Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emily Lamberty. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Emily thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Along with taking care of clients, taking care of our team is one of the most important things we can do as leaders. Looking back on your journey, did you have a boss that was really great? Maybe you can tell us about that boss and what made them a wonderful person to work for?

The most amazing boss I ever had was an architect. I was his assistant. On my first day he dragged a chair over to my desk and began telling me stories about the people in his life. He knew that it would ultimately all come together in my head so that I could better serve him. It worked. He believed in allowing people to expand and grow instead of putting them in boxes to hinder growth. Hugh had a special gift of making people feel seen and valued. He encouraged never giving up hope and spreading joy. Hugh was one of the most authentic people I’ve ever known.

Emily, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My first career was in art and photography. Over the last two decades, I added to that feng shui and macrobiotics, then yoga.

In 2009, I began a mentorship studying Feng Shui. I was living in New York City, having recently moved there from my hometown, Dallas. I started stocking my healing and transformation toolbox with tools during this time.

I moved to Salt Lake City in 2016 to be close to family, national forests, and national parks. I began training to become a yoga teacher focused on trauma and healing during this time.

I began making malas as a creative outlet in 2019. After the pandemic brought my life to a screeching halt, I knew I needed more to offer. Naturally, I wanted my products to be rooted in my Feng Shui and yoga practice. Vegan. Ethically sourced. Small batch. Organic. Useful. Beautiful. Special. Ritual Relish was born.

When I reflect on all the work of the last 20 years, it all comes together beautifully. I am proud of what I have accomplished and that I have the opportunity to connect with people and empower them to heal themselves. When I graduated from college in 2001, they said, “follow your passion.” So I did. It’s taken what feels like a lifetime for it all to come together, but it was necessary.

I look forward to continuing my education in trauma and body movement and creating unique products that benefit body and mind without harming people or ecosystems.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I moved to NYC in 2009, I kept hearing how it was an awful time to move there because of the financial collapse. I moved into my best friend’s sister’s apartment, unbeknownst to me it was infested with bed bugs during the height of the bed bug epidemic. Three months later I moved into an apartment where I had to walk through my roommate’s bedroom under her loft to get to the bathroom, where she wouldn’t even let me keep my toiletries and I wanted to wear flip flops in the shower. Three months later I moved to a better spot on the upper east side, a three months after that I fell off the ladder to my bed an had what the physical therapist called an extraordinary sprain. My boss laid me off after I told her how grateful I was to have health insurance. It went on and on. I moved 9 times in two years. It’s very destabilizing and hard to gain traction. Eventually things leveled out, I found a great apartment in Queens and started working for the previously mentioned best boss ever. I even wrote a book about it, and realized after it was finished that I wrote a book about overcoming trauma.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I am currently crowdfunding a Kiva loan to raise capital. I have a few weeks left, but I’ve fundraised 16% of the loan!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.donyaemilia.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ritual_relish/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUniverseAdoresYou/