POH FRANK:
So obviously, you cannot be more authentic because if you do stuff you really love, I think that’s always the best approach and that’s ultimately where you bring in your best talent. How do you implement traditional, historical knowledge? I was reading something on your website about the difference between a meditation cushion and a bench since it comes from different meditation philosophies and backgrounds. How much do you implement traditional forms, shapes, and symbols, or do you strip everything out and base your designs purely on functionality or aesthetics?
EDDIE:
Look, we are deeply inspired by the past, by history, by tradition. We’re not religious people, but we’re very faithful. We have a lot of faith and spirituality, and I believe that there’s a lot of truth in forms and graphics that have been around forever. At the same time, our job is to take things that historically have been useful and have stood the test of time and then design them for a modern home and a regular person. So it’s both paying respect to history and doing our own interpretation of it. People don’t know what it is and why it’s useful, so we’re introducing people to the form factor. We really care about the history and the usefulness of our objects, and we do two things. First, we are practitioners ourselves, so we have a credible opinion. But we also work with leading meditation teachers, yoga teachers, and spiritual figures to figure out what success looks like. For example, to test out the fill of our cushion, which is buckwheat and memory foam, we worked with a lot of yoga teachers who specialize in posture and lumbar support to optimize the ratio for extra support.
POH FRANK:
So just thinking about your experience, how you entered this world with the silent meditation retreat and learning mindfulness, how do you now, as an entrepreneur, integrate meditation and mindfulness into your work? Obviously, you have to run a business, make money, and pay your bills like anyone else. Do you have a certain practice? How do you implement mindfulness in your work as an entrepreneur?
EDDIE:
It’s very hard and I struggle with it candidly. What I do is make sure to sit every day, whether it’s on our cushion, at my desk, or in my bed. I am relentless in making sure I do it every day for at least five minutes because there are times when it’s hard for me because I’m running a company. The other thing that was interesting that I learned is that there are objects that help re-center you. For example, we make a whole suite of aromatherapy products like Palo Santo incense and aroma mist, and I find those aromas ground me. Just having those present in my space actually helps reinforce mindfulness. But I do make sure to actually practice every day. To me, it’s like going to the gym.
POH FRANK:
Coming back to your products, like for example building a gong, you must have a certain knowledge about how the gong is made, like what kind of material and how it is bent. Do you do all your research, or do you work with gong experts or something?
EDDIE:
So basically, for the gong, the actual instrument, we work with the best gong maker or one of the top gong makers on earth. But what we did was design the stand, and it’s machined aluminum and machined steel. What we had to get right was making sure that it wouldn’t sway too much in either direction. We work with gong practitioners to make sure that the stand was good for them. We said, OK, what are the needs? Well, it needs to be able to lay flat so it’s easy to travel with, it can’t sway in any direction too much, it has to look great, and it has to be durable over time. We designed it with all those considerations in mind.
POH FRANK:
So where can people buy your products? Mostly online, or do you have your own retail stores? Where can people find your products?
EDDIE:
It’s mostly our website, walden.us. We do have partnerships with hotels that sell our products as well, and we’re expanding our retail footprint right now. We are always looking for really good retailers that want to carry our product.
POH FRANK:
As I mentioned before, some of the Places of Healing portfolio members have your products. Do you also work with retreat centers? Is that a big market for you?
EDDIE:
Yes. We do a lot of business with hotels, retreat centers, and studios because we found that our product is specifically great for shared use. The fabrics we use are very durable and look great even with a lot of use. We see a lot of success with that. We work with top hotels like Six Senses, Four Seasons, and Ritz Carlton—hotels that want the best, most durable products that last forever.
POH FRANK:
What are the future plans for Walden?
EDDIE:
So, our future plans are to just keep making great products. We want to continue innovating on both products and settings, pushing the envelope in those areas. One area that we’re interested in is time—creating timekeeping devices for meditation and life. One of my pipe dreams is to have a Walden Hotel, like an upscale retreat near New York, similar to Amangiri but closer to the city. It would be a place meant for contemplation, where guests are inspired by the beauty and serenity of the surroundings. Unlike places like Canyon Ranch, which have constant programming, this would be more about the environment itself. There would be spaces for contemplation, a cold plunge, a sauna—everything really well done. That’s my dream, and it would be amazing.
POH FRANK:
The magic word is collaboration. Just call James Turrell or Tadao Ando and see if they want to do something with you. A collaboration between Turrell, Walden, and other minimalist designers would be fun. Eddie, thank you for your time.
EDDIE:
That would be freaking insane.
