Most people know me as the woman who put feet on bowls but I thought it would be fun to expand on that. I sat down with our social media manager, Carlie Rice, for five minutes to share my favorite things!

Carlie: What's the 150 character bio of Dylan Kendall? 

“Great question! The nutshell. I’m a social entrepreneur who founded an educational agency for homeless youth which used arts-based education to develop independence in a hard to reach population. Then, recognizing the value of home and play, I designed the bowl with feet to inspire us all to imagine that the impossible can be possible!”

Carlie: What Would Surprise Us?

Maybe that I didn’t get my Bachelors degree until I was 31. In the end, I went to UCLA but it was after 8 earlier attempts at college. I’d start then drop out. My transcripts were a mess. I think I got into UCLA because I wrote a very moving personal essay about wanting to change the world. I got my Masters right after and thought I’d work in politics!

Carlie: What Social Issue are You Passionate About?

That would have to be plural - issues! Animals and the earth's rapid warming of course. But on a more personal, what-we-can-all-do level, it would be adoption. I’m a huge proponent of foster care and adoption. There are so many kids who need good families and I’ve learned in my own family that love matters more than blood.

Carlie: Who inspires you?

Fashion Designer Vivienne Westwood. At 79 years young, this unstoppable woman broke fashion rules left and right and continues to ask us to question convention.

Carlie: What was your first job? 

Bartender! I bartended for 10 years at night while working in my ceramics studio during the day. My second ceramics studio was in a blighted neighborhood of Oakland and that was what moved me to want to make the world better. I shut the studio and pleaded with UCLA to let me in!

Carlie: Your lifestyle choice?

A life-long vegetarian, I went vegan about a decade ago after reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. I really appreciated how he looked at the food industry without being aggressive but from the point of view of a dad. I made the switch to give up cow cheese and never looked back!