Get to Know Your Customers Day:

It’s Get to Know Your Customers Day and we are thrilled to spotlight the enchanting designs of our customer Alexis Audette, Creative Director and CEO of Mazy Path. Mazy Path offers one of a kind, sustainably made wall coverings based on handmade linocuts that explore the stories of plants and our relationship to them. Inspired by the beauty of plants and the infinite ways that they enhance our lives, Alexis is committed to protecting the life of our wondrous planet through her work and was thrilled to find a bank that shares her values. Hear below from Alexis about the world of Mazy Path and her journey with Amalgamated Bank.

Question: What was the inspiration behind Mazy Path?

Answer: I’m enchanted by the beauty of plants and the infinite ways that they enhance our lives. I also have a passion for linocuts, relief prints that simultaneously convey nostalgia and immediacy. My two loves come together in wall coverings based on handmade linocuts that explore plants and their stories. Community Garden, my debut collection, is inspired by the work of contemporary writers, poets and scientists (from Michael Pollan to Mary Oliver), as well as early modernist artists and designers, such as Arthur Wesley Dow and Charles Burchfield, and explores interdependent relationships between plants, animals and humans alike.

Q: How does your commitment to sustainability and conservation carry out in the sourcing, manufacturing and production of your wall coverings?

A: Consideration of Mazy Path’s environmental impact guides the choices I make regarding design subject matter, manufacturing partners, financial institutions and charitable giving. I create designs that celebrate the stories of plants because I believe that when people encounter the wonders of plant life, they’ll protect the life of our wondrous planet. My wallpaper manufacturer prints Mazy Path designs on Forest Stewardship Council certified paper grounds with water-based latex inks, uses recycled packaging materials and is located in Connecticut; local sourcing plays a key role in my commitment to limiting Mazy Path’s carbon footprint. My banking partner (Amalgamated!) does not lend to fossil fuel companies. Last but not least, I’m committed to supporting the Clinton Community Garden, an oasis of horticultural beauty near my Hell’s Kitchen studio, and the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led community organizing group that advocates for political action to address the climate crisis and broader issues of environmental justice. Caring for the earth—and doing so in a just manner that benefits all communities—means the world to me.

Q: How did you discover Amalgamated and what inspired you to start banking with us?

A: I read about Amalgamated in the New York Times. First, a little context: no issue keeps me more awake at night than climate change. Therefore, I try to make choices that contribute to a decarbonized future. As a citizen, I vote for candidates who embrace the principles of the Green New Deal. As a businessperson, I work with local suppliers to minimize my carbon footprint. As a homeowner, I buy my electricity from renewable energy sources. So last January I was appalled to learn that my money was being used to fund the fossil fuels industry. In an article for the Times, scholars and activists Lennox Yearwood, Jr and Bill McKibben described how big banks, including ones where I held accounts, drive the climate crisis by financing oil and gas companies. As I read the article, I felt a pit in my stomach, a dismal realization that I was complicit with the financial giants that are dooming our future.

However, my spirits began to lift when I read about the fossil fuels divestment movement. Yearwood and McKibben pointed out that nothing will force banks to stop financing climate change faster than losing the money they lend to the fossil fuels industry. And, they shared banking alternatives; they cited institutions, such as Amalgamated Bank, that don’t fund the fossil fuels industry. I reached out to Amalgamated shortly afterwards so that I could be sure that my banking partners shared my values.

Q: Was there a particular instance when the bank went above and beyond to assist you in a time of need?

A: In need of a home equity loan to finance my new business, a line of wallpapers called Mazy Path, I approached Amalgamated early last March. Terry Kitson, an Amalgamated residential lending vice president, oversaw my loan application. As Terry guided me through the home equity loan process, the coronavirus brought the world to a screeching halt. In New York City, businesses closed their doors, parks and event centers transformed into field hospitals and the streets became empty. The trade show where I was supposed to launch Mazy Path was canceled, my scheduled photoshoots evaporated and my printer shut down operations. And yet, even with the world in disarray, Terry and his team at Amalgamated kept my loan moving. In May the loan went through (a masked and gloved Amalgamated attorney came all the way from Long Island so that we could sign closing papers in our apartment building’s outdoor space). At a time of tremendous social upheaval and economic uncertainty, Amalgamated gave my business the financial footing necessary to move forward, and did so with attentiveness and speed (and a great interest rate!).

When I began banking with Amalgamated, it was so I could work with a bank that reflected my values. What I didn’t anticipate was how superior Amalgamated’s service would be to that of previous banking partners. That came as a wonderful surprise, and for that reason I also opened up an Amalgamated business checking account for Mazy Path. Credit cards are next on the list.

Visit www.mazypath.com to learn more about the inspiration behind Mazy Path and explore its debut collection of botanical wall coverings.

Photo credits: Alexandra Rowley and Mark Weinberg

Alexis Audette

Creative Director and CEO of Mazy Path