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Wrapping up 2021 & What I learned from hosting Pop Up Shop(s) in Helsinki

December 29, 2021

Well hello hello, long time no blog.

Thanks for tuning back into my scribbles! We are soon to be wrapping up the year, so I wanted to take a moment to reflect upon this past year and also share some of my experiences from now having hosted two Pop Up Shops for my yoga clothing brand, Moonah Wear. And, yes, if you’ve lived under a rock, this may be new information for you, but I launched my own sustainable yoga clothing line back in 2020.

Having my own yoga clothing company, in addition to being an entrepreneur within the fields of wellness and yoga has been a rollercoaster and such a massive learning experience. I’d be lying if I wouldn’t also say it’s at times been challenging, frustrating, scary and even stressful. That being said, I get to work with things I love.

Okay, so I think it’s fair to say this year has been a crappy sequel to 2020 (in terms of the pandemic). Right now, infection rates are on the rise and new restrictions in place here in Helsinki (hence having the time to write this blog post as all yoga studios are currently closed). Looking at the bright side however, it seems as if this new variant may be less dangerous 🤷‍♀️. Anyways, this blog post is most definitely not about the big C, but neglecting its affect on us all when reflecting upon the last year would also be disingenuous. The toll it has had on us small business owners is devastating.

If you follow me on instagram, you may have seen my stories last year about me missing out on all Christmas Sales with Moonah Wear due to the pandemic and various production problems (not that I expect you to remember them lol 😅). Due to that experience, I had decided that history was not going to repeat itself this year. This is why I had decided to book a venue for hosting my very first Pop Up Shop in the heart of Helsinki before Christmas. Turns out renting a beautiful venue in the city centre is not only expensive, but quite challenging as a one (wo)man show. Long story short and a few meetings later, the lovely Pukhraj Ranjan from Moi Namaste and I decided to team up as we share the same values, are both female entrepreneurs working within the sustainable textile industry and both quite new to the world of running our own businesses. Together we decided to co-host our beautiful Mindful Moments at Spalt PR on Iso Roobertinkatu 30 in Helsinki in November and then another Pop Up Shop in Ullanlinna on Tehtaankatu in December.

As my business is an e-commerce business, the whole idea with the Pop Up Shop was to create a week filled with different events so that people would get a chance to get the full brand experience, meet up with the founder, hear the story behind Moonah Wear and get a chance to see and try on the yoga wear in person. We made sure to create an interesting schedule with free events everything from sound baths, yoga, a full moon circle to even an influencer event with Champagne Yoga.

*Our beautiful Instagram wall wouldn’t have been the same without the Peacock chair from* *Parolan Rottinki.* *Pic by Johanna Keto.*

The key is having a killer Instagram Wall

But, the one thing that lured in customers and people alike (in addition to the great location in Punavuori), was our amazing Instagram Wall. And this, we wouldn’t have been able to pull off without some of our very generous sponsors including Parolan Rottinki with the most stunning Queen chair (they call it the Peacock chair, but honestly, I felt more like a Queen on my throne on that chair 👸) and Cafe Cucca with their flower installation.

The chair was such a hit, because not only did almost every single customer and guest snap a photo of themselves on it, they also shared it on their socials, tagging us and generating more traffic and brand awareness for us.

Another great advantage with the chair was that we had positioned it just in front of the main entrance to the shop with a neon sign saying “This must be the place”. This created curiosity in all the people passing by, as they would see the “throne” and that sign, eventually wanting to come check out what it was all about.

MY TAKEOFF FROM HOSTING TWO POP UP SHOPS

Hosting a week filled with events and manning a shop morning to night was tiresome, but such a great experience. We got to meet with so many customers in person and to share our stories and make new connections. I also believe it created more brand awareness and even a small buzz for our brands during that one week period. It did result in more sales than a regular e-comm week as well. I also loved working and collaborating with another woman owned business, as it can be quite lonely at times running my own company. We even created a collaboration Kimono (the Lunar Kimono) as a lovechild from our collab. The Kimono is made out of GOTS certified cotton with a traditional block printing technique honouring Indian craftsmanship.

Our second Pop Up Shop was not as successful as the first one we hosted in Punavuori. I think for a number of reasons: first, the location was not as great as the one of our initial Pop Up, secondly, we didn’t have the same killer Instagram wall (even if we had the gorgeous chair on display), third, nor did we host daily free events, as the space was smaller, not to mention the infection rates were on the rise again. Now in hindsight, I am happy we hosted both Pop Up Shops, as I definitely learned so much from both of them. In 2022 I am most definitely looking to host more Pop Up Shops, making sure to create an Instagram Wall in each single one and perhaps even taking Moonah Wear on a tour to my beloved Sayulita, Mexico.

But in the meantime, stay tuned and follow Moonah Wear on instagram check out the most beautiful chair from Parolan Rottinki, as they also recently just restocked (it’s been out of stock for a while) and make sure to also give me a follow to stay in the know of my upcoming shenanigans.

Thanks so much for the read and wishing you a happy, abundant 🎉NEW YEAR 2022 🎉

Eva

Below you will find a mixture of some pictures from the Pop Up Shop at Spalt, Pukhraj and me, Moonah Wear shots, as well as the collaboration Kimono and the new High Priestess Hoodie.

