Meet the powerhouses of soolip
A group of visionaries who bring their unique perspectives, creativity and expertise to everything we do. These are the faces of your creative partners.
Wanda Wen
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Wanda wakes up in the morning with a passion to inspire others to see their own light and their gifts. Her heart is open to everyone, and she cares deeply for people and the world around her. She has lived in Southern California for many years, but still holds a soft spot for Oregon where she was born and raised. She loves Soolip because it affords her the opportunity to create beauty for others and help elevate and manifest their visions in all things tactile. She has three children, Simone, Dag, and Odin, whom she adores and is a dedicated yoga student and teacher.
Keanna Pardassie
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Keanna loves spending time with her children, volunteering, and trying unique foods. She is passionate about helping people get organized and master their finances. She lives in Los Angeles. Like a true Californian, she enjoys doing yoga and relaxing under the sun. She likes working for Soolip because she believes that Wanda and the rest of the Soolip team create beautiful, unique pieces that bring a smile to everyone's faces.
Cruz Arreortua
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Cruz has been an integral part of the Soolip family since 2008. She lives life to the fullest every single day. On her days off, she enjoys playing soccer and bonding with her son. Creating beautiful pieces for Soolip has allowed her to explore a passion for creativity everyday. Cruz has watched Soolip grow since she started working with the team, and is excited to be a part of its continuing growth.
Kristen Gara
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Kristen is a mom to three wonderful children. She loves to lose herself in her work, using it as a form of retreat and relaxation. She lives in Los Angeles, but grew up in Connecticut. She misses the seasons and the beautiful lush trees, but she likes that you can spend time out in the sun all year. Kristen loves that Soolip, and her close partnership with Wanda, gives her the opportunity to create one-of-a-kind pieces of art that bring beauty and joy to people’s lives. She really enjoys cooking for friends and when sharing a recipe, she includes “love” as one of the ingredients. In keeping with the Soolip theme, she still uses a paper calendar and doesn't see any need to go digital.
Liese Gardner
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Liese’s marketing strategy at Soolip is built on the one not-so-secret element that makes Soolip so successful – passion. It’s in every detail of Soolip’s creations and it’s been key to the company’s longevity, growth, and most important, the happiness it creates.
In addition to marketing, Liese’s own passion is for telling a great story. Her background in journalism and as a magazine editor dovetail perfectly with her marketing style that puts content first. It makes her especially adept at pinpointing, clarifying and amplifying Soolip’s unique story.
Liese’s passes her marketing knowledge on through courses she teaches at two Southern California Universities. Through those, and her other online workshops, Liese shares many tactics and techniques, including her “Croissant Theory” of life and creativity … which is: It’s always possible to produce something of beauty. The recipe is simple – passion and vision plus time and patience.
Sheri Alikpala
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Sheri is excited to be a part of Soolip and to be surrounded by such beauty and creativity! She loves to decorate, do crafts, and refinish furniture. It’s a wonderful sense of accomplishment when seeing the finished product! Sheri is a native Californian and lives in Ventura County with her husband where they raised their two daughters.
Victoria Thomas
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Columnist for “the Sublime,”, Victoria Thomas was born in the Bronx and grew up in Brooklyn. A lifelong student of the arts, she’s written for publications ranging from Rolling Stone (interviews with Keith Richards, Chuck Berry and Tina Turner) to National Geographic (the heartbreaking truth about the ivory trade) to Bon Appetit (a people’s history of rice). She begins every day with the same question: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
Simone Forsberg
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Having grown up alongside Soolip as Wanda Wen’s eldest daughter, Simone has a keen eye for aesthetics and design and enjoys the creative practice of curating beautiful environments. She is a California native, holds a master’s degree in Child Development, and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She enjoys a regular yoga practice, frequenting the farmer’s market, and figuring out new ways to “maximize space” in her cozy apartment.