

Um, or here's one that's like a crocodile, right? So you can see the texture that it is, um, available. And this has like a really like patented kind of look.

Yeah, kind of like I think of faux fur. I remember that. Yeah, people made that switch. Yeah.

So the, the— like, here's a, here's a shiny one. Like, so pretty.

That's very shiny. Yeah, I like that.

So if you're thinking, well, I have a piece of furniture and I need to reupholster it, you know, it's— but, and I love leather. Well, you don't have to do it in leather. You can have the same kind of animal skin look with these beautiful faux skins. Now, there, there are right now tons of new companies coming out that are— what's, what is exciting about this is that they're coming up with alternatives to petrochemical or polyurethane leather alternatives. They're coming up with plant-based alternatives such as cactus, pineapple leaves, mushroom mycelium. Unfortunately, it's not made its way to interior design yet because it's on a very small manufacturing scale. And, you know, I have very little say or influence really in that sphere because they want to have large orders. And I go, I'm a one-to-one, you know, small order, but I know that it's just in the demand for this that we will have more and more opportunity to have access to these products. So instead of having to go with the petrochemical or polyurethane, yeah, the polyester product, I can, I'm going to have an opportunity to use like mushroom-based leather or a apple-based, apple skin leather. I mean, there's so many, it's crazy. Avocado pit or avocado skin. This is, this is like fur. This is an, uh, a faux, um, animal fur, which is— I wish you could feel it because it's so soft and beautiful. Again, like using this and—

oh, look at the color, color. That looks golden to me.

Yeah, it's kind of got this gold yellow mustardy look to it with like— but with depth, because you can see that the base of it has some deeper color tones. And it's so soft, so I can bring in— again, bring in, um, different textures and elements without sacrificing an animal. And that's all that— at the end of the day, um, that's really the final decision. Can I do it without any violence, any death? I can. So yes, it's polyester, chemical-based, but I can do that without hurting an animal.

Absolutely. And it is, it is exciting, and that's the, the way of the future. I mean, it's, um, like I, I tell, you know, people, I just well, almost certified with Climate Healers, but their, their whole thing is Vegan 2026. I mean, the founder said it, it is, it's already done. And we're seeing this more and more. I mean, I think I've seen Gordon Ramsay the other day saying the next steak alternative is eggplant.

Yeah, well, I'm using it all the time.

Oh, there you go.

Funny.

I love that. I love that. And Yeah, we, we just— I mean, thank you for doing this. Um, and, and I don't know if you guys can see her art if you're listening, but, um, you've got big inspiration behind you. I do want to talk more about that.

Um, that is a piece of art, uh, of Martin Luther King. It's a big piece, actually. It's probably about, what, 5 feet by 3 feet or something like that. And it was There's a show called America's Got Talent.

Yes. Years ago.

And there was an artist on it that I saw and he had this huge canvas and he just kept throwing paint on the canvas. And within 6 minutes he had these beautiful iconic paintings of, you know, paintings of iconic figures. And one day I happened to notice that a local town was doing a fundraiser for their youth group, and they had brought this, this, um, artist to— for the fundraiser as, uh, entertainment. And then he was selling the art, and the art was going, uh, to the youth group. And I was like, gotta go. And, uh, so I got to see him live, and he happened to, you know, make this beautiful portrait.

That's amazing. I love that show. So I, I, I know who he is. I just can't remember.

I can't think of his name either, otherwise I would tell you. I'm like, okay. And I know it's—

there's so much talent. Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you for sharing that. I know that you had a, a quote, I think, on your website with Martin Luther King, and, and really it's all about love and hate, um, you choose. Like, and he always chooses love, right? That was his choice, and he had the biggest heart. So that was yesterday, or was it Monday?

No, it was Monday.

That's right, Monday. Okay, so I, I— it's interesting that he popped up again because I keep seeing them everywhere. People are making tributes to him and then to Betty White as well. So of course, yeah. Um, Patty was just saying how beautiful some of the samples that you showed. Oh yeah. Um, now she had a question. I don't know the answer to this yet, but, um, she's asking about animal fur that is sheared. Is that okay, like lamb or alpaca?

Right, so technically not because it is an animal product and You know, in the consumer demand for it, it only increases the manufacture, the, you know, agriculture of these lamb or alpaca. And so it's not considered vegan because you're basically taking the fur from the lamb or the alpaca Whenever you want. You're not asking it. They're not giving it freely, willingly. And when you shear them, this is a business. This is a— this is to make money. These, you know, when you have lambs, they're not doing it for the goodness of the heart. They're doing it because they want to make money.

You—

and they try to shear as quickly as possible. So if you've ever seen the shearing of a lamb in a manufacturing facility, um, they, they're rough, they're inhumane, they hurt the animal, they leave it with many cuts and nicks and bleeding parts. So that's just not vegan.

Okay, no, that, that's a perfect Yeah, it makes sense to me.

Yeah, and the other thing too, which is really interesting about lamb is that, again, it's a vegan, right? Or sheep. Yes. It's not vegan because what they've done is they've crossbred these sheep to create as many rolls as possible in the skin because the more skin there is, the more fur, the more—

The more production they get out of it. Yeah.

So now you're trying to shear something that isn't flat. It has rolls and ripples and stuff to it. So you can imagine, and you're trying to do it as fast as possible because the shearers get paid by the number of sheep they can do.

Yeah.

Not by, you know, oh, $10 an hour or whatever it is, $20 an hour.

Like the bus drivers in Peru, they get paid up, paid per pickup. So you, you watch them race down the street. Anyways, that's a whole nother show.

Interesting.

Yeah.

