Medium Well

Marielle Elizabeth is a writer, photographer, blogger, and fat activist. I had the pleasure of chatting with Marielle in today's episode all about her journey towards where she is now as an ethical fashion blogger and influencer fighting fatphobia and advocating for size inclusivity in the industry. I really enjoy Marielle's no-BS approach to her work and how she's not afraid to say things how they are. We talk about her work building community, different business models for being an influencer, and how brands can move towards being more size-inclusive in a holistic way.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Marielle got into size inclusivity in fashion and ethical fashion

• How Marielle got started in advocating for size inclusivity in ethical fashion

• If and when the word "fat" is appropriate

• Marielle's thoughts on how ethical fashion has evolved over the past 5 years in regards to size expansion

• How to approach expanding sizing as a brand, including the barrier

• How to make expanded sizing a core tenant of your business

• How to course correct when you make a mistake and use it to learn and grow

• How Marielle's business model has evolved as a blogger and influencer with her move towards Patreon

• What's inspiring Marielle

• How small brands can work with influencers without a budget

• Advice for bloggers and influencers looking to get started

• Lessons Marielle's learned from improv

Mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 69 with Hanna of ethical fashion brand Sotela on expanding sizing for small businesses

• Brands mentioned: ARQ, Sotela, Free Lable, Nettles Tale

• Everlane Ex-Wives Club

• Maries beech's post

• Marielle's response to Lululemon's expansion

• Influencers mentioned: Lydia of @Styleisstyle, Lydia Hudgens

All the deets:

• Learn more about Marielle and her work at marielleelizabeth.com, and support her Patreon

• Follow Marielle on Instagram at @marielle.elizabeth to learn from her and her important work.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) and Marielle on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode and what type you are— we'd love to hear!

Related episodes:

• Episode 69: Building and growing a size-inclusive slow fashion brand with Hanna Baror-Padilla of Sotela

• Episode 47: Ethical and sustainable fashion 101 (solo series)

• Episode 30: The history and heritage of artisan fashion and why fast fashion is a threat, and getting started with ethical fashion with Livia Firth of Eco-Age and Marianne Hernandez

I am elated to chat with my friend Lauren Haynes on today's episode. Lauren is an herbalist and the founder of Wooden Spoon Herbs, an herbal line she started over five years ago. We chat about a bunch of things related to herbalism, her background, how she formulates (for insane efficacy!), and more, as well as her journey with entrepreneurship and building Wooden Spoon Herbs to be the much-loved and trusted brand it is now, including her recent rebrand and new tea line launching this week!

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Lauren found herbalism and how Wooden Spoon Herbs came to be

• How herbalism shapes Lauren's lens and world view

• Plants Lauren has deep relationships with

• How she's balancing her political views and her response to civil unrest with showing up as a business owner

• Wooden Spoon Herb's brand relaunch and how it came to be

• What the new brand means to Lauren

• How Lauren artfully balances selling products with avoiding over commercialization

• How Lauren built her community and have such deep brand loyalty, including marketing tips and how to approach collaboration

• Lauren's approaches formulation

• The importance of having fun

• What continues to keep Lauren motivated

• What Lauren's finding nourishing lately

• The new products in her line including herbal coffee and the herbal tea line that launches this week!

• Lauren's process for evaluating products and supplements

• The challenges with safety of herbs as they become more and more trendy

• What's inspiring Lauren lately and what she hopes we carry forward from this time

• Lauren's quick and passionate thoughts on essential oils

Mentioned in this episode:

• Sarah Chappel's podcast, So you want to be a witch

• Erin Lovell Verinder (she's been on Medium Well twice, listed below!)

• Alexis Smart Flower Remedies

• American Herbal Products Association newsletter

• PubMed for research studies

• Rosemary Gladstar— Sage Mountain + The Science and Art of Herbalism school, plus her books

• The Kosmic Kitchen Cookbook

• Chestnut School of herbal medicine

• Woke without the work by Rootwork Herbals

• Dive In Well's Pivot into Equity course

All the deets:

• Learn more about Wooden Spoon Herbs and shop her herbal line at woodenspoonherbs.com, use code MEDIUMWELL15 for a discount (not an affiliate code!)

• Follow Lauren and Wooden Spoon Herbs on Instagram at @woodenspoonherbs and check out her gorgeous guides, tips, and more.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) and Lauren on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode and what type you are— we'd love to hear!

Related episodes:

• Episode 43: Connecting with the energies of plants, nature, and our bodies through herbalism with Erin Lovell Verinder

• Episode 61: Balancing wellness with real life, relationship building, and evaluating trends with Rachelle Robinett

• Episode 70: Plants for the people, celebrating local plants, and nourishing yourself with Erin Lovell Verinder

In this episode, I chat with Certified Human Design Business Advisor Shaadi Oreyzi all about using human design to navigate your work environment, how you show up in your business, and beyond. Shaadi shares about my chart and how I am wired and explains how to use the powerful Human Design system for navigating all things work and career.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Shaadi found her way to working with Human Design

• Why Shaadi decided to focus on HD for business

• What the five Human Design types are called in a business framework

• Shaadi breaks down my chart, my strengths, shadows, and beyond

All the deets:

• Learn more about Shaadi and her work, grab your free career map, and book a session with her on her website, ElevateHumans.com

• Snag a career map and report here, using code MEDIUMWELL for 10% off

• Follow Shaadi on Instagram at @elevatehumansofficial and check out her gorgeous guides, tips, and more.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) and Shaadi on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode and what type you are— we'd love to hear!

Related episodes:

• Episode 3: What is human design and how can it help me? with Jaclyn Michelle

• Episode 57: Digging deeper into human design with Erin Claire Jones

We're back with more episodes! I am so honored to speak with Leah Thomas and Sabs Katz, founder and co-founder respectively of Intersectional Environmentalist, in today's episode. We chat about several topics regarding how being an advocate for the environment must be in tandem with doing anti-racism work, how sustainability has been commoditized, and more. This is such an important episode, and I hope you learn from it as much as I did when recording!

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Leah and Sabs got into environmentalism

• Why Leah and Sabs focus on environmentalism over sustainability

• How we need to move past zero waste and "mason jar" sustainability

• How to be more intersectional in your environmentalism and ask harder questions

• How to call out and call in individuals

• Why Leah chooses compassion over shaming

• The challenges of "Columbusing"— people reclaiming things that BIPOC or other cultures have been doing for awhile

• Cultural appropriation and its impacts on the environmentalism movement

• The future of Intersectional Environmentalist

• And more!

Mentioned in this episode

• Kimberle Crenshaw and her TEDTalk, The Urgency of Intersectionality

All the deets:

• Learn more about Intersectional Environmentalist and support their work on their website, intersectionalenvironmentalist.com

• Check out Leah's blog and Sab's YouTube

• Follow @intersectionalenvironmentalist, @greengirlleah, and @sustainablesabs on Instagram and share their important work

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) and IE, Leah, and Sabs on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode— we'd love to hear them!

Erin Lovell Verinder, herbalist, naturopath, and author of Plants for the People, is back for round two on Medium Well! In this lovely winding conversation, we discuss what this time of lockdown has meant to her and the planet, how plant medicine feels more important and relevant than ever, what the process of writing her book was like, how she has grown her business, and so much more.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What's on Erin's mind as of late

• What Erin learned in the process of writing her book, Plants for the people

• How this time is uniquely aligning people with nature

• Her second book and what it's about

• Launching her book during COVID and the challenges

• Erin's tips for medicinal herb gardening and connecting to nature at home

• Erin's recommendations on how to decide what plants to start with

• How to balance the trendiness of herbs with deep inner knowing and history

• How Erin has build a business outside of Instagram for business

• How Erin deepens her learning as an herbalist

• Erin's advice for building intuition and tapping in

• How Erin finds inspiration for formulating and medicine making

• What she hopes remains post-COVID from this time

• What Erin's finding nourishing right now and what tea she's drinking lately

• Dealing with skeptics

• Erin's views on being a teacher versus an influencer on Instagram

• Audience questions since we recorded this live on Zoom!

Mentioned in this episode

• Erin's gorgeous book, Plants for the People: A modern guide to plant medicine

• Rosemary Gladstar's online courses

All the deets:

• Learn more about Erin and her work, and book a session with her, on her website, erinlovellverinder.com

• Follow Erin on Instagram at @erinlovellverinder and check out her gorgeous guides, tips, and more.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) and Erin on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode— we'd love to hear them!

In today's episode, I chat with my dear friend Hanna Baror-Padilla, founder of Sotela, an ethical and sustainable, size-inclusive fashion line. Hanna and I connected over ethical fashion five or six years ago, when she was an ethical fashion blogger, and I was just starting my ethical fashion journey. Since then we've become very close friends, and supported one another in growing our businesses. We chat about her journey starting Sotela and as an entrepreneur, her decision to pivot to made to order, how and why she doubled her sizing, and much more.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why Hanna decided to launch her own fashion brand after being a blogger

• Working full time while launching a business

• How has Sotela evolved since she started it

• How Hanna decided to pivot to made to order

• How getting her own studio contributed to her growth

• How Hanna decided on which risks are worth taking in her business

• Hanna's mistakes with Sotela, and what she's learned from them

• How Hanna decided to double her sizing and what it entailed

• The demand for her extended sizes

• Hanna's thoughts on the evolution of ethical fashion

• How to justify the cost of ethical fashion

• How Hanna has approached financial decisions in her business, and her advice for seeking part-time jobs as an entrepreneur

Mentioned in this episode:

• Marielle Elizabeth

• Brands that inspire Hanna: Elizabeth Suzann, EILEEN FISHER

• How I Built This podcast

• Sotela's blog post breaking down their pricing

All the deets:

• Check out Hanna's clothing like Sotela.

• Sotela's blog has lots of fashion inspiration, as well as behind-the-scenes look into how Hanna approaches many aspects of her business.

• Follow along with Hanna at @sotelaco on Instagram

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) and Hanna on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode!

• Sign up for my newsletter, Sara… lately, for curated resources, sustainability and mindful living tips, and to keep up with my podcast and work.

In today's episode, I dive into a topic that's been on my mind for some time now in regards to wellness. If you're keeping up with trends, taking fancy supplements and powders, doing the face masks, and beyond— that's great. But what is it in service of? What are you using your now resilient mind and strong body for? If we aren't taking care of the collective, showing up to do anti-racism work, and protecting others, what is the point of our wellness?

In this episode, I discuss:

• What is wellness, really?

• Why you should care about anti-racism work if you care about wellness

• How wellness has become commoditized and is oppressive

• How wellness can be overly individualistic and why I believe wellness is about the collective

• What is your wellness is in service of? Why do you take care of yourself?

• Why I engage in wellness practices

• What questions I am reflecting on during this moment

• How I am part of the problem and what I am working on to unravel that

Mentioned in this episode:

• Sophia Roe

• Starter, my live 8-week mindful business fundamentals course

• My newsletter, Sara… lately. Subscribe to keep up to date with what I am thinking, writing, learning, exploring, and launching.

• Rasa adaptogenic coffee alternative (discount MEDIUMWELL)

All the deets:

• Given the state of the world, my podcast may be released on a less-than-regular basis. Thanks for your patience while I navigate how I hope to evolve this podcast.

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well at saraweinreb.com/podcast

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your takeaways!

Today's episode is the first episode in the Medium Well… Live! series and it was such a joy to chat again with Deborah of Mama Medicine. We chatted about her experience moving her business to 100% virtual, the themes she's seeing in her medicine reading, why courage is so important right now, and Deborah answered questions from the audience. It's such a helpful and assuring listen during this chaotic time.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Deborah's experience working from home

• What her shift to a virtual business has been like

• What grief is teaching us right now

• What Deborah is finding comfort in, and how she's spending her time during quarantine

• What is demanifestation? And how to practice it

• How to connect to nature at home

• What is unity consciousness?

• Themes Deborah is seeing in readings right now

• How to integrate more fun and play into daily life

• Deborah's advice for mindful Instagram consumption

• Deborah's advice for entrepreneurs looking to start a wellness or healing-based business

• Deborah answers the audience's questions!

Mentioned in this episode:

• Jane Goodall's conservation work

• Poetry Deborah is reading: Joy Harjo, Rumi, Hafez

• The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

• Join in on a future Medium Well… Live! podcast recording.

All the deets:

• Connect with Deborah and her work at Mama Medicine, or sign up for her new membership, SPACE.

• Follow along with Deborah at @mamamedicine on Instagram

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) and Deborah on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode!

• Sign up for my newsletter, Sara… lately.

I'm diving into herbal actions in today's episode! I break down what herbal actions are, discuss some of the most common herbal actions like adaptogens, nervines, and alternatives, and give you examples for the different herbal actions I discussed. I also discuss why understanding herbal actions are important, and how we can use them to pick the right herbs to take or formulate with.

Nothing in this episode should be taken as medical advice, always consult your doctor or holistic practitioner to ensure you find the right herbs for you!

In this episode, I discuss:

• What are herbal actions?

• An overview of some of the most common herbal actions we work with, and relevant hers

• Why herbal actions are an integral part of herbalism

• How you can use herbal actions to pick the right herbs for you

Mentioned in this episode:

• Medical Herbalism by David Hoffman (my current herbalism textbook)

• My newsletter, Sara… lately. Subscribe to keep up to date with new program launches.

• Rasa BOLD, new caffeine-free adaptogen-powered energy tonic from one of my favorite herbal brands, Rasa (discount MEDIUMWELL)

• Episode 16 with Lopa van der Mersch, founder of Rasa, where we talk a lot about herbal medicine and adaptogens!

All the deets:

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well at saraweinreb.com/podcast

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your takeaways!

Today I chat with Davida Lederle, the founder of The Healthy Maven, all about her decision to quit Instagram as a content creator. We recorded this a couple of weeks before the pandemic shut down most of our country, so while the world we live in is quite different now, this episode is full of insight into the question "how could I possibly run a business in 2020 without Instagram?" Davida shares her experience as a blogger and content creator moving off the platform, how it's impacted her and her business, and more.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Davida decided to leave Instagram and what impact it's had on her and her business

• Davida's takeaways from being off of Instagram for over six months

• How Davida's business, The Healthy Maven, has shifted since she transitioned off of Instagram

• Davida's revenue streams, and why Instagram only played a small role

• The challenges Davida faced when moving off of Instagram

• How Davida redefined her metrics

• Her decision to end her podcast, That's So Maven

• Davida's advice for people thinking of starting a blog

All the deets:

• Check out Davida's blog, The Healthy Maven, for tons of wellness and healthy lifestyle content

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode!