Kansas City was once known as a leader in fashion. It was second only to New York City in apparel manufacturing after WWI. At one point, one in seven American women purchased a garment that had been designed and manufactured in Kansas City.
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Along side our local partners, we have started a resurgence to reclaim the title with a commitment to bring it back better, ensuring that animals are not harmed to make beautiful head turning fashion and with a commitment to being progressively sustainable. 

A self proclaimed "pocket sized fashionista"  known for jet setting around the world wearing her five inch heels, Jaqui McCarthy is the founder and CEO of TealHouse Inc.

As a lifelong vegetarian with a deep love for fashion, animals, and solving complex problems it was inevitable that Jaqui would one day find herself reimagining what the world of fashion could do. 

This is her story.

Jaqui was born to a young mother who brought her to a small home located in a village in the heart of Honduras, a place that will always be close to Jaqui's heart. With few resources and lots of love, Jaqui's beginnings were very humble. However, she would soon be introduced to a whole new world when she was moved to the United States.

Spending the rest of her youth growing up in two polar opposite worlds, one of extreme poverty and the other of extreme wealth, made her aware of the privilege she was lucky to have received. 

Today Jaqui is the founder and CEO of TealHouse Inc., where she and her team are on a mission to raise the bar and bring the global fashion industry into the next step in its evolution. They began this mission with their luxury line of cruelty-free footwear. Shoes that have distinguishable and trademarked teal bottom soles that are used to introduce the industry to a better way to fashion. 

Why? Because Jaqui believes that luxury can do better. That done right, it has the power to influence and change global systems. To her, luxury really is a deep understanding of the privileges that have been afforded to us and the power instilled in us to challenge the status quo with it. It's about having a voice and a platform to demand better methods, better practices, and better materials. At the end of the day luxury is about who we are and the privileges we have and our ability to whole heartedly to commit to what we believe in. 

That's why Jaqui has set off on a journey to reimagine a new era in luxury that’s cruelty-free, stunning, and empowering. ​​​

All-American born and raised, Bobby has always had an insatiable curiosity about the world around him and an innate desire to know how everything works.

​This passion led to a lifelong trajectory for deconstructing, assembling, and building new innovations. One of the most notable at the age of six, when he built a fully functioning telegraph. 

With a deeper appreciation for the natural world around him, Bobby observed the power of evolution and how it improved life; he then integrated those methods into his early works. 

While still in high school, Bobby started his first venture, an engineering firm that specialized in early-stage prototyping. Compelled to solve deeper issues, Bobby continued to look at nature for answers to the problems humanity faced. 
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Today, Bobby is the Head of Engineering at TealHouse. Putting to use his appreciation of the natural world as he incorporates the best nature has to offer into progressively sustainable technologies and materials used in luxury products, he is committed to creating a better future for generations to come.