STATE OF GRATITUDE WAS BORN FROM ITS FOUNDER’S JOURNEY THROUGH RECOVERY
By: Erica Commisso
State of Gratitude was born from Chris Bilyk’s desire to help people. Bilyk was a hospitality vet in Austin, Texas, having spent years in the nightlife industry when the pandemic hit. He got his stimulus cheque - one lump sum of $1200 - and decided he wanted to maximize its impact.
Bilyk is in long-term addiction recovery and he decided he wanted to create a community, a safe place, for people like him. He founded State of Gratitude and used that stimulus cheque to print 100 tees emblazoned with the brand’s logo, which he had drawn on a napkin. On that night in May 2020, the brand was born.
State of Gratitude is now based in New York City and has since expanded to offer hoodies, charms and bags, but it’s the bracelets that make the most impact. Bilyk individually designs each wrap bracelet, and each has no clasp, no break, and no end, which symbolizes the continuous, evolving journey of healing and growth. They’re then handmade by women who are themselves overcoming incarceration, addiction, and trauma through a partnership with Her Second Chance, a Delray Beach-based charity that supports them in their journey.
“We work specifically with Her Second Chance since they’re located in the proclaimed recovery capital of the world,” Bilyk says. “People flock to this oceanside town in search of community and healing. So when we partner with an initiative like Her Second Chance, we know that we’re having an impact on not just people in the Delray Beach community, but nationwide, since it’s here where everyone goes to find help.”
Proceeds from the wrap bracelets, dubbed the Gratitude Wrap Bracelets, specifically go to supportiing trauma-informed care, group therapy, and financial stability for women reentering society. Each bracelet is entirely made from a woman involved in Her Second Chance’s program with the brand, and they all receive training in order to craft the wrap bracelets.
“The training process differs per person and the skill level when they come in. The training entails really learning all the materials that are used in making the wraps, getting to know the beads, how to read a work order that I send over, learning all the different stations that one person can be tasked with,” Bilyk explains. “Some are beading, some of tying, while others may finalize the wraps and doing some quality control efforts to make sure that we are consistent and accurate with the product that we ae putting out. By the end of the two weeks, each person should be able to make a wrap from start to finish - using a bead spinner, of course.”
The beads themselves are made of Miyuki glass, meaning they’re water-proof and sweat-proof so that each wrap can move through life with its owner with ease, reminding them of gratitude and the circular journey of life. This is possible, Bilyk says, because of the properties of the glass - most of the colour comes from the properties of the glass itself rather than from dyes, making it impervious to wear and tear. It comes in over 30 colours, including cerulean, eggplant, and lemon.
Of course, creating a program to aid people in recovery journeys poses a risk - if a woman breaks her sobriety, Bilyk says she is removed to ensure that the women around are still in a positive environment. “It is important that we be mindful and maintain the safe space that is there,” he says. But he refuses to write them off. “We will offer all the sober support we possibly can and encourage them to seek treatment. After 30 days, we welcome these ladies to re-apply for their position.”
The idea, Bilyk says, is that each bracelet tells a story, one of hope and gratitude, one of change and continuous learning. And that each bracelet makes a difference - in more ways than one.