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    News — #staywithsmall

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    #staywithsmall Tea With Iris

    #staywithsmall Tea With Iris

    Tea With Iris owner Leslie Shockley in one of her 100% organic hemp jersey printed dresses from 2012 with a smoke tree design handmade with a piece of the smoke tree she is standing next to. 

    It was all because of a turtle named Iris.

    In 2010, while working a full time job, Leslie Shockley found herself often seeking solace in her gorgeous, desert-landscaped front yard, which housed a small dirt hole where her family’s turtle Iris lived. As she would sit and watch Iris loll about her days, Leslie became inspired by the idea of slowing down and utilizing what was on hand to make meaning out of life. She began to adopt a personal philosophy of life, based around living small and with intention, consuming less and creating more, and most of all, becoming conscious about the objects she allowed into her life and her home. This philosophy soon birthed a company Tea With Iris—a venture all about no-waste upcycled craft and eco-creativity.

     In a refurbished freight train cargo container in her backyard, adjacent to DIY plots where she and her daughter grow herbs and produce, she began to make conscientious products with the help of her grandmother’s old sewing machine; think little girl baby doll dresses from vintage pillowcases, infant onesies printed with vegetable dye dipped smoketree branches, recycled wine cork earrings adorned with illustrations from used storybooks, and organic market bags in whimsical found fabrics.

     

    In 2018, she was able to quit her day job full time to focus on Tea With Iris. Today, she is a regular presence in her local Whole Foods and Farmer’s Markets as well as other events and fairs that are in line with her personal commitment to integrity and sustainability such as Unique LA, Renegade Craft and Mojave Flea.

     

    Leslie's favorite Sergio Lub bracelet is her Nepalese Cord. 

    Even though her business has grown, she still maintains a firm mission to design products that help reduce waste, using only certified organic cotton, hemp, and repurposed materials. Plus, many of her products are designed to replace disposable product that, at the end of their life cycle, can be cut up or composted to return to the soil. But bottom line is that her wares appeal to anyone with an interest in reducing their carbon footprint and living more in tune with their natural environment.

     

    Recently, this has meant new creative offerings such as organic cotton jersey and upcycled burlap “scrubbys” – a natural alternative to a kitchen sponge, everyday organic dusters, colorful organic beeswax wraps for storage, and even bandanas that come with a slot for an ice pack for hot summer hikes.

     

    In March, when everything closed down, and to adapt to the realities of the pandemic, Leslie shifted gears to make organic cotton face masks.  For every three she sells, she donates one mask for free to a health care professional or essential worker in need.

    Leslie is a living example of her own beliefs, particularly to “Be true to yourself and what you believe in and work hard to create the world you want to live in.”

    There is a new hashtag roaming the social media circuits these days called #staywithsmall. It arose in response to the current pandemic as businesses across the nation found themselves shuttering their doors to shelter in place, or local artists and creators were forced to utilize new ways to spread the word about their products, creations, and art online. In support of #staywithsmall we are temporarily turning our blog into a place to share profiles of small businesses we adore. If you’d like to be featured, contact us at yes@sergiolub.com.

    #staywithsmall Saleigh Mountain Company


    Carly, Sally & Molly
    "All three of us wear our Sergio Lub bracelets every day!"

    Many small, family-run businesses are feeling the burn of coronavirus but Saleigh Mountain Company, like many others deemed essential, has remained open. Daughter Molly fixes shoes and mom Sally provides leatherwork. The ladies, known for their uniquely inviting and earthy charm have weathered fluctuations before. 

    "My mom first opened shop in 1973 in Berkley California,” says Molly. “Mom and Dad operated the shop in Hermann from about '84-'88. They closed down for a lot of years so that mom could homeschool us four kids. Dad went back to school to finish up an engineering degree. Mom and I reopened the shop July 26th, 2011. We've been at it ever since!"

    Alongside rugged American goods like Thorogood work boots, the ladies sell a full line of quality leather goods made right in house by mom: purses, wallets, checkbook covers, belts, and more. They fully appreciate the aesthetic of the handmade, whether being able to create beautiful accessories or bring a person’s favorite pair of shoes back to life. Molly refers to her faith when she quotes Thessalonians and says, “Lead a quiet life and work with your hands.”

    For the past three years, we’ve been honored to have our bracelets share counter space with the likes of their handiwork. 

    There is a new hashtag roaming the social media circuits these days called #staywithsmall. It arose in response to the current pandemic as businesses across the nation found themselves shuttering their doors to shelter in place, or local artists and creators were forced to utilize new ways to spread the word about their products, creations, and art online. In support of #staywithsmall we are temporarily turning our blog into a place to share profiles of small businesses we adore. If you’d like to be featured, contact us at yes@sergiolub.com.

     

    #staywithsmall Soulfire Project

    As a small business made up of family members, and extended family members comprised of artists and artisans who create beautiful things with their hands, we empathize with many others like us who are currently trying to keep afloat during these trying times of the coronavirus. It’s important in this age to support each other in any way we can, which is why we enjoy sharing the fruits of those dear to us in this space here. 

    Today, we are celebrating the release of The Soulfire Project’s latest album No Borders. The Soulfire Project includes members of the Morgan family who have been neighbors and lifelong friends of ours here in Napa.


    The band is a multi-cultural, nomadic music experience that fuses reggae and cumbia with folk, Afro-Latin, and Caribbean elements, weaving a tapestry of world music that embraces the resilience of the human spirit. With one fist raised in solidarity and the other hand inviting us to join the movement, the group’s powerful blend of world beats and infectious harmonies stand out as a passionate call for coherence between consciousness and action.

     


    Touring the Americas since 2009 in their home/studio, a converted 1979 school bus that runs on used vegetable oil and solar power, The SoulFire Project has grown from the street, to the stage, to world music festivals in Central America, Europe and the US.

    Interweaving musical genres and languages, with songs in English, Spanish and Portuguese, the new album features musicians from 13 countries, jumping all kinds of geographical borders as well.

    LISTEN HERE NOW! ENJOY!

    More information on Soulfire Project

     

    There is a new hashtag roaming the social media circuits these days called #staywithsmall. It arose in response to the current pandemic as businesses across the nation found themselves shuttering their doors to shelter in place, or local artists and creators were forced to utilize new ways to spread the word about their products, creations, and art online. In support of #staywithsmall we are temporarily turning our blog into a place to share profiles of small businesses we adore. If you’d like to be featured, contact us at yes@sergiolub.com.

    #staywithsmall Jendala

    Jendala

    There is a new hashtag roaming the social media circuits these days called #staywithsmall. It arose in response to the coronavirus pandemic as businesses across the nation found themselves shuttering their doors to shelter in place at home. Many of these businesses are our wholesalers, a segment of the industry that’s been seriously economically affected by our current reality. #staywithsmall has emerged to remind buyers that small businesses need our help right now and that shopping solely on big conglomerate sites such as Amazon doesn’t do much toward the greater good. In support of #staywithsmall we are temporarily turning our blog into a place to share profiles of small businesses we adore. If you’d like to be featured, contact us at yes@sergiolub.com.

    Our first subject is a dear friend of ours, Jendala, a vivacious force to be reckoned with whose lifelong love of fire transmuted to an early career as a firefighter before forging her current role as a torch-bearing artisan. In her Healdsburg, California studio she creates beautiful up-cycled metal art gifts that touch the soul and offer positive motivation like her gratitude chimes that buyers can customize with words of their liking. The chimes, hung with bells, make awesome patio mobiles for the young at heart.

     

    Speaking of the young, right now she’s offering special Kits for Kids, a perfect creative activity for children bored to death in quarantine. For $40, the kits come with supplies to make 4 chimes. Jendala likes the idea of making one for the self and then gifting the others to those special essential workers in our lives who keep things running smoothly at great risk to their lives: postmen, grocery clerks, and so on. Right now, she’s also granting 50% off at checkout with the coupon code HIGHVIBE.

    Jendala’s love of kids goes further than simply selling them something fun to do. Her non-profit organization Heartizens is all about providing nurturing spaces for kids to build resilience through art, gratitude and community. The project-based creative learning program is grounded in empowerment, kindness, compassion, good deeds and clear communication. Stop by online (we all definitely have the time) and check it out.

    It’s nice to know that there are people in the world who strive to make a living making other people happy. Especially in times like these when every little smile goes an extra long way.