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Follow your bliss: Why I quit my job

October 27, 2019

FOLLOW YOUR BLISS: WHY I QUIT MY JOB

One of the biggest struggles for me has always been decision making. Be it big or small, I find myself pondering the options and outcomes way too long. Lately though, I feel as the universe has been handing me big platters of decision making practice and I am slowly honing this skill and becoming more intuitive, especially when it comes to decision making for myself.

I feel like I’ve always been pretty gifted in seeing and supporting my peers in the right direction for their highest self, but when it comes to myself, it’s often been foggy, messy and uncertain. Luckily though and like I wrote in a previous blog text on my decision to relocate back to Finland (after having lived in Mexico for nearly seven years), I am slowly learning to listen to that squeaky little internal voice and whisper (before it becomes a roar).

After moving back to Finland, I quickly started working with event production. It was a massive change coming from the laid back beach life style and after having been my own boss and working within wedding planning and the hospitality and wellness industry in the tropics. All of a sudden I found myself in a hectic corporate world with completely new tasks, in a new environment and with a very different client base. With a pace where your daily hours run out and you add darkness, cold weather and adjusting to Finnish culture and customs into the mix, you have yourself one exhausted gal. And when exhaustion happens, energy shifts.

This shift manifested in many ways; I started experiencing bodily stress symptoms such as eye twitching, bloating and even mood swings. My body knew before my head did, it was time to slow down and change direction. It was simply way too much and way too fast. I did my best to keep pushing through as I didn’t want to give up and I thought to myself that maybe things would change for the better as there was a vague silver lining in foresight. When things didn’t fall through as I had hoped, I finally decided to resign. It was time to breakthrough my fears and leave the secure corporate world for the unknown world of entrepreneurship.

“My body knew before my head did, it was time to slow down and change direction.”

Because what it all comes down to is time. And life is short. The time you have in this precious life is scarce and your days are limited. As cliche as it may sound, if you’re not going to chase your dreams or try something you’ve always dreamt of, you’ll probably regret it later in life. Sure, it’s risky, crazy and nerve wrecking, but for me it is absolutely necessary and having regrets later is not an option. There’s also the benefit of working with what you love and on your own terms and you get to enjoy a whole new level of personal, professional and financial freedom. Besides, being an entrepreneur is not completely new to me as I used to work for myself also while living in Mexico. That being said, in all honesty, there’s a huge difference in running a business in Mexico compared to Finland. But, I am up for the challenge and more importantly, I simply have to give it a go.

I also believe in the phrase “todo pasa por algo”, meaning everything happens for a reason. I needed to go through this year to get clarity on what it is that I want to pursue and what is truly important to me. I am extremely grateful for this almost one year that I worked with a lovely team and for the fact that I get to call my ex colleagues not just my former co-workers, but friends. We had a good run and I truly wish the team all the best of luck and success in the future.

You know, it’s interesting now in hindsight reflect upon my decision and notice how big decisions and releases tend to happen around fall. There’s wisdom in nature and just like the trees you can let the dead leaves drop. You release and shed and let go of the things that did not serve you for something new and better.

So what does the future hold for me right now you might ask? Well, I am going to work with the things I love; yoga (corporate yoga classes, privates, studio classes and yoga retreats), wellness, copywriting, content creation and marketing. I am very open to new opportunities and projects and if you see that there is something we could work on together, make sure to drop me a line. I will also be launching something I’ve always dreamt of, so stay tuned for this secret I am revealing in the near future. Oh, but first things first, I am heading to Mexico to enjoy life on the beach for the darkest month of the year; November.

Let me know if you’ve made any similar transition or have any tips, tricks or input on this scary journey that I am about to embark. I would love to hear from you!

Stay tuned,

Con amor and excitement for this new chapter,

Eva

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MY BFF IS A BEEKEEPER

August 7, 2019

MY BFF IS A BEEKEEPER

Meet Elisa Nordman, a long time friend of mine who is an avid hobby beekeeper from Helsinki with a passion for sustainability, green thinking and a deep appreciation for nature and our planet. She keeps her two hives at a farm outside of the city and produces artisan honey under the brand name Hunter House Honey. I sat down with Elisa and picked her brain about her super hipster, yet actually amazingly impressive side hustle that she’s been doing for a while as I felt the urge to to introduce this insanely cool save the bees- gal with my fellow internet scrolling audience. Here goes.

Q: Who are you?

A: I am Elisa. I currently work as a graphic designer and in my free time I love to get outdoors and spend time in nature, read a lot, do sports and then of course beekeeping.

Q: What made you take up beekeeping and become a bee-person?

A: In all honesty, it was actually half a coincidence as I stumbled across an ad in beekeeping at a Christmas fair in Helsinki (Tuomaan markkinat). It immediately caught my attention and I took a photo of the ad and then the next day I thought to myself, what the heck, why not. I signed up for the course online, without truly knowing if I would follow through or not. Fast forward 5 months and I found myself in a beekeepers farm shopping for the gear. Once I had all the necessary items, I knew I would have to buy the bees as well. Even though there initially was some slight hesitation, I’ve always been aware of the role the bees play in our eco system and how they are struggling and declining in numbers due to the pollution, harsh pesticides and changing weather patterns. Since a very young age I’ve always loved the flavour of honey, so that worked as one motive as well.

