We recently connected with Caitlin Maldonado and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Caitlin, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I’ve always been interested in plants and how humans can live more harmoniously with the land around us. After years of collecting herbal books, I started learning more about herbs. I’m a student of The Herbal Academy. One of the first herbal things a budding herbalist creates is a tea. I started researching plants and making tea for what ailed me; a cold, my cycle, an excited nervous system. During my 300-hour teacher training for yoga, I had a housewarming party. A couple my fellow ytt’ers noticed my apothecary full of herbs and my bookshelf full of herbal books. They were enchanted that I also was interested in herbs and oils. As a requirement for our 300-hour certification, we had to create and host a workshop. We chose to do our on how plants, oils and movement all come together to help us move energy. From that, our company, Self Kindness Studios, was born. With the encouragement of my SK Studios co-founder, I created my tea brand, Cait & Kin.
As someone who works in the world of movement, I find that most folks are looking for a way to support their bodies without pharmaceutical intervention. As I found myself, some well-crafted teas made for the moment you’re in can help with that. Whether it’s from the actions of the plants or the quiet moment you take to make and sip the tea. A brief pause to relax and recharge with a cup of nourishing tea is sometimes all it takes to restart our day. I love working with plants. The amount of joy the plant in my hand and the knowledge that I’m intentionally crafting this batch of tea for someone to pause with lights me up.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

After years of working in film and television, I realized I needed a change. I craved to ground into my life and my body. Deciding to change my career to my long-time passion of yoga was the best thing I’ve ever done. From there I had the space to pursue my other interests such as herbs and how one can use them to support their body. One thing led to another and I began making teas, bath salts, and balms for myself. As friends told me of issues they had in their lives, I started making teas and body scrubs for them. My passion grew to support others.

At the moment, Cait & Kin creates seasonally-inspired teas. These teas can calm an anxiety ridden gut, help you stay focused and clear when you need to make a decision, or help you restore your energy and radiate from within. Taking a moment for ones’ self, can be the difference between carrying on another day or melting into a puddle of yourself.

While I’ve just started my business journey, I want clients to know that they are worth pausing for, worthy or spending hours, sometimes days, to research the plants that will work best with them and their makeup. To know that a moment of ritual doesn’t have to be expensive or take a long time.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I switched from film to movement (and then tea making) I was so nervous. I went from working all the time, giving my whole self to a project to living for me. I took time to listen to my body, to nourish it with not only movement but with the moments I gave back to myself. It took some time for me to truly understand that this is not only an acceptable way to live but a better way to live. I’d been so trained to drop everything for the project and others that my true needs and self were almost forgotten. This was a revolution for me.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Getting out into the world has been the best strategy. The pop-ups at local markets and studios have been filled with conversations about folks’ needs, their favorite flavor profiles, and ways to incorporate tea into their lives that aren’t just sipping it out of a mug. A common theme is people are looking to support not only their bodies but their lives with simple mindful rituals that will keep them grounded and thriving.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: caitmaldy

Image Credits

Trevor Kodat