In recent months, our thoughts have been particularly drawn toward the idea of community. No matter how turbulent life may get, having a stable home base that offers support and ways to contribute helps to keep things in perspective and to enrich our sense of meaning and purpose.

Cofounders Philippe (left) & Julian (right)

Seek North is grateful to be part of a wonderful community. All of us live, work, and have roots in Kingston, New York, and Seek North itself is a Kingston brand at its core.

Co-founders Philippe and Julian have been partners in life for over 14 years and have lived in Kingston for over 8 years. This virus, which has caused so much isolation and destruction, has also challenged communities like ours to come together in new and inspiring ways.

Seek North has felt compelled to play our part. Our mission has always been centered around health and wellness in the broadest possible sense, and that includes nurturing our community.

We have been advocates for and donors to the Global Lyme Alliance because of the great extent to which Lyme Disease affected Philippe and Julian’s lives, and the ways in which ultimately became the impetus for us to make kombucha. During COVID we have been donating our kombucha to local community fridges, hospitals, and to the People’s Place, a food pantry and community cafe that helps vulnerable and underserved residents of Ulster County.

As others have observed, these months have also granted some of us a rare reprieve from busy everyday life, and the slowdown has been very conducive to reflection. That has given Philippe and Julian the opportunity to think about how their relationship to the Hudson Valley is even deeper than it might appear at first glance.

Julian, for example, grew up in Upstate New York and went to school at SUNY New Paltz. A couple of years into living in Kingston, Julian began working as Director of Sales & Product Development for Luminary Publishing, a local media company that puts out publications such as Chronogram Magazine, which focuses on arts & culture. Julian’s background as founder of BORO Magazine, a lifestyle magazine in Western Queens, served him well during his three years at Luminary, from 2014 until 2017.

Julian also worked with the Good Work Institute, a Hudson Valley nonprofit organization whose mission involves ecological and social justice . GWI works with local change-makers ranging from activists to artists to other nonprofits with the goal of cultivating a sustained movement for change. Julian was one of 27 people selected for GWI’s third cohort in 2017, and the relationships he developed during that time helped to strengthen his roots and community ties. It was during this time that he established connections with other individuals, organizations, and businesses whose outlooks and goals for improving the world aligned with his own.

Philippe, on the other hand, had the unconventional trajectory of being an NYC fashion designer and graphic designer who then eventually became a kombucha maker (or ‘master of all ferments’ as he sometimes prefers!)

This transition into fermentation came about somewhat serendipitously, when Philippe enrolled in the food preservation program at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County. The decision was initially borne of a desire to to learn about preserving foods that he grew in his garden. However, Julian’s struggles with Lyme disease inspired Philippe to try his hand at kombucha and other kinds of fermentation. Part of Seek North’s origin story is attributed to this class in Ulster County.

As ambitious and hard-working as they are, the two co-founders would not be able to manage all of this alone. Seek North’s one full-time employee is Bartek Starodaj, who has called Kingston home for five years. He lives with his wife and two kids, just a few blocks away from Philippe and Julian. He met Julian when they both worked at Luminary Media, and when he began looking for work again after taking time off to spend with his first baby, Bartek and Julian got in touch and Bartek joined the Seek North team.

Bartek also has a deep appreciation for Kingston. He says that he and his wife chose it as their home in part because “there’s something special about the community here that pushes you to get involved.” In contrast to the anonymity of a big city, Bartek appreciates that “because of [Kingston’s] size, the actions of a few individuals or one organization can have a meaningful impact.” He also sees a reciprocity in the relationship between Seek North and Kingston: “As Seek North expands, I'm sure it will continue to contribute to the positive growth of its home community, Kingston. In turn, I'm sure that Kingston will push Seek North to make positive and lasting contributions.”

And finally, there are two canine companions who are also indispensable to the Seek North team. Philippe and Julian adopted Coco from their local SPCA (Ulster County SPCA) five years ago. She was brought there after being found wandering through Midtown Kingston.

Deluca (or Luca for short), the more recent addition to the family, was named after Seek North’s first retailer, Dean & Deluca. He was rescued from a kill shelter and brought to Upstate NY, where Julian and Philippe adopted him.

Kingston and the entire Hudson Valley are deeply important to Seek North. Nobody can accomplish anything without the support and resources of others. This town and the people in it are integral to Seek North’s story, deeply and inextricably woven into our narrative and our success thus far, and for that we are extremely grateful.

Kingston- An Integral Part Of Seek North’s DNA