Q: How did you get your hives, did you buy them?

Learn the difference: 1. Honey bee 2. Bumble bee 3. Wasp 4. European Hornet

A: Yes, I bought my hives from a beekeeping shop and the bee colonies I bought straight from a beekeeper I was referenced to through the beekeeping course. The beekeeping community is a quite small and there are forums online where you can exchange knowledge and buy equipment from people within the industry. So basically all the bee colonies are bought from another beekeeper, you can not buy them from a shop, or at least not that I know of.

Q: How do you get started in beekeeping?

A: Well, in my opinion the only way to start is to participate in a course and learn the basics. The other option might be to have a mentor who walks you through the step by step process of starting your own colony. I still highly recommend participating in a course as it’s quiet complicated and you’ll get into the community easier and learn to know other people within the community.

Q: Most people do not react well to the sight of swarming bees, were you afraid of the bees when you first started out as a beekeeper?

A: No, I wasn’t afraid of bees. Bees are actually really calm and they don’t mind us people if we let them be(e) in peace. I’ve noticed that people can not distinguish the difference between bees and wasps and most people easily mistake wasps for bees or vice versa. To clarify and in case you were unsure, bees and wasps serve different purposes in nature. Bees pollinate our food, our plants and produce honey, whereas wasps eat pests from flowers and plants, but their pollination value is lesser than their hairy cousins. I think it’s only relevant to be afraid if you know that you’re very allergic to the stings.

Q: Do beekeepers get stung by bees?

A: Yes of course, however not very often. I’ve only been stung while beekeeping less than 10 times through my gloves and suite. The stinger has not been able to penetrate my skin properly as I am always wearing my protective suite.

Q: As a beekeeper, do you become more sensitive or more in tuned to nature?

A: For sure. I’ve always been a nature lover, but now after beekeeping you have to pay more attention to the weather, to the seasons and to the flora around you as it all affects the bees and their behaviour. This is actually the part that I’ve enjoyed the most and it’s been very fulfilling to become more aware of my surroundings.

Q: What's the most fulfilling part of a beekeeper's job?

A: I’d have to say that the most fulfilling part of this job is to actually get to know your bees and to learn how to work with them as honey bees are not wild bees, even though they are free to fly, come and go as they wish. Honey bees need our help and I try my best to read their signals and their behaviour to my best ability and make the right decisions in being their caretaker. As an example, I need to prevent mites from invading the hives and when the season has ended it’s my job to feed the bees and prepare the hive for the winter.

Q: How long does a bee live?

A: On average a worker bee lives 40-50 days. A queen bee usually has a lifespan of 4-8 years.

Q: How much time does it take to take care of your hives?

A: Holy moly, it takes quite a lot of time. The general rule is to visit your hive every nine days, but usually I go there once a week. You never know what to expect, so it’s hard to know in advance wether you’ll end up spending an hour or five tending to your hive with each visit. In July I take a little more free time to myself as this time is usually the time the bees are collecting honey and you can actually let them be. That being said, this is not set in stone as it also depends on the weather. Many professional beekeepers are so good at reading the signs of nature that they can visit their hives according to weather (meaning less times), but I am not there yet personally.

Q: What has been the most surprising aspect about beekeeping?

A: The complexity of a bee colony. The system is totally astonishing and I am continuously learning more by each visit. For example, did you know that the queen is not the ruler in the hive, but the worker bees are. The worker bees make all the decisions collectively so if they see that the queen is not laying enough eggs, they will start to make a new queen bee by starting to feed an egg with royal gel.

Q: What do you have to say to anyone who is interested in starting beekeeping?

A: Find a course in beekeeping and you will get a good start. After my first course I was still completely and utterly lost because at that time I didn’t have my own hive yet as all the information was only theoretical. Slowly and after my first summer in beekeeping I took another advanced course in and finally things started making more sense to me. Just like with any new skill or hobby, learning takes time, so be patient! In Finland there are great courses in Työväenopisto, so make sure to check in with them.

Q: How much honey do you get per season and is it difficult to collect the honey?

A: Last summer I got around 30 kg of honey from only one hive. This season I am not sure what to expect yet, since one of the hives is very weak after the winter and the other is strong, but there has been some issues with the queen. Honey collecting is hard work. Firstly, the hive boxes are extremely heavy and it’s quite challenging to pick them up from the hive tower and your body positions while doing the labor can end up being super uncomfortable. In addition to the hard physical work, the bees usually get pretty upset with me fiddling with their home (understandable) , which adds an extra challenge to the whole process. That being said, last summer was my very first time collecting the honey, so I am hoping for it to run a little smoother this year. Fingers crossed. The bees do not hibernate during the winter, instead they curl up keeping warm and eat sugar water that we feed them in the autumn.

Q: Where can we find out more information about beekeeping and your bee endeavours?

A: I have an instagram account @beetvsuomi , where I share videos and posts about my beekeeping. I sell the honey after the summer and I have my small artisan label called Hunter House Honey.

Q: Any further plans for Hunter House Honey?

A: Not currently, my aim is to keep beekeeping and learning more as I go. I wish to spread awareness about bees and their importance to us humans.

Q: Tell us something weird about yourself?

A: I am extremely organised and well prepared when it comes to packing and my friends always make fun of me when we go on trips together, but I always have something they end up needing. I have issues with jello-like food textures and can not eat anything wobbly, slimy nor spongy, such as eggs, tofu or creme brûlée. Wherever I go I always make sure to check out the nearest exit route and I am passionate about whales. I have a degree in prosthetics & orthotics (prostatic legs.) I’ll just leave it at the list could go on for a while…

Q: Favorite quote?

A: I am bad with quotes but I guess you can’t go wrong with ”Always smile more than you cry, give more than you take and love more than you hate”.

Below an episode of BeeTv. Enjoy!

Thanks Elisa!

So long honey,

Evita

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Friends with businesses / badass women: Meet the Boss lady of Bär Bar

May 7, 2019

Friends with businesses / badass women: Meet the Boss lady of Bär Bar

When I first started blogging back in the day, I used to have a category called “Friends with Businesses”. As the name kind of gives it away, I will trust your judgement on what the topic entails 🤓. Now, after having relocated back to my beloved motherland, I decided to resume this category (along with blogging) and today I will introduce you guys to no other, than the badass boss lady, founder of the berry snack selling, superwoman and former study friend of mine; Jasmiina Ojala. I will from here on also initiate a new category called Badass women and this post will definitely be filed under that. Why? Well, the media (and even blog posts) play a powerful part in how we see ourselves, what we think we can achieve, and what limitations we put on ourselves as well. The more women are properly portrayed, the more women will rise up in leadership and business.

Let me tell you a couple things about Jasmiina. First of all, she is extremely friendly and smart and has a cutting edge sense of sarcasm. Not only did she graduate from the Swedish School of Economics, but she also holds a Master’s degree in Law. Oh, and in addition to being the empress of her own company, BärBar, she also is Head of Marketing for St1 and what’s even more exciting, is that she just made her biggest merger agreement yet (side note: this is her joke, not mine) and got engaged 💍! Woop woop! AND, top off that, she now carries a growing berry bundle in her belly. So, to say that things are up for Jasmiina is not an understatement. Congrats on all four things!

With that much on one’s plate and with such success, you might expect someone to play superior or perhaps be pompous. Nah, not Jasmiina. She is humble, grounded and laid back. I decided to pick her brain a little bit and present this amazing human to my fellow internet scrolling audience. Before we head over to the Q&A, you might wonder what BärBar is. Simply put, it’s a health snack bar selling takeaway smoothies made out of Finnish berries. They currently have one location in the heart of Helsinki on Fredrikinkatu 30, so make sure to go check them out. There was recently actually an article in Helsingin Sanomat about the benefits of incorporating berries and lingonberries into your diet and this is Jasmiina’s mission as well. My Q&A is written in both English and Finnish, voila:

Q: Who are you? (a weird one I know, it’s just interesting to see what comes up first)

A: I am a 33 year old mama to be for a little baby girl and I live in Helsinki.

Mama to be, superwoman Jasmiina Ojala and me.

Q: What do you do for a living?

A: My day job is working with marketing for the energy company St1. I started my career as a business lawyer but decided to swop careers to marketing, which feels more like my thing.

Q: What do you do in your spare time?

A: In addition to running my own company, I exercise a lot, go to the gym and run. As a matter of fact, I’ve actually ran 5 marathons and hopefully several more 🙂. I also love reading.

Q: What is BärBar?

Berries are amongst the healthiest foods on planet earth.

A: Bär Bar is a snack bar that sells healthy and delicious snacks made out of Finnish superfoods. We make wonderful smoothie bowls (Bär Bowls), fresh porridge and smoothies made out of Finnish berries. We’ve recently added vegan oat and pulled outs sandwiches to our offerings (made out of Finnnish oats of course). Our mission is to bring Finnish superfoods into the daily lives of our customers in a fun and easy way.

Q: Where does the name BärBar come from?

A: Well, the name involved the word berry (in Swedish) and bar. In Swedish the word ‘bärbar’ means something to takeaway or carry with you. This encapsulated our idea, as we love Finnish berries and we want to provide them into the lives of everyone in an easy takeaway snack form.

Q: Is there enough time for the mom to be to work with two jobs?

A: Yes, or at least still yes. The company is co-led by me and my partner and we work on it on the side to our daytime jobs. We have a team of four lovely girls working in the shop, so we don’t spend too much time there ourselves. That being said, our aim is to grow our business and our dream would be to one day be able to employ ourselves full time.

Q: When did you decide to start your own business?

A: We made the decision together with my partner and we first started talking about it in May 2017. The first BärBar openend its doors in January 2018.

Q: What has surprised you the most becoming and being an entrepreneur?

A: It requires perseverance and that you don’t give up. It also requires being innovative and having a lot of courage way beyond what I had expected. It’s extremely challenging to find good employees and when you finally do, hold on to them as tightly as you can.

Q: Any tips to new entrepreneurs?

A: Nothing comes easy and there’s no quick fixes. If you want to become an entrepreneur, you definitely have to be more of a doer than a dreamer.

Q: Would you change anything in hindsight?

A: I would’ve been more picky with our first location (we moved from Itäkeskus to Fredrikinkatu).

Q: What have you learned?

A: SO MUCH! I’ve learned so much about brand development and marketing. I’ve also learned about customer behaviour, the logic of retail business, how to increase customer visits, the significance of location and how to grow your business and the importance of being efficient and dynamic. I’ve also learned how challenging it might be to find good employees and the value of them.

Q: Where do you see BärBar in 5 years?

A: We’ve definitely grown and have more locations than just one (including abroad) and our brand is well known and our customer experience is rock solid.

Q: What message is it that you want to convey through BärBar?

A: Finnish people need to cherish and appreciate more the wonderful, clean superfoods that we have here. We think it’s irrational to bring a bunch of superfoods such as goji berries, acai berries and exotic fruit, when our own forests are filled with the cleanest and most nutritious berries in the world! Globally speaking, our forests in Finland are extremely clean and the berries growing in them are off the charts! Also from a carbon footprint point of view, it’s insanity that we keep importing exotic berries and fruit pumped with a bunch of preservatives, when we instead could just benefit from our own local fresh ingredients.

Q: What’s your favorite berry?
A: I’d have to go with blueberry. I eat blueberries almost daily and I can honestly say, that I am nearly never sick and I feel healthy. This is something that has been more highlighted during my pregnancy. Many pregnancy symptoms such as vitamin deficiency and constipation are things that can be avoided by eating blueberries.

Q: What’s you’r favorite BärBar product?

A: One More Straw and the Tender Sea-Buckthorn smoothie. They are incredibly delish!

Q: Why should people eat more berries?

A: Because of their health! Berries are filled with good vitamins, fiber and dietary minerals. I guarantee that if you eat one cup of blueberries each day (all our products contain at least 2 cups of berries!) you will notice how your digestion will improve and how flues will stay away.

Q: Are there any more BärBar and Yoga events coming up? (STAY TUNED, GIVEAWAY NEXT MON)

A: YES! And perhaps even something for new mamas.

Q: What inspires you?

A: Positive feedback and the amount of loyal repeat customers that we have. People seem to like and appreciate our concept and our products and it makes me extremely content. I hope we can make people happy. It’s an important part of our concept.

Q: Favorite Instagram accounts?

A: @myberryforest - Not only is Tiina a lovely being, but she is amazingly talented in crafting tasty, vegan dishes made out of Finnish berries. Her pictures are also pretty. She’s designed many of our products and I hope we can keep working together in the future as well. Other than that, there’s not really any other favorites, I guess it’s nice to see what my friends are up to and admire beautiful nature photos.

Q: Life slogan?

A: This is a tough one. But if we have to dig a little deeper, I guess I’d had to pick one that entails the fact that dreams don’t work unless you do. The legendary Just do it from Nike is pretty good. And then perhaps one that encourages you to not to follow the mainstream, such as why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary.

Q: Share something weird about yourself?

A: I am afraid of water fountains and I like cold liver casserole (with raisins of course).

Thank you lovely Jasmiina!

Make sure to follow BärBar on instagram here. STAY TUNED, as we are hosting a GIVEAWAY next Monday for our upcoming YOGA & BärBar event later this spring in Pranama Kallio!

XX,
Eva

K: Kuka olet?

V: Helsingissä asuva 33-vuotias, tuleva pienen tyttövauvan äiti.

K: Mitä teet työksesi?

V: Teen päivätyökseni markkinointia energiayhtö St1:ssä. Aloitin urani itse asiassa liikejuristina, mutta vaihdoin muutaman vuoden päästä alaa markkinointiin, mikä tuntui itselleni luontaisemmalta alalta.

K: Mitä teet vapaa-ajalla?

V: Oman yritystoimintamme lisäksi harrastan paljon liikuntaa, ulkona lenkkeilyä ja salia. Olenkin juossut tähän mennessä 5 maratonia ja toivottavasti vielä monta lisää :). Rakastan myös lukemista.

K: Mikä on BärBar?

V: Bär Bar on välipalabaari joka tekee terveellisiä ja herkullisia välipaloja suomalaisesta superfoodista. Teemme ihania Bär Bowleja (smoothiekulhoja), tuorepuuroja ja smoothieita suomalaisista marjoista. Nykyään meillä on myös vegaanisia nyhtökaura- ja kaurapalaleipiä - kotimaisesta kaurasta tottakai. Bär Barin missiona on tuoda suomalainen superfood helposti ja hauskasti ihmisten arkeen.

K: Mistä nimi BärBar tuli?

V: No nimi piti sisällään hauskasti niin sanan marja, baari kuin mukaan otettava/kannettava (bärbar on ruotsia ja tarkoittaa kannettavaa), mikä kiteytti ideamme, eli rakastamme suomalaisia marjoja ja haluamme tarjota niitä ihmisten elämään helposti mukaanotettavan välipalan muodossa.

K: Riittääkö tulevalla mamalla aikaa kahdelle työlle?

V: Riittää ainakin vielä, yritys on minun ja avopuolisoni ja teemme sitä yhdessä molempien päivätöiden ohella. Itse baarissa työskentelee 4 aivan mahtavaa mimmiä, eli emme itse ole siellä päivisin töissä. Toki tavoitteenamme on kasvattaa liiketoimintaa koko ajan ja unelmissa on se että joku päivä pystymme työllistämään itsemmekin yrityksessä.

K: Koska teit päätöksen perustaa yrityksen?

V: Teimme sen yhdessä mieheni kanssa, rupesimme puhumaan yrityksestä toukokuussa 2017. Ensimmäinen Bär Bar avautui tammikuussa 2018.

K: Mikä on ollut yllättävintä yrittäjänä?

V: Se vaatii vielä enemmän pitkäjänteisyyttä periksiantamattomuutta, kekseliäisyyttä ja reippautta/pokkaa kuin olin ajatellut. Hyvien työntekijöiden löytäminen on todella haastavaa ja kun niitä löytyy niin kannattaa pitää heistä kiinni.

K: Mitä sanoisit aloitteleville yrittäjillle?

V: Mikään ei tule helpolla eikä lottovoittoja oikeastaan ole. Jos haluat yrittäjäksi niin pitää olla ehdottomasti enemmän tekijä kuin unelmoija.

K: Tekisitkö jotakin erilailla näin jälkikäteen?

V: Olisin ollut vielä tarkempi ensimmäisen pisteen lokaation kanssa (Fredan pisteeseen muutimme ensimmäisen jälkeen).

K: Mitä olet oppinut?

V: TODELLA PALJON! Markkinoinnista ja brändin luomisesta olen oppinut älyttömästi. Samoin siitä miten kuluttajat käyttäytyy ja retail busineksen logiikasta, kuten asiakaskäyntien kasvattamisesta, lokaation merkityksestä, keskiostoksen kasvattamisesta

ja operaativisesta tehokkuudesta. Myös se miten tärkeää hyvät työntekijät on ja miten vaikeeta sellaisia on löytää.

K: Missä näet BärBarin 5 vuoden päästä?

V: Meillä on auki selkeästi enemmän pisteitä kuin yksi (myös ulkomailla) ja brändimme ja asiakaskokemuksemme on timanttinen ja tunnettu.

K: Mitä sanomaa haluat välittää/levittää BärBarin avulla?

V: Sitä että suomalaisten pitää arvostaa ja fiilistellä enemmän oman maan puhtaita superraaka-aineita. Meidän mielestä on älytöntä että raahaamme maailman toiselta puolelta tänne kaikenlaisia eksoottisia ns superfood tuotteita kuten gojimarjoja, acaimarjoja, eksoottisia hedemiä jne kun omat metsämme ovat täynnä maailman puhtaimpia ja ravintorikkaimpia marjoja! Suomen luonto on kansainvälisesti niin puhdasta, että siellä kasvavat marjat ovat aivan omaa luokkaansa. Samoin on CO2-päästöjen kannalta outoa, että rahtaamme lento- ja laivaliikenteellä tänne säilöntäaineilla pumpattuna eksoottisia marjoja ja hedelmiä kun voisimme sen sijaan hyödyntää läheltä löytyviä puhtaita raaka-aineita.

K: Mikä on lempimarjasi?

V: Kyllä se on mustikka. Syön mustikoita melkein päivittäin ja voin kyllä rehellisesti sanoa, että en ole melkein koskaan kipeä ja kaikki arvoni ja terveyteni on huippukunnossa. Tämä on korostunut erityisesti nyt ollessani raskaana! Esim monet raskausoireet kuten ummetus ja vitamiinipuutos on sellaisia joita mustikoita syömällä olen pystynyt välttämään täysin.

K: Entä lempituotteesi BärBarilla?

V: One More Straw ja Tender Tyrni smoothiet. Ne on aivan älyttömän hyvän makuisia!

K: Miksi ihmisten tulisi syödä enemmän marjoja?

V: Oman hyvinvointinsa takia! Marjoista saa älyttömästi hyviä vitamiineja, kuituja ja hivenaineita. Takaan että jos syöt vaikka 1dl mustikoita joka päivä (kaikki tuotteemme sisältävät ainakin 2 dl marjoja!) niin huomaat eron siinä miten ruoansulatus toimii ja flunssat pysyy poissa.

K: Onko BärBarilla tulossa enemmän tapahtumia (vink vink), kuulemma oli suosittu Chakra Tune Up meikäläisen kanssa?

V: On! Ainakin joogajuttuja toukokuussa ja kenties jotain tuleville äideille ;)

K: Mikä motivoi sinua/inspiroi?

V: Se miten positiivista palautetta saamme asiakkailtamme ja miten paljon kanta-asiakkaita meillä on! Ihmiset ovat tykänneet konseptistamme ja tuotteistamme ja se tekee minut aivan älyttömän iloiseksi. Toivon että pystymme tekemään

ihmiset iloiseksi. Se oli meille tosi tärkeä osa tätä konseptia.

K: Lempi ig tilit?

V: @myberryforest - Tiina on paitsi ihmisenä ihana myös aivan älyttömän taitava loihtimaan maistuvia vegaanisia tuotteita suomalaisista marjoista. Hänen kuvansa ovat myös aivan super hienoja. Hän onkin suunnitellut meille monta tuotetta ja toivon että voimme jatkaa yhteistyötä vielä tulevaisuudessa. Muuten minulla ei oikein ole mitään selkeitä suosikkeja, on vaan kiva seurata ystävien meininkiä ja ihastella vaikkapa kauniita luontokuvia.

K: Life slogan?

V: Hmmm, tämä on paha. Mutta jos vähän syvempää haetaan niin varmaankin joku mikä korostaa sitä että pitää tehdä eikä vain unelmoida. Niken legendaarinen, Just do it ? Ja sitten joku mikä korostaa sitä, ettei kannata seurata laumassa muita, mm why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary

K: Kerro jotain outoa itsestäsi (jotain mitä kukaan ei tiedä)?

V: Pelkään suihkulähteitä ja sprinklereitä. Ja tykkään kylmästä maksalaatikosta (rusinoilla tottakai!).

Kiitos ihana Jassu!

Get to know the girl behind the screen // 15 random facts you (probably) didn't know about me

April 23, 2019

15 facts you (probably) didn’t know about me

and didn’t care about in the first place…

Or maybe you do or did. Either way, I recently saw a post on my insta feed of my good friend and talented photographer, Jessica , where she posted a list of funny things about herself as an introduction. This inspired me to do the same, so without further ado, I decided to give it a whirl.

Proof of me juggling, well kind of. Pic: Jess Leigh

I’m Finnish Swedish
I am from Helsinki, Finland and a part of the 6 % minority of Swedish speaking Finns – I speak Swedish with my dad, Finnish with my mom. In addition to these two native tongues, as I lived in Sayulita, Mexico for nearly 7 years; I learned Spanish, I also understand French semi-fluently and well, English is a given. Another randomness for good measure: I lived in Bali, Indonesia, during my studies and during that time I could understand Bahasa Indonesia pretty decently (today, not so much, I only remember Terimakasahi).
In addition to yoga… I also like the gym, cute surfable waves, swimming, short runs (not marathons), long walks on the beach and berry picking (does that count as a sport?).
My favorite TV shows include…
Game of Thrones (duh) and The Office. Actually, if you’re in a dark place in your life or need any anti depressant, try watching a couple seasons of The Office and I can assure you, you’ll be in a better place.
I am highly sensitive and perceptive and have razor sharp intuition. I usually get a pretty good feel on wether people and situations can be trusted. That being said, there’s definitely also been some misjudgment and I’ve been burnt a handful of times.
I know how to juggle.
Only with three balls tho. Still pretty cool if I may say so myself.
I love to paint and draw!
I usually paint naked women and eyes. Why? Go figure.
I have a Master’s degree in Science (Economics)
Yup, I graduated from the Swedish School of Economics (Hanken) in Helsinki and I studied Marketing as my major, my minor was Spanish and Business Mgmt & Organization. I wrote my thesis about wellness tourism (no surprise there).
I’m currently working on or working with…
Event production (day job), various collaboration projects including the podcast I co-host, a yoga retreat in Mexico, corporate yoga classes, revamping our summer cabin by the sea and a secret super cool project that will be launched later this year (stay tuned, will ya).
I’m not allergic to anything (as far as I know)….
And my plan is to keep it this way. I’ve never been tested tho (well I don’t remember at least).
A lion once wanted to eat me as a snack.
True story. We were in Zimbabwe on a safari, luckily my mom’s friend pulled my down a cliff and there was a feeble fence in between.
I’ve been stung by a scorpion
And it hurt like a mother*** Seriously, worst pain I’ve ever felt. Imagine neuro toxin running through your body in waves and not being able to breath simultaneously. Ouch.
I am a cat and a dog person and my cat got eaten by a python.
And yes, you can be both a cat and a dog person. And yes, my cat got eaten by a python in Mexico. I know. It’s pretty dark.
My favorite color is…
purple, lavender, lilac, magneta, violet, plum. You get it.
My favorite flower is…
THE SUNFLOWER. GIMME. I love the Spanish name “Girasol” the one who turns towards the sun.
I love warm water.
The ocean or a hot tub, I’m there.

Warm water, yes please. Pic: Jenn Farmer

K, that’s all for now.

Love,

Evita

Collaboration over Competition and (Comparison) + 10 reasons why to collaborate

April 5, 2019

Collaboration over Competition and (Comparison) + 10 reasons why to collaborate

Hear hear! I recently made a post about envy, if you didn’t give it a read, I suggest you at least eye it through to get an idea of my message. That being said, I completely understand your attention span might be below zero, so to save you some and effort and time I can briefly recap it here below in a few bullet points:

Don’t judge social media influencers or yoga teachers for posting pics on their feeds, they’re hustling just like you but in different way, they might feel insecure AF posting but do it to gain traction and biz. They’re simply using this channel for marketing (or at least I’d say many are).
Comparison is the seed for envy. Think about it. Yup, pretty darn accurate.
If you’re feeling envy: aim to emphasize instead of criticize. Remember errbody is a human and even if someone else’s life looks freaking glorious on the gram, EVEN they’ve had the worst raging diarrhea once (sorry not sorry I went there, lol). No, but for reals, my point is, we shall not compare as we have no idea of the whole story or their internal state.
Fight the feelings of envy through cutting the wings of comparison. If you’re feeling envy, try using it as fuel towards your own dreams and always remember that, that you don’t know the reality of their (whoever you feel envy towards) lives, they might actually be in a really bad place with themselves.

