Oh, the New Favorite Places You Can Find

new favorite ^

Kalamazoo is so unique and wonderful. We have many amazing locally-owned businesses, and quite a few of them are women-owned! With the current state of things, now is a great time to really support our community & local businesses. I wanted to shine a spotlight on a few of my favorites in the area. If these local business are not already one of your favorites, I hope you might decide on a new adventure downtown to explore more of what Kalamazoo has to offer.

BEE JOYFUL SHOP: Zero Waste Market www.beejoyfulshop.com

COLORS & COCKTAILS: The Mobile Art Party www.colors-andcocktails.com

Lauren Parker Lasater is the Owner, Founder, and Artist behind Colors & Cocktails: The Mobile Art Party, her NEW studio, right on the Kalamazoo Mall in downtown Kalamazoo, which is one of my absolute favorites. It has been great watching her grow her company over the years. Colors & Cocktails hosts and teaches groups of eight on up to 20 people, providing them with choices to paint on canvas or drinkable glassware from a variety of locations including the comfort of your own home, any of their public events including restaurants, wineries and breweries, or her studio downtown! Not a painter or artist? No experience is needed, as Lauren and her staff are patient and ready to help you paint whatever your little heart desires. All you need to do is show up ready to paint and have fun! If you are not as interested in painting, Lauren’s retail shop has something for everyone, with items from painted glassware, adorable wrapping paper, cocktail mixes and jewelry to Kalamazoo Candle Company Candles and so much more! Swing by and you may even have the opportunity to meet Lauren’s newest employee, Rosie, her Teacup Poodle. Looking for plastic-free options here in Michigan? Jessica Thompson started as a shop on Etsy selling reusable food wraps with the goal of exposing more people to the idea of using sustainable, Earth-friendly materials to store food. Now, her dream of a brick and mortar shop has finally come true! Jessica recently opened her shop, the Bee Joyful Shop, Michigan’s first zero waste market, on the Kalamazoo Mall downtown Kalamazoo. It offers plastic-free alternatives to items you most commonly use for personal or home care including reusable food wraps, tooth brushes, sponges, shampoo and conditioner bars, along with a few other plastic-free options! Teamed with TerraCycle, both the recycling company and Jessica’s shop help community members collect and recycle difficult-to-recycle waste through the Zero Waste Box program.

MAMALEELU COLD BREW www.mamaleelucoldbrew.com

Maliesha Pullano, the founder of Mamaleelu Cold Brew, is one of my absolute favorite coffee blends here in Kalamazoo. She is also one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. And as an already fan of her cold brew, after visiting her at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market, I fell in love with her coffee. Maliesha’s story: After having been laid off, she had difficulties trying to find a way to support a family of three as a single mother. So instead, she used her passion for coffee that blossomed into

Mamaleelu Cold Brew in 2014. Her THE PERFECT PUCKER www.theperfectpucker.com For years Founder Valencia Scott suffered from dry skin on her lips. Her answer to the problem when nothing worked? Making products. Creativity took over, inspiring her to jazz up her recipe by blending in organic oils, testing different personal mission? Liberate as many women as possible from poverty.

Mamaleelu Cold Brew has won several awards, a pitch competition, and quoted in ‘Roast’ magazine. You can find her cold brew at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market and various grocery stores around the area. And don’t worry, if you can’t find it, they are gaining new stores and markets, and her line of products continues to grow, with the most newly released whole or ground coffee beans!

KNEADING SERENITY MASSAGE THERAPY www.kserenity.com

Massage has often been known to reduce things like anxiety, fatigue, migraine pain, muscle cramps and enhance sleep. Bonus – it’s incredibly relaxing! And who doesn’t love to relax, unwind and be pampered? That brings us to Christine Santos, a massage therapist who has been soothing strained, damaged muscles in the Portage and Kalamazoo area for over 22 years. Her office is located in Portage, but she travels for home massages or to assisted living for her services like massage treatments. Christine’s training includes, but is not limited, to sports therapy, neuromuscular and advanced deep tissue and trigger point therapy. She also offers cupping, lymphatic vibrational therapy, and if you visit the office for a session, she offers infrared sauna sessions. And she will soon be adding to her list of training: Corrective Exercise Specialist and Lymphedema Therapist. While advocating/ educating her community and as far as she can reach about Lymphedema and Lipedema, Christine loves spending time participating in community events and promotions to raise money towards hospice massage. Christine is wonderful at helping you find the best course of treatment for your ailments and looks forward to helping you all reach your goals in living a healthier life. Also keep a

her own lip exfoliant! Not long after creating her very first product in 2006, customers were asking for additional skincare lookout for her new wellness program coming this fall!

formulations, and even consulting pharmaceutical experts. This ultimately yielded her first signature product, The Perfect Pucker Lip Exfoliant! Since then, The Perfect Pucker has expanded its line to include both products for men and women. Her products for women include lotions, lip balm and exfoliants, lipstick, lip gloss and fragrance. Her men’s line, ML143, includes face and beard wash, face moisturizer, beard oil, body lotion and balm. All of her products are paraben free, dye free, cruelty free & hand-crafted right here in Kalamazoo by Valencia herself. Stay tuned for kits & gift sets coming this holiday season!

Rachel Kirtley has worked in all levels of the food industry for over a decade. She is currently a Social Media Influencer, Content Creator and Restaurant Reviewer. You can visit her at thekalamazoofoodie.com