Meet Your Makers
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Ladie Lex Scented Candles
Kourtney Perry, CEO & Owner of Ladie Lex Scented Candles and Privacy LLC. shares her journey as an entrepreneur. She talks about her experience growing up in Des Moines and the challenges she faced as a young mother. Kourtney discusses her various jobs, how she eventually started her own business, and she explains the inspiration behind Ladie Lex Candles and the unique products she offers.
Kourtney emphasizes the importance of taking advantage of opportunities and learning from failures. She encourages Black women in Iowa to have confidence in themselves and pursue their dreams.SHOP ONLINE
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Chicago Teahouse
Agnieszka Rapacz sommelier & owner. Chicago Teahouse is an advocate to promote organic and fair trade tea production. Our tea producers actively encourage development of a caring and sustainable industry that generates income and improves the lives of millions of people. Our producers maintain the highest ethical standards with regard to health, education, nutrition and environmental sustainability with Fair Trade certifications. We cultivate personal relationships with our tea growers and share their commitment to improving the lives of the people who produce our tea products. Our commitment to providing you with exceptional tea is matched by our commitment to the planet and the people who grow our tea.
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Communi-Tea
Mike Cuevas began his tea journey in 2014. And in 2021, his thirst for knowledge led him to the World Tea Academy, where he earned his certification as a tea specialist. He started arranging live tea tastings with non-profit organizations. In 2022, he and his wife visited India, where they visited her family’s tea farm, expanding his fascination and learning firsthand about tea culture.
After 9 years, he retired from his live tea tastings to turn his attention to building The Communi-Tea into an online shopping experience and in-person events. He now strives to bring delicious gourmet teas to his friends and customers, sharing his delicious passion with his incredible customers and tea enthusiasts from all over the country.
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Cultivate Taste Tea
Jennifer Nowicki’s early introduction to tea came at her Grandmother’s knee.
Jennifer owned and operated a teahouse in Milwaukee for three years before relocating to Northeast Wisconsin. Having visited a plantation in South Carolina, witness the Japanese tea ceremony, saw the Korean women’s ceremony, was one of eight people to represent the USA tea industry in two world tea conferences in China, and having enjoyed a samovar in Russia, her dream is to travel the world visiting gardens in India, China, Taiwan, and Japan. She has contacts with small farms in origin countries and gets many of her teas directly from them with a focus on procuring high-quality teas that are organic, fair trade and ethically sourced.
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The Herbalist Cottage Apothecary
Danielle Farr the owner of The Herbalist Cottage Apothecary. After achieving a MS in Plant Science I went into teaching but felt something was missing, I wasn't using my education the way I had hoped. After many soul-searching career changes, I was approached by the idea of owning and operating an herbal apothecary where my knowledge would be used to better the health and lives of so many around me. I tinkered with beauty and skincare products at first but found my true passion lied with the educational and spiritual aspects of holistic health care. I am now working towards a MS in Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine where I hope to fully encapsulate the Eastern Medicine mindset with the Western World in hopes of alleviating the reliance on non-natural practices. After all, nature is what governs so many areas of our lives....where we came from and where we are going.
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Steep N Clay
Tom Hill is an owner of the family owned and operated shop located in the historic downtown district in Elgin, IL. We specialize in High Quality Teas that we stand behind! We offer a tea tasting on most Sundays from 10am to Noon. Within the shop we have a fully operational Pottery Studio were we make the teawares and other ceramic pieces.
We are proud of the teas we serve and sell. We stand by the saying, "If we will not drink it, we will not sell it." About 85% of the teas are direct sourced, while the other percent are teas from groups we want to support because of have shared ethics, views, and of course the tea is amazing too.
Within Our collection, we have every continent represented (except for Antartica). We look forward to you exploring the world of tea!
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By Creative Heart
Taryn Dhall owner. Every art is a form of self-expression and communication to reveal stories and emotions of the artist. My art form intrinsically intent to inform and spread the story of my origin. Through thistraditional art form (Lippan Art) I intent to bring a little bit of my home with me and transparency of resin art define of me as person.
My journey as an artist sparked as a blessing in disguise, during the pandemic in a quest to find a way to feel connected to Home, as well as to bring a streak of happiness, amidst the gloomy days. Modeling the delicate clay, in a medley of colors and mirrors in this art form helped me to create and bring the same feeling of joy to share with people around me. I intent to introduce this beautiful art form and make this a part of people’s home to spread the joy and illuminate their hearts, as it reflects and multiply in the mirrors of the creations to leave an everlasting impression in their lives.
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Edara Wellness
Jelani and Yinka Cole are Co-founders of Edara Wellness. Yinka is a former Olympic athlete.
Edara Wellness sells natural, holistic health products, including herbal teas, superfoods, and mushroom coffee. It emphasizes a "lifestyle transformation" through 100% natural, plant-based products.
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Punkked Energy Mocktails
Nadine Waterman, a family-run business from Des Moines, IA, here to shake up the scene with bold, plant-powered energy drinks, matcha lattes, and whipped mushroom coffee iced lattes! All of our mocktails are now 100% sugar-free, sweetened naturally with monk fruit or stevia—giving you all the flavor you crave without the crash or guilt.
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