Pulled between the often competing drives of entrepreneurship and environmental consciousness, Amanda has successfully joined the two with her company Ambrosia. A deep-rooted New Yorker, her work ethic and deep passions have guided her on the path to leading a more conscious and meaningful life.
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Blazer, Vintage ; Pants, Topshop
ON HER MORNING ROUTINE
My mornings are pretty utilitarian. As soon as I open my eyes I’m working, even before I get out of bed. Waking up for me means spending an hour responding to and writing emails, feeding the cat, making coffee, and trying to get myself out the door. I do go to 7am or 8am workout classes a few times a week if I can't make it in the evenings.
on her day to day
Well, right now, we’re quarantined. When not trapped in my apartment, I usually work from home for an hour or two before heading into the office at Primary, a co-working space in lower Manhattan. After that, I can be found pacing and probably talking too loud on phone calls, running around the city for meetings and responding to SO MANY EMAILS. In between that, I cover the gaps with whatever the company needs. That could be learning a video editing tool to make our own video ads or lobbying city officials. In the evenings, I try to find balance by exercising or meeting friends for dinner/drinks.
on growing up in NYC and getting her foot in the door after college
I’m from NYC and then the suburbs. My parents both grew up in Brooklyn and got married in 1976 (Fun Fact: Pat Benatar was their wedding singer) and their experience at the time was that you didn’t want to raise kids in the city. We ultimately made it out to the suburbs in the early 90s. A few years ago I was working on applying for dual Italian citizenship through my great-grandfather and became very familiar with genealogy research. I can trace my roots back to the early 1800s in NYC.
I had a data entry job at a company that made licensed apparel. Basically like novelty t-shirts. After that, another early job was at Marvel when they started making their own movies and sold to Disney. I randomly know a lot about licensing and royalties that come in handy sometimes. I followed that thread into strategy and analytics roles as social media marketing emerged, and it was all about data.
““What we’ve seen is there’s a real lack of sustainable materials for product design and packaging. There’s so much misinformation out there about what’s recyclable, biodegradable, ecofriendly, etc. If you want to create a closed-loop product, you need to cut past the buzzwords to make a product that’s truly sustainable.””
on her obsession with waste and common misconceptions
In terms of being something I was always interested in, the honest answer is ‘not exactly’, but I’ve been working on it for six years now so it’s starting to feel that way. I do have this added connection because I spent my childhood in the part of NYC where all our garbage went, Staten Island! It was the biggest landfill in the world and viewable from space. So I think it’s something that has definitely been part of my psyche even if it wasn’t always conscious. I think it enabled me to plug into the industry and understand it more quickly, because most people don’t think much about where their trash goes after it leaves the curb. Which is also why there are misconceptions about food waste really stem from a lack of visibility and education into what happens to our garbage. I’ve spoken to many people who think food waste safely decomposes in landfills, like composting. The reality is that landfills are the third largest methane emitters in the U.S. which is a result of food waste breaking down and emitting methane while buried without oxygen. Methane is a greenhouse gas 30x more potent than CO2 in terms of short-term global warming.
on creating a cleaner made from food waste
I just wanted to do something I cared about that felt real and significant - looking for ways to improve our food system while becoming more conscious of my own environmental footprint. I almost ran away from NYC in 2012 to work on a dairy farm in Maine year-round. Scaling back from that path, I landed somewhere in the middle to start a company focused on solving an aspect of our food system that’s especially tricky in urban areas - waste.
Over the last several years, cities and states across the country have begun to pass laws to slow down landfill usage. Food, the single largest component of landfills, has been one focus of those efforts. Food waste is tricky, it has a lot of potential, but it’s tough to handle. So Veles was the result of years of research to develop novel uses for food waste beyond compost. It’s an all-purpose cleaner made almost entirely from food waste. These two things probably couldn't sound further apart, but they’re actually connected by water. Household cleaners are at least 90% water. Food contains 75% water on average. So we use the organic compounds of food waste to manufacture common cleaning ingredients, and then recover the water from that process. Each bottle saves four pounds of greenhouse gas emissions and two cups of water.
