ICYMI, March is Women’s History Month. As part of Fresh Chalk’s ongoing partnership with women founders and CEOs sharing their favorite women-owned businesses, and to celebrate International Women’s Day, we’d like to introduce you to Seattle-based entrepreneur Jane Park, the CEO and founder of Tokki. When Jane saw how wasteful gift wrap can be, she came up with a sustainable solution to gifting and established Tokki, which markets reusable cloth gift bags and practical, customizable gift sets for almost any occasion. Jane built her career by building consumer brands, including Julep, a now widely distributed beauty brand that she founded and established as CEO. Recognized as an expert in consumer brand building by colleagues and peers, Jane’s guide highlights the sort of businesses that put as much regard into quality, care, and detail as Jane puts into her own brands.
... moreFireworks
Michele Manasse is brilliant at showcasing beauty and play through everyday objects. Fireworks is always one of my first destinations for gifts for my girlfriends. I love that Michele built a multi-unit Seattle gifting empire by starting with just $7000 in savings. We should all bow down.
Boma Jewelry
Suzanne Vetillart is an incredibly nimble and thoughtful entrepreneur—and she makes gorgeous ethically crafted jewelry. Proving that small businesses act faster and carry more than their share of community building work, Suzanne rolled up her sleeves and launched the BIPOC grant program out of conversations with fellow CEOs about how to tangibly support the Black Lives Matter movement.
Flying Bird Botanicals
This Bellingham based tea company crafts the most delicious teas using organic and ethically-sourced herbs and ingredients. I also love their passionate customer service—every time I call with an emergency bulk request, they pick up the phone and make magic happen.
Bewilderness Puzzles
This Woodinville team of 4 started out of Whitney Sheenan’s spare bedroom just four years ago. Their puzzles are gorgeous works of art that I love to gift—and to do with my family at our beach house.
The London Plane
Katherine Alberg Anderson’s London Plane is one of my favorite places in Seattle. Katherine has a language for sharing beauty that we are lucky to see in action through her food, floral arrangements, bakery and gift shop. I saw a wedding being held there right before the pandemic, and I thought, “What a perfect place to begin your new life.”
Queen Anne Dispatch
Queen Anne Dispatch is a magical place where I go to get help shipping a care package to my son and end up with the most awesome pajamas and some soothing CBD lotion. Tara Espinoza and Sabrina Rinderle are merchandising geniuses as well as the glue of our local community.
Gourmando
I so admire Alissa Leinonen for building an enormously successful catering business, then pivoting during the pandemic to convert Gourmando into a non-profit that partners with food banks and other service organizations to serve those in need. I’ve served Gourmando catered lunches to my team and customers from its first year in operation and they always delight.
Le Reve Bakery
The croissants at Le Reve are like a buttery little slice of Paris in Seattle. Since we can’t travel these days, finding treasures like Le Reve helps to keep me connected to the adventure of finding new places. Just walk in and inhale (through your mask, of course).
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