The idea for my shop was born out of resourcefulness.
During the 2008 recession, I was fresh out of high school with little to no job opportunities. I remember exploring my cabinets and refrigerator for items that could serve a double purpose. Before the accessibility of sites like Pinterest, I would spend hours searching every corner of the internet for blogs dedicated to eco-friendly living, frugality and do-it-yourself crafting.
It didn’t take long to realize that I loved pulling materials from my pantry and shaping them into something new. I started giving out my kitchen creations as gifts for special occasions and holidays. After a few years of this, my friends started looking forward to receiving little ‘handmade holiday’ baskets. To this day, their heartwarming responses to my humble kitchen creations never fails to bring me to tears. When something is carefully and thoughtfully made with love and joy, you can feel it.
In 2012, I decided to seek higher education to develop the business side of my creative project. I received an associate’s degree in business management while juggling two jobs in the service industry. I fully believe that this period of my life helped to cultivate necessary skills like adaptability, diplomacy, perseverance, clear communication, interpersonal skills, conflict resolution, time management, patience, follow through and attention to detail.
I continued my career in hospitality well into 2018, where I worked as a private events coordinator for a popular French fine dining spot in Washington, D.C. This experience expanded and refined my love of herbalism and holistic wellness, as well as nature-inspired bath and body products. I launched a website that winter with $500 of my own money and haven’t looked back.
Eight years in, my goal isn’t to become fabulously wealthy — but to be a living testimony and an example of living in alignment with your soul’s purpose authentically and unapologetically. Herbalism and holistic wellness are about being proactive in our day-to-day activities instead of reactive.
Being a small business owner is like moving with the ocean’s tides. There are moments of rising momentum and energy, and others of quiet retreat and reflection. Just like the sea, it’s not always calm, but it’s always in motion. Success comes from learning to flow with the rhythm — trusting the highs, surviving the lows and continuing to show up with each new wave.