Dress, Reformation
““The past few years have been some of the hardest years of my life. I’m a completely different person now. The consistent theme has been to trust my instincts. It’s something that was scary at first, it’s a lot of pressure. But looking back, there are situations where I wish I would have trusted my gut more, and watching those play out in hindsight has given me validation. On the other hand, when I have trusted my gut, I’ve seen those decisions and risks turn out well. I mean...I got divorced last year. It was terrifying but turned out to be the right move. And I don’t know if I would have made that call if I hadn’t learned to trust my instincts through the experience of building and navigating a company.””
Jacket, Belt, Pants, Vintage ; Top, Mango
On her rituals for finding balance
In 2018, I stepped up my exercise routine and it did wonders for my stress management. It created set times that I planned my schedule around to check out and take care of myself. And to be honest, it also gave me a sense of control. There is a lot of uncertainty that comes with being an entrepreneur. Things move and change quickly, and I have to be able to be responsive. So there has been a sense of comfort in feeling that my exercise routine is predictable.
oh her beauty routine
I’ve had acne in the past so I feel at this point I have heavily educated myself about skincare. All of my products are either clean beauty or Korean beauty brands. I usually double cleanse at night, starting with One Love Organics B Oil Cleanser, following with a sudsing or milky second cleanse depending on the season. Then I use a few hydrating products, including Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence, Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator, Peach & Lily’s Lazy Day's All-In-One Moisture Pad, Olivarrier Dual Moist Hyaluron Essence or Nuori Protect+ Facial Cream. Then a few nights a week I use Allies of Skin Mandelic Pigmentation Corrector Night Serum. My biggest skin concern over the last several years has been melasma. I think the Allies of Skin line is helping. I also use their Vitamin C serum in the morning mixed with The Ordinary’s Ferulic Acid. Then both morning and night I will follow up with a face oil (Sunday Riley’s JUNO) and then either a night cream (Trilogy Age-Proof Replenishing Night Cream) or SPF. I also love Ursa Major’s Essential Face Tonic
I try not to wear too much makeup during the day. Usually just a tinted SPF but I’ve been trying to go without it unless I have important meetings. Most of my makeup right now is either from CLE Cosmetics (I love their Air Cushion Foundation) Kosas (Color & Light Creme Blush in Velvet Melon, 8th Muse and Tropic Equinox) or W3ll People (Bio Correct Multi-Action Concealer). I also use REN Clean Skincare Evercalm Anti-Redness Serum, Davids natural toothpaste, Form Multitask 3-in-1 leave-in lotion for my hair and by Humankind deodorant.
““Sigourney Weaver in a 1970’s crime noir. Every pair of pants I own are high-waisted; I just prefer that fit. Oversized, vintage blazers have been a staple in my wardrobe for over a decade. I’m annoyed they’re trendy now and I can’t find inexpensive ones anymore!””
on her favorite books and publications
I might be the only person that likes magical realism. Especially short stories by weird ladies. Leonora Carrington is probably my favorite artist and I pre-ordered this book of her short stories that was published for her 100th birthday in 2017. I also recommend The Abortion, Revenge of the Lawn, the Hawkline by Richard Brautigan, Of a Fire on the Moon by Norman Mailer and Slime: How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us by Ruth Kassinger. Outside of the news, or trade publications like WasteDive or Greenbiz, I try to keep my media consumption pretty light. My favorite podcast is The Spiritual Gayz.
amanda’s favorite films
Force Majeure by Ruben Östlund, Blonde Venus Damages by Josef von Sternberg, I Am Love by Luca Guadagnino and A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night by Ana Lily Amirpour
on her favorites places in nyc
Heyday for facials, I’ve been going since they opened and have a membership.
Tabata Ultimate Fitness, go to Shaun’s classes.
Modrn Sanctuary for wellness treatments and meditation.
Favorite restaurants/bars: Colonie, Roman’s, June, Elsa, Hart’s, MeMe’s Diner, Bearded Lady, Honey’s, Sisters Dancing at Friends and Lovers of course!
Cape, Vintage