Following the Flow:
A conversation with Camille, founder of upcycled fashion brand Tulita
I spoke with Camille, founder of Tulita, on a Thursday morning from Denver, CO. It was 8:30pm for her, 8am for me. She joined the call from her kitchen in Auroville. We resigned ourselves to speaking without video in hopes that it would keep the wifi from failing. Even without video, her kindness and warmth emanated from the call and her laugh was contagious. For a conversation about sustainable fashion and the detrimental impact our current fashion industry has on the environment, I found myself laughing far more than I expected.
On an early morning in May of 2014, Camille stepped off the bus from Pondicherry into the 42℃ air of Auroville. She hitched a ride with a motorcyclist and was dropped at the visitor’s center with no plan of where to go and knowing no one. It marked the second time she had fallen in love, the first time being when she stepped off the plane in India for the first time.
Camille had always been drawn to India. “I must have lived past lives there,” she says laughingly. Her journey to Auroville, however, wasn’t always guaranteed. Like many, Camille found herself graduating from college, entering the workforce, and feeling dissatisfied with the idea of her whole life revolving around her job as an occupational therapist.
It was actually during one of her sessions with an older woman suffering from Parkinson’s that she was prompted to change her life. The woman, a Catholic nun left a great impression on Camille with her stories of her missionary work. She once said, “Camille, you care for others but do you enjoy your life? Do you take time for yourself and have fun?”
The question was answered by her inner child who was yelling, “Listen to me! I want to exist!” Her lifelong dream had always been to travel, but the pressure of society and the wants of those around her were demanding, so she stayed. “I lost myself when I was in Paris: wearing high heels, spending 2 hours getting ready for work, and wearing a mask. I lied to myself and lost myself and I think many people are in this box of identifying as their job. You cannot discover who you are if you’re constantly doing. You need time to uncondition yourself, which is a scary process.”
Auroville gave that space for Camille to pause. Although, the pause hadn’t always been her plan when traveling. When Camille set out to travel, she took everything she had saved, and hoped to do a full tour of Asia. She had been to Asia once before on a backpacking trip through Malaysia with friends and it was an unforgettable experience, meeting people who had left everything behind and were solely traveling. The only question she had was whether to start or end the trip with India. She chose to start her trip there.
Flash forward to her arrival at Auroville’s visitor center and she soon found herself staying at a guesthouse, meeting new people, and volunteering in various units. One such unit was Auroville Botanical Gardens where she met Sebastian: her third love. Sebastian had come to India with the intention of staying in Auroville but Camille still had the desire to continue her travels, so they settled on a trip to Nepal. Camillie insisted they travel by train, rather than plane as Sebastian wanted, because “when it is easy, you don’t remember.”
They returned to Auroville having seen beautiful places and met beautiful people and lived both as a volunteer and a guest. The work and study grind of her life back in Paris created burnout and living as a guest for a time allowed Camille to slow down and focus on herself. This same attitude of slowing down carried into her pregnancy when she chose to experience an Indian style of pregnancy in which she took care of herself and truly experienced the transformation at home.
It was during her pregnancy that Camille returned to her hobby of sewing. She had initially learned to sew during her time at university. Her mom had purchased a sewing machine and Camille, using only the instruction manual as a guide, created sensory materials for her patients. After graduation, however, sewing was pushed to the back burner with the demands of work. She was reminded recently by Facebook that in 2011 she created her first piece of upcycled clothing: a dress from an old shirt and skirt.
During the final 6 months of her pregnancy, she had plenty of time to create. Considering a sewing machine couldn’t have fit in her backpack when she left Paris, she asked a tailor in the street if he had a needle and luckily, he did. Using hair shears and patterns from the internet, Camille began once again making plush toys, which she later learned were one of the most difficult items to sew by hand. She would stay up until 3 am, not even noticing the time, creating dogs, fish, playmats, mobiles, and hearts all for her daughter.
She says of this time of creation in her life that Auroville gave her “plenty of time to go deep and stop running. It wasn’t something I had to force. I had no business plan, I was just doing it for my kid and I enjoyed the process.” In 2020, she set out to create her first clothes.
Tulita officially opened in 2021 and it has since become clear that this is Camille’s calling. But for a time, Camille wasn’t so sure. She had considered returning to her job as an occupational therapist but the pandemic interfered in that plan. The universe was blocking her in every way. “When the universe is blocking and blocking and blocking, it means it is not your way.” Contrary to occupational therapy, however, creating upcycled clothing seemed to just flow. “And when it flows, you go.”
It seems like a lot of people who arrive in Auroville are searching for something else. What do you think makes people stay?
“At the beginning she said to everyone, I want to travel, I want to go here and there and everywhere. She met someone early on in her time in Auroville that had done that, he had traveled everywhere and he said, “You don’t have to run everywhere. The real travel is inside, it’s not outside. In Auroville, the world comes to Auroville. You have the chance to meet so many cultures, so many different people and points of view. Everyone is here.”
Auroville works to create a system that serves both people and the planet. Tulita is really one of those projects that fulfills that dream. Did you always intend to create a sustainable fashion brand or is that something that Auroville inspired?
“I grew up in a family where recycling and upcycling was something we just did, although we didn’t call it that. I used to go with my father to a local market and find old treasures. Here in Auroville, EcoService was like those markets for me.”
For people looking to shop sustainably, what are some things to look for and things to avoid when making purchases?
“Avoid big brands like H&M and Ali Express who are not thinking about the people making their clothing and care only about their bottom line. Look to your own closet, mend the clothes you have, upcycle what you already own. Also, look for good quality fabrics that will last for years.”
What is something you are looking forward to right now?
“To continue to grow with Tulita and to create workshops to help people learn how to upcycle on their own. Upcycling is more than a trend, it’s really entered the consciousness of a lot of people and it will hopefully continue to grow and make a positive impact within the fashion industry. I hope that sustainable fashion will become more accessible as more people create sustainable fashion.”
What advice do you have for someone that is hesitant to follow their passions?
“It’s not easy to go out of our comfort zone. It is always difficult to change our life. Auroville felt quite uncomfortable at first but also quite exciting. Tulita was the same way. Be aware of what you feel in your body. Listen to the cues your body gives you and notice if you feel tension or anger/sadness/laziness. Feel it, accept it, and go where it breathes and it flows, where the joy and love are. Do what you enjoy. That was my big learning in Auroville: to do what you like.”