| Year | Milestone | Why It Matters | |------|-----------|----------------| | | Born in Oakland, California to a Filipino‑American mother and a Jamaican father. | A multicultural upbringing gave her an early appreciation for diverse perspectives and a love of vibrant visual storytelling. | | 2016 | Enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), majoring in Graphic Design. | RISD sharpened her eye for clean, functional aesthetics—an aesthetic that now defines Tushy’s product language. | | 2019 | Interned at a boutique sustainability consultancy in Portland, Oregon. | First exposure to the “circular economy” model that would later become the backbone of her brand. | | 2020 | Launched a small Instagram account, @KaylaniCreates, featuring hand‑drawn illustrations of everyday objects with witty captions. | Built a loyal following of 45 k+ fans who responded to her blend of humor and design insight. | | 2021 | Co‑founded “Tushy” with former classmate & engineer Maya Patel. | The duo identified a market gap: affordable, high‑performance bidet attachments that could be installed without a plumber. | | 2022 | Secured a $1.2 M seed round from impact‑focused investors (e.g., Elemental Ventures, GreenFuture Fund). | Funding allowed rapid prototyping, certification, and the first batch of 10,000 units. | | 2023 | Tushy’s “Eco‑Splash” bidet attachment wins the Red Dot Design Award (Product Design). | Validated Kaylani’s belief that sustainable products could also be beautiful. | | 2024 | Partnered with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Campaign to promote water‑saving hygiene in developing nations. | Demonstrated the brand’s commitment to global impact beyond profit. | | 2025 | Launched “Tushy for All,” a line of gender‑neutral bathroom accessories (toilet seat covers, soap dispensers, reusable wipes). | Expanded the brand’s narrative from “bidet” to “holistic bathroom wellness.” |
When you hear the name “Tushy” today, you probably think of sleek, eco‑friendly bathroom accessories, clever marketing that makes you laugh, and a community of consumers who proudly champion sustainability. What you might not know is the woman behind the brand: Kaylani Lei, a former graphic designer turned social‑entrepreneur whose mission is to turn the most private of spaces into a platform for positive change. In less than five years, Kaylani has taken a niche product line and turned it into a cultural touchstone, proving that good design, humor, and purpose can coexist in the most unexpected places. kaylani lei tushy
At the end of each day, Kaylani would stand on her small porch and fan herself with a painted fan, sometimes one she had made that morning, sometimes one she had been gifted. The fans cooled more than the body; they cooled mistakes and hid trembling in their soft folds. On some nights she would think of the child from Marisol's story, the one who had dropped the jar and scattered silver dust. Kaylani liked to imagine that every piece of dust had landed where it needed to—inside pockets, slipped behind pictures, pinned to sleeves—so that when people reached into ordinary things, they would find, unexpectedly, what had been missing. | Year | Milestone | Why It Matters