Tea has always been my little ritual, my thing… a warm hug, a moment of comfort, a reason to pause. But now, when I take a sip, I think about the people behind the leaves, the hands that picked them, the lands they grew from. I think about sustainability, culture, and the stories steeped into every cup.
I recently attended the Toronto Tea Festival and to my surprise my placement at Studio.89 gave me a whole new perspective. As I happily wandered from booth to booth, sipping and savoring (and trust me, I did plenty of that). I found myself drawn into conversations about fair trade, ethical sourcing, and the impact of conscious consumerism.
Instead of just appