Medium Well

This week's episode is with my dear friend Rebecca Magee. Rebecca is a sustainability professional in the fashion industry, a facilitator, and a women's retreats host. She is deeply knowledgeable about sustainability in fashion and beyond, and I am constantly learning from her! This episode is a peek into our conversation in my home in Denver— our interests have evolved as has our friendship— and I am excited for you to learn from Rebecca as well.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What it's like when your passions change and how to flow with it

• What it means to be a "light green" vs. "dark green" sustainability advocate

• How to navigate feeling disconnected from yourself

• How Rebecca got interested in the sustainability space

• The lowdown on ethical and sustainable fashion

• Protecting your passions instead of putting pressure on them

• The difference between dreams and goals

• The challenges of perfectionism and let down your barriers

• How Rebecca realized she was experiencing burnout and what she did about it

• Rebecca's newest project

Mentioned in this episode:

• Jessica Peppler's Empowered Intuition course

• The Modern Manager Podcast by Mamie Kanfer Stewart

All the deets:

• Keep up to date with Rebecca's future retreats and project launches by signing up for her newsletter

• Follow along with Rebecca at @thisiwear on Instagram

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

Today I am launching my first solo episode! Since I started this podcast to share my journey after closing my fashion business and trying to determine what I wanted to explore next, I wanted to share an update nearly a year after recording the first episode on where I am at. I share about what I've learned through the guests on the podcast, how my relationship to wellness and sustainability is evolving, why I moved to Colorado, and more. Lots of raw thoughts in this episode, and as the first solo episode, I would love to hear your thoughts (truly, not just saying that!).

In this episode, I discuss:

• Why I stopped trying to "figure it out"

• How I am changing my relationship to nature and wellness

• My new focus on turning within for answers

• My evolving thoughts on sustainability

• Where I am in my process of self-development

• A handful of my takeaways since starting the podcast

• Why I moved to Colorado

• Why I decided to put my daily newsletter, The M List, on hold

All the deets:

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well on my website.

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

I had such a lovely time chatting with Deborah Hanekamp, Seeress & Founder of Space by Mama Medicine, on today's episode. Deborah is such a healing presence, and she shared so much great knowledge in this episode about our relationship to healing, how we need to reconnect to the earth and spend more time outside, how to be a more conscious consumer and therefore kinder to the planet, and more.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What is Mama Medicine and what is a medicine reading?

• How to decide which healers to see and be financially responsible doing so

• How Deborah defines healing and who needs it

• The steps Deborah is taking in her own healing journey

• Deborah's ethos on food

• How our physical symptoms are the final expression of our intuitive thoughts

• How Deborah encourages her daughter's intuition

• The lessons Deborah has learned from her daughter

• The first steps in healing yourself

• Deborah's experience closing her first business and what she learned in that journey

• How to connect more deeply to the earth by being a conscious consumer

• Deborah's journey towards working less and setting more boundaries

• How to determine where you need balance

• Why Deborah is a fan of confrontation

• What medicine the world needs, according to Deborah

• How and why we have gotten so disconnected from the earth as humans

• The balance of the matriarchy and patriarchy in modern and ancient medicine

All the deets:

• Connect with Deborah and her work at Mama Medicine where you can book a medicine reading, see her events, and sign up for her magical newsletter (I love it— there are always so many wonderful takeaways!)

• Follow along with Deborah at @mamamedicine on Instagram

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

Mary Clavieres is a jill of many trades— she is Founder & CEO of Brief Transitions, The Transitions Collective & Mary Clavieres Consulting. She juggles three businesses including a product-based business, a coaching collective for women going through transitions, and a consulting business where she uses her training in Whole Brain Thinking. We chat about all of the above in today's episode, including Mary's advice if you are in transitions, how to set goals that are manageable, and how to understand your strengths and work with others who compliment your skillset.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Mary's background and how she launched her businesses

• How Mary balances running three separate businesses

• Mary's tips for productivity and organization

• How to properly set goals

• Mary's advice for those going through transitions

• What is Whole Brain Thinking?

• How to use Whole Brain Thinking at work

• Navigating working with others who have different strengths than you

• How to use Whole Brain Thinking as a solopreneur

Mentioned in this episode:

• Mary's 2019 Goal Setting Worksheet

All the deets:

• Check out Mary's businesses: Mary Clavieres Consulting, Brief Transitions (the underwear!), and Transitions Collective

• Follow along with @thetransitionscollective and @brieftransitions on Instagram

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

In today's episode, I chat with Shelby Zitelman, co-founder and COO of Soom Foods. Shelby is my former boss (!), and someone who I consider to be a mentor, so it was a delight to chat with her about how she built her tahini brand, Soom Foods, over the past five years, including educating people on what the heck tahini is! We also discussed her recent shift in roles at the company, stepping down from CEO in order to prioritize her family.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Shelby's career journey and how it lead her to start Soom Foods with her sisters

• Her experience pivoting into the food space with no experience

• How Shelby and her sisters built Soom Food's marketing strategy, including some early endorsements from celebrity chefs

• Why sourcing of the product was so important to Shelby and her sisters and their first trip to Ethiopia to source sesame

• How sesame is actually grown and harvested

• How Soom Foods grew their the consumer base and educated the consumer

• How the perception of tahini has changed since she started

• Shelby's thoughts on influencer marketing and the role of social media in her business

• Shelby's favorite ways to eat the products

• Shelby's experience with entrepreneurship and the lessons she has learned

• What is it is like to work with her sisters and how they set their roles as well as boundaries

• How and why Shelby recently decided to shift her role to part time

• The balance of working motherhood, especially as an entrepreneur

• How to handle chaos at work

• Shelby's advice to new entrepreneurs

Mentioned in this episode:

• Intentional Performers Podcast by Brian Levenson

• How to not always be working by Marlee Grace

All the deets:

• Grab some tahini (discount code MEDIUMWELL) or silan date syrup over at Soom Foods

• Follow along with @soomfoods on Instagram (if you send them a message for Shelby, they will get it to her!)

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

This episode is a bit different than usual— I had the opportunity to interview ethical and sustainable fashion advocate and entrepreneur Livia Firth, Co-founder and Creative Director of Eco-Age and founder of the Green Carpet Challenge and Marianne Hernandez, President of PACUNAM, the foundation for maya cultural and natural heritage, and decided to record it for the podcast! The two of them partnered with a handful of other individuals to create a short documentary, Fashionscapes: Artisans Guatemaya, which "tells the story of the rich heritage and craftsmanship of Guatemala's 1 million artisans." We sat down after the premiere at Parsons and they answered my questions about the film and their views on ethical, sustainable, and artisan fashion.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How the documentary came to be

• The "handprint" of fashion and how artisanship fits into the landscape of ethical fashion

• Comparing artisan and couture fashion

• The most important thing to consider when buying new clothes

• If fair trade certification is necessary on artisan goods

• The role of government engagement and regulation in artisanship

• How to avoid greenwashing and determining if something is truly fair fashion

• Is ethical fashion really that expensive?

• How fast fashion is one of the biggest threats to artisanship

Mentioned in this episode:

• Greta Thunberg's sustainability movement

All the deets:

• Watch the documentary Fashionscapes: Artisans Guatemaya (it's less than 20 minutes!)

• Check out Livia's work at Eco-Age, and Marianne's work at PACUNAM

• Follow along with Livia (@liviafirth), PACUNAM (@pacunam), and Eco-Age (@ecoage) on Instagram, as well as #30wears

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) and Livia, PACUNAM, and Eco-Age on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode!

Psych-K seems to be all over my Instagram feed, so I was excited to have Jena Sophia on the podcast to talk all about it, what it is, how it works, and give me a mini session (though it wasn't recorded on air!). The bulk of our conversation is about how Psych-K works in addition to how and why our limiting beliefs hold us back, epigenetics, the energy of abundance, and more.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Jena's health journey and how she subsequently found Psych-K

• What is Psych-K and how does it work?

• The difference between hypnosis and Psych-K

• My experience with Psych-K (a mini-session!)

• How to distill your dream life into values you can live

• How Jena manifested abundance into her life using Psych-K, and how we can too

• What epigenetics are and how can our environment and thoughts influence our health

• Is Psych-K the silver bullet Instagram makes it look like it is?

• Where Jena gets her inspiration

All the deets:

• You can learn more about Jena and her offerings on her website, Beyond The Belief.

