I asked our staff what they loved about 2017, and here’s what they had to say: 

From Andrew: 

So for the highlight of 2017, I have two words: new energy. Cary and Sulinya are great additions to the team. Although Cary and I work in different locations, she brings a great energy and is working very hard.

It’s great to see the classes that Sulinya and Kita have been putting together do so well. We had tried a few times in the past to get classes to be more successful but it's never quite taken off.

The format and themes that Sulinya has come up with have made that extra difference. For 2018, my word would be community. The classes have been a great start towards building a more dedicated community overall.

More guest teachers would be great for furthering that reach, as well as great way to connect with other local businesses. Anyways, hope everyone had a good Christmas and will have a good new year.

From Sasha:

2017 was an outstanding year for me. I think the major highlight for 2017 personally was self-growth in my value as a human being.

I am looking forward to more growth and PROSPERITY in 2018.

I can feel what a major year it is going to be, and I am ready. 

 

From Sulinya:

My highlight of 2017 was teaching classes and meeting all the awesome faces of Loose Leaf.

I loved putting everything together and creating community here.

I would love to create a natural beauty line and a blending bar in 2018!

 

From Cary:

My 2017 highlight was moving to Arizona, leaving my life and stressful job in Maryland, and coming to Arizona to study Western Herbalism and join the Loose Leaf Team.

For 2018, I look forward to learning a lot more about herbs both in school and work, and expanding my knowledge with herbs, aromatherapy, and gems.

 

 

From Kita:

For myself, 2017 was invigorating, and brought in fresh new energy in many areas of my life, both personally and professionally. I achieved a sense of clarity and direction this year, and was able to accomplish much of what I set out to do. We started a monthly tea subscription, a weekly newsletter, and created fun packaging for our teas. We also joined Local First, and participated in some local markets; in other words, we “got out of the house” a little bit and met lots of new faces. 

The year brought some changes to the Loose Leaf team. We said farewell to Nick, who has been a business partner since 2011. For those of you who know him personally, you’ll know how much he loves tech and computers. You may not know this, but Nick is also a gifted musician. I am hoping he’ll be able to focus more on his passion as well as his new direction in the cyber security world. Nick, thank you for all of your support over the years! We will miss you!

My daughter Shoshanna, who many of you know from our Ahwatukee store, gave birth on December 4^th to a healthy daughter. Welcome to our family and to the world, baby Grace!

Sulinya joined us in the late summer; she has brought fresh energy and a community-building spirit. Her workshops are incredibly fun, and I have learned so much from her.

Cary recently joined our formulary team and is doing a great job as our newest tea maker! She is attending the Western Herbalism program at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, so this job is a perfect fit for her.

My goal for 2018 is to continue to grow the community to share the healing power of plants with as many people as possible.

Thanks to all of YOU for making this an amazing year! What made 2017 a great year for YOU?

Happy New Year from Kita and the Loose Leaf team!