WELCOME TO OUR APRIL ISSUE OF 'EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN'. 

EVERY MONTH WE'LL BE BRINGING YOU CONVERSATIONS WITH EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN AND DELVE INTO PHENOMENAL CAREERS, PERSONAL STYLE, MOMENTS AND EVENTS THAT SHAPE THEIR LIVES, PASSIONS AND SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS THEY'VE LEARNT.

FOR OUR SECOND ISSUE WE CHAT ALL THINGS WELLNESS WITH ALEATHIA HOLLAND OF LEALA TEA CO, WE HOPE YOU ENJOY OUR CONVERSATION AS MUCH AS WE DID.

It's really beautiful to hear Aleathia Holland talk about childhood memories of family rituals, "My earliest memory of tea is of my grandma using her very cold very black tea to add to the Christmas pudding, once she added a cup of tea we would all get to have a stir and make a wish. I think it was this magical tradition that started my love of tea, although I didn’t realise this at the time.'

This love for tea grew even more once she moved to Singapore with her own family and discovered TWG tea. Their luxurious tea tins, decadent high teas and divine blends gave her a new appreciation for quality tea blends. From there she moved to South Korea and discovered green tea, where tea plantations were lush, green and filled the country side. 'That’s where I really discovered the difference between a top grade and low grade of tea, steamed, fermented or pan it was amazing how much went into creating teas that we drank everyday, not really thinking about how they came to be in our homes.'

On her return home to Australia her tea obsession took a back seat to a busy life, building a new home and resettling three children back into school whilst her husband worked interstate every second month. 

Then Covid struck, borders were closed and the family moved to WA with a weeks notice for her husband's job. Once settled again she found herself with extra time on her hands and the ritual of creating tea blends became part of a self care routine. "Thats when I knew I wanted to share my love of tea, and what a beautiful comfort it can be in your life, with the rest of the world."

Known for her warm yet effervescent personality and work horse approach to her brand, we were so excited to sit down with Aleathia for our second 'Extraordinary Woman' issue and chat about how her childhood ignited a passion for rituals, starting a business solo, how her personal style has evolved and 'what's in her Lanamara bag'. 

 

You grew up with 3 sisters, most of you have started your own business and/or worked in the fashion and beauty industries, you've also travelled extensively overseas with your own family, tell us a little about this and how it has shaped your personal style over the years?

Growing up in a family with a love for clothing, our mum made a lot of our clothes, naturally created a love for the fashion & beauty industries. For me personally I knew I always wanted to have a creative outlet within my job which led me to work in the fashion industry, this in turn gave me the confidence to start my own clothing boutique. This was so much fun in my twenties, although honestly at this stage I didn't put much thought into fast fashion, which was starting to take off in the early 2000's. Fast forward 10 years and my young family had the opportunity to travel and live overseas, living in the USA, Singapore and South Korea gave me an insight into how vastly our plant was being affected by what we were consuming. It changed my thinking into creating a style that was more about mindful purchasing, buying ethically made items that were luxury, timeless, well made pieces, rather than mass produced fashion items that would not stand the test of time.

The idea for LeaLa Tea Co (LTC) came about from your love of tea and the ritual of drinking tea with your grandmother, mum and sisters when you were growing up, tell us about this?

I have always enjoyed tea especially herbals, there is something about filling the pot and sitting with your favourite people, sharing the benefits of a beautiful brew as well as your troubles and joys. It's been very healing and this was instilled in me at a young age. I have always been surrounded by strong women who have shared in this ritual, it has always felt like they were able to solve any problem that came their way. I wanted to take it a step further by making sure that these moments shared over a cup of tea also came along with health benefits and that's why I created my wellness range, so that I could offer teas that I would drink and share with my family. Knowing they are organic, ethically sourced and farmed sustainably is at the core of my business.

An online start-up is 24/7 and you started LeaLa Tea Co on your own, what has been the biggest challenge in bringing LTC to life?