K, cool, great, now that you’re all filled in on the envy part I want to take it one step further. Collaboration over competition. Many of my friends are yoga teachers or at least work within the same field that I do. Some might argue that we’re competing with each other. The thing is though, that we all have something unique to offer, have a different vibe, our individual approach and a distinct way of teaching and we all attract a different crowd. That being said, you gotta play nice and fair and for instance being a copy cat is never cool. However, mistakes happen and one of my friends told me that she had just launched a Goddess Workshop (name changed) and was later contacted by someone with the exact same name, this was an honest mistake and not her intention at all. Communication, expression, honesty. It works, yup, the holy trinity once again.

Working together is powerful and so much more can be done in teams. I absolutely love projects and working with other people! Here’s a couple examples of what I’m doing/planning currently: co-hosting a retreat in Sayulita, Mexico this upcoming November (JOIN US!!) with my good friend & fellow yoga teacher Jonna Monola, co-hosting a singing bowl Yin + Sound Bath with Pauliina Kuunkajo this Saturday, soon launching a course with my friend Jasmiina Ojala from BärBar this fall (stay tuned), I will be teaching amongst a pool of other amazing yogis at the Magnesia Festival this summer, I am co-hosting a podcast (COMING SOON, launched this NEW MOON) with fellow yoginis Audra Rose Stanley and Sylvie Lacourciere and there’s a few more projects I’m not supposed to talk about just yet (aka keep your eyes open). So you, see, I LOVE co-creation.

An image from a collaboration I made with Jenette Skin Care.

K, well, why you might ask? Well lemme give you 10 reasons right here, right now, so read on folks!

First of all, there’s magic in coming together! Everybody has a unique skillset and different talents, you can just simply create SO MUCH MORE when joining forces with other people. Chances are you’ll also learn something new from them!
Co-creation is the shit for marketing & PR! You double up the reach (or triple up the reach) in whatever you’re doing. More reach, more business, more dinero. Easy.
It’s just so much more FUN! You get to share the workload and responsibilities PLUS it’s nice to have someone to hang out with. My friend Jonna and myself were recently at the Helsinki Yoga Festival with a stand promoting our upcoming retreat wearing sombreros and blasting banda music, imagine if I would’ve done that all alone. Lame.
Brainstorming & new ideas. Two brains are more than one brain. It’s true. More effective problem solving happens when you combine resources in talent and mindset. This also means you can come up with better ideas, projects, and workshops when you’re joining forces with someone PLUS you also have someone to discuss your ideas with and give you feedback.
Your tribe/network/clients get more value. Damn right they do. For instance in a yoga workshop: having two yogis instead of one yogi is amazing since you’ll get more hands on adjustments and help in your practice. If whatever it is that you’re doing is not yoga, you’ll still get more insight and value from having more than one {insert whatever}.
It’s time-efficient. Delegating tasks, planning, and implementation in a group or team is way more productive than doing everything solo.
You will learn from your mistakes and what collaborations/projects work for you. Not all collaborations and dynamics work, don’t let this discourage you. We are all different and it’s just like chemistry, everything does not work well together. Like oil and water = no bueno. Let failures be stepping stones towards finding the right people, organizations, and companies that do work with you. Kinda like fuckboys towards Prince Charming if you will.
Self-awareness. When you work with someone new, you’ll quickly notice your skills and also see what you need to work on. Yay. #selfwork
You’ll get inspired. Working together with someone new will most likely inspire you in some way or form, after noticing for instance your skillset and gifts and areas of improvement, you’ll most likely start working on the things you need to improve and start using more of your strengths to your advantage.
Community building + new doors. You get to create a community and you’ll reach a broader network for future projects with new possibilities and opportunities. Dope.

Cool. So now that the ball is in your hands. What do you want to create? Let’s create some magic together.

There’s a few things I can help you with and things I am working with currently:

Yoga classes + holistic wellness + self work (here’s what some of my students have to say)
Copywriting (if you didn’t notice yet, I love writing; my strongest writing language is English, however I can produce text in Swedish, Finnish and Spanish as well).
Promotion & marketing; either working on your branding or marketing, coming up with creative ideas, or then promotion through my own channels. I wouldn’t go as far as calling myself an influencer just yet as insta has been killing my reach with its new algorithm), but nearly 5K followers gotta count for something 🤷🏼‍♀️ Oh did someone mention #SHAMELESSELFPROMOTION 💅🏽🙋🏼‍♀️
Event production (past wedding planner & currently working within this field).
Modeling (yup, I’ll smile at a camera).

Get in touch and let’s make shit happen.

With love,

Evita