• Follow along with Jena on Instagram at @_jenasophia

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

I never really got into at home workouts until I discovered Kait Hurley. Her approach to movement and meditation, aligning the physical and mental body, really spoke to me more than any other online fitness community ever had. Plus, Kait is so real and down to earth, which is evident in this conversation. We chat about how and why she started her business, how she learned to manage her anxiety, the role meditation plays in her life, how to build a healthy relationship with movement, entrepreneurship, white privilege and racism, and more.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Kait's background in movement

• How meditation plays a role in her life and anxiety

• How meditation changed her perception of fitness and movement

• Kait's business and how she integrates meditation and movement

• Why goal setting isn't always the healthiest

• Fear of fitness and how to overcome it

• Kait's experience with entrepreneurship

• How Kait intentionally addresses white privilege and racism in her business and personal life

• How Kait avoids distraction in the wellness industry

• Getting started with meditation

• What Kait has learned from coaching a middle school basketball team

All the deets:

• You can learn more about Kait and sign up for her app (she offers a 14 day free trail) on her website. Her summer series launches this week!

• Follow along with Kait on Instagram at @kait.hurley.

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

Today on Medium Well, I chat with Dara Dubinet, an Intuitive and Astrogeographer. We talk about how she discovered her intuitive gifts, how to find happiness, and Dara also gives me a mini-astrogeography reading. Stay tuned until the end where I make a relevant announcement about a big life change!

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Dara discovered her intuitive gifts

• What is a pendulum? And how to use one

• Dara's discovery of raw food and how that changed her life and health

• How Dara's intuitive gifts became her profession

• Dara's keys to living a happy life, and how to optimize your happiness

• How to find your genius

• What is astrogeography? (also known as astrocartography)

• Dara's astrogeography reading for me

• What my gemini in mid-heaven means for me

• How to determine what food makes you feel good

All the deets:

• You can learn more about Dara and her offerings on her website

• If you want to dive into your own map, check out Dara's astrogeography course (and use code MEDIUMWELL for 20% off!)

• Follow along with Dara on Instagram at @daradubinet

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

In honor of earth day approaching, in this week's episode I speak with Leslie VanKeuren Campbell, Founder and Principal of Sustain LA, a company which offers a refill station, consulting for zero waste events, event rentals, and more zero waste services in Los Angeles. Leslie and I chat all about the zero waste lifestyle, what it means, and how to integrate it into your personal life and/or your business. There are a ton of useful tips and tricks in this episode as well!

In this episode, we discuss:

• Leslie's background and how sustainability went from personal to professional

• How the zero waste has changed since she started her business 10 years ago

• We why need to shift what we perceive as convenience

• How to minimize your impact on the planet

• The upsides and downsides of instagram and the sustainability movement

• The definition of zero waste and its history, including why the terms like low waste can be detrimental

• What a circular versus linear economy is

• What is the purchasing hierarchy and how to evaluate your purchases

• Leslie's advice for being zero waste with kids

• How Sustain LA reduces waste in events

• What the challenges are with bioplastics

• Simple things businesses can do to become more green

• How to lead by example in the zero waste movement

• How we can hold companies accountable

Mentioned in this episode:

• Cradle to Cradle by William Mcdonough

• The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard (also the website)

• Food Justice by Robert Gottlieb and Anupama Joshi

• In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

• The Zero Waste Solution by Paul Connett

• Green Collar Economy by Van Jones

• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

• Garbology by Edward Humes

• Being the Change by Peter Kalmus

• Anything by Bill McKibben

• Reduce your Amazon packaging via mama eco

• Instagram accounts Leslie recommends to follow: @bezerowastegirl (also has great list of resources on her website), @5gyres, @zerowastechef, @mamaeatsplants, @vintage_is_eco, @zerowasteguy, @adventuresinwaste, @plasticpollutes, @storyofstuff, @climatereality, @350org, @aurijackson

All the deets:

• Check out Sustain LA's services and get a calendar of their events and refill stations on the Sustain LA website

• Follow along with Leslie at @sustain_la where she also shares where their refill stations will be (and she just announced she is opening and brick and mortar, stay tuned for the location!)— go say hi and tell her you listened to this episode!

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

Related episodes:

• Episode 7: Sustainable living, global health, and building an impact-driven business with Megan Faletra

• Episode 11: Simplifying, turning inwards, and finding clarity with Hilary Pearlson

• Episode 15: Building a brand that sticks, celebrating women in food, and going green with Kerry Diamond

• Episode 16: Grounded wellness, adapting through adaptogens, and living with curiosity and empathy with Lopa Van der Mersch