After debuting The Studio December 2019, the Jonathan Cohen team has unveiled a relaunch. It’s a platform designed as a place to house the products both designer Jonathan Cohen and partner Sarah Leff are passionate about with a sustainable twist, using past seasons’ fabrics and remnants to regenerate them into something new and beautiful.

It’s garnered lots of support which came as an overwhelming surprise to the duo, who received their biggest order of 500 digital bouquets for Mother’s Day alone. Now, their operation involves collaborations with artisans and local manufacturers, which has redefined their concept of timing as the supply chain became much more personal.

As The Studio is reintroduced in its second iteration, we caught up with Cohen and Leff to discuss their new and innovating e-commerce platform.

Can you talk about how and where the idea originated to send out digital arrangements?
(JC): With so much fear and uncertainty in the moment, you can feel the emotional toll it is taking on everyone around you. During this time, it’s important that we stay in communication with those around us and stay as connected as possible. Knowing that many were anxious about deliveries (myself included), I began to send these illustrations of floral bouquets to friends, family, and people within my industry. It was a stress-free way of saying “thank you” or “I miss you.”

Sarah and I began to talk about how we could take this concept and share with others. We also saw it as an opportunity to help organizations, which were not only part of our community, but also needed our support more than ever. We called it “Our Flower Shop” because we wanted it to be a place for everyone and to bring a community feel, even if it lives in the digital space. It’s a place to connect with one another, even if we are separated by distance.

In addition to raising funds for organizations, what is important about these digital bouquets is the conversations it can start. It’s a big reason as to why we do not send the finished bouquet and message to the receiver. We send it back to the purchaser to send themselves to the receivers of the bouquet.

I personally write every message on the digital bouquets, and it was very inspiring to see the messages that were being sent when we launched the “To George Floyd” bouquet. One message that really stood out was one that was done from a daughter to a mother. The message read, “I am so happy we can have these difficult conversations and grow and learn.” If Our Flower Shop can bridge the gap to have this necessary dialogue with one another, it’s the first step to real change. While the floral bouquets can be beautiful artwork, the message behind them is important and hopefully the change they can create is long lasting.

Can you talk a little bit about how you decide who to partner with (from artisans to collaborations) and why you chose the organizations that are receiving donations?
(JC + SL): When we first were launching with seven bouquets, we had so many organizations we believed in and wanted to contribute. We targeted a few areas that we wanted to address. In the first series, 30 percent went back to The Bowery Mission, A Common Thread, No Kids Hungry, and Feed the Frontline. With each addition, we found new organizations we wanted to add into the mix. As stay-at-home continued, domestic violence numbers went up, and we felt Mother’s Day bouquets should go back to Futures without Borders.

Now, we have eight organizations in the mix. For our “For George Floyd” bouquet for the month of May and June, 100 percent of the proceeds went to The Bail Project. For our July launch of our collaboration with Tidal New York Flip Flops, $12 is donated per pair to Greyston Bakery, a social justice enterprise working to create job opportunities and provide securities that enable self-sufficient through their business model, Open Hiring. It provides employment and no cost development programs to anyone in need to better the community, while meeting combined social, environmental and financial goals. The organization promotes inclusion, offers support to those who have been disenfranchised, battles against systemic inequities and advocates for a level playing field for all, regardless of their pasts with no questions asked!

For the re-launch of The Studio, we wanted to work with artisans that we have had relationships with over time. It is a way of supporting one another and the industry. For this drop we have partnered with Gigi Burris, Antony Vallon, and Carolina Bedoya.

What does the future of fashion look like for you both, and how can fashion be held more accountable for positive, lasting social change?
(JC + SL): For us, the future of fashion is about accountability, reckoning with and rectifying missteps, and transforming our company to be a part of a more wholly sustainable industry ecosystem. It’s important for us as business owners and as people to be aware of the impact we have on the environment and the social impact we create with our company ethos: do no harm.

We believe that our generation has really taken charge in creating initiatives to demand change. The industry—creative directors, editors, designers, buyers, and more—must be an accurate reflection of the world in its entirety and be a catalyst for progress in how the world can look. Temporarily uncomfortable “sacrifices” will positively affect environmental and social change, and we cannot afford to settle for anything less.