So they're not— so now they're shearing this lamb and it's got rib, rib, you know, wrinkle, wrinkles and ripples. So yeah, no. So that's why I don't think it's—

Great question, Patty. Thank you.

Thank you.

I appreciate that. Now, do you have like a story? I mean, you, you build or you design all these homes. Is there one in particular that really stands out to you? Or what are people— are you getting more calls? Like, what are people asking for? What seems to really stand out for you?

You know, I don't think where I live in the Northeast that there is a huge call for vegan interior design. I have yet to have people call and say, "Oh, you're vegan, great, I need you, a vegan interior designer." I've had clients who are vegan and I've been able to help them because they are vegan with that way. But I just— part of my mission is awareness and education. And so my clients learn that, you know, here, there's alternatives. I'm not compromising their lifestyle, I'm not compromising their aesthetic, I'm not compromising their design. And, um, didn't make a difference whether it was vegan or not. It's kind of how I feel about vegan restaurants. You know, the vegan restaurant has this preconceived notion that it's crunchy granola. It's kind of, you know, like out there and hippie and, you know, nothing— it's like all curries and I know slop. And I think there's nothing more refreshing than going into a restaurant and it feels like a really great restaurant. It has a good vibe. It looks great, and then you find out that the— it's actually vegan. Like, that's how I feel.

Like, they're not pretentious, right? Right. So, or there's a lot of vegan washing going on as well.

Yeah.

So I, I understand what you're saying. I, I get it. I get it. And, uh, you— and that's interesting because the new mayor of New York is vegan. And so, and yeah, so I really feel the tide is turning. The more that we have these conversations. So, you know, thank you for, you know, what you do and the light that you share with everybody and, and awareness, right? Just opening people's eyes and hearts and, um, you know, to, to really just change everything. And that's how it happens. It's a ripple effect. Um, is there, uh, is there a gift, uh, for someone that is maybe interested, curious that you have?

Sure, yeah. I can post in the, in the notes, um, a beginner's—

I've already got you covered. It's—

oh, perfect.

Yeah, it's a beginner's guide to vegan— yeah, go ahead—

interior design. Yeah, so that just gives you some ideas of where to start, um, some things to think about. It's not going to happen overnight. It's progress, not perfect. And if I can make some, you know, one person reconsider a decision and make it towards a vegan alternative, that's it. It's just little baby steps.

It's a win. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, so it makes me happy. Yeah, no, I love that. And I always ask, uh, two questions at the end here. How can we as a collective energy help make your dreams come true? Do you have like a Moby Dick, like a big whale dream?

Oh yeah, my big whale dream is everybody, you know, this world is vegan. There's no more violence and destruction and terror on our— the sentient, other sentient beings that we were here, that were put here to help us create a paradise. I mean, we live in a paradise. Like, let's treat it like a paradise. Yeah, so that's my Moby Dick. Everybody's vegan and we live in paradise because I, I think I live in paradise.

Oh yeah, Eden, absolutely. Heaven on Earth. Yeah, it's right here. It's within us all. I, I totally agree with that. Yeah. Uh, and what— I know you had put this in the podcast, um, form already, but what does magic mean to you?

Uh, what does magic mean to me? I forget what I wrote on the podcast more, um, because I, I—

it doesn't matter, it could change. I mean, this is— yeah, and it's on the fly.

So yeah, so magic to me is creating beauty, um, and surrounding yourself with beauty and seeing beauty in everything. I create beauty, and to me that's That's magic. And, you know, beauty is not perfection. Beauty is how you're viewing the world.

How do you view— yeah, what, what lenses— what lens do you have on? And, and I heard this the other day, um, you, you've got God's eyes. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that says it all, right? You take off the lenses and we're, we're all the same. We are all the same. So I want to thank you so much, uh, for being here. And I left all of your contact details in the chat and in the post. So if you'd like to get hold of Risha, you can find her on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Yeah.

Okay.

My website. Um, I'm, I'm around. I'm here. I'd love to hear from you.

Yeah, no, some of your posts on Instagram are very— not like the pictures are— there's one picture, there's actually quite a few that I really love.

So good.

Wonderful. Um, very, uh, yeah, capturing the moment. And, uh, yeah, thank you. And, um, you love that saying, Christine? Oh yeah, God's eyes. Yeah, I've been using it all week. Uh, yeah, so thank you so much for being here. And guys, um, you know, how can we make your dreams come true? What's your passion? What's your purpose? Um, follow us every Wednesday, every Sunday. There's new videos as well. And, um, If you're not sure what January is up to yet, I've already posted a January energy update. I kind of do a, um, just a tapping into the overall energy, the temperature of the world. And we know February is going to change, uh, quite a bit. And we continue with Unleash Your Soul's Purpose. So this is a great space for community connection and co-creation. And Veganuary carries on. I'll have a I have a special guest next week. He is the founder of Climate Healers, uh, Dr. Rao. He will be on the show to talk all about, um, VCOP. That's coming up at the end of January, and I'm going to be hosting— or not hosting, I'll be co-hosting with a whole bunch of other people. I'll leave the links for that. I also do animal soul sessions, so if you're interested And of course, my book is out, Intuition Saved My Life. Uh, it's available now on Amazon and soon to be Audible. I'm recording that right now. And if you're looking for a one-on-one mentorship, group mentorship, or even a Soul Purpose reading, uh, feel free to reach out below. And you can also meet us all on Mighty Networks. We are creating a private community there, and Patreon. So wherever you like to find your social media and, and connection through community, that's where you'll find us. And thank you so much for being here. I appreciate your time, your energy, your love. And please remember, healing begins where the ego ends. Take care.

Thanks, Christine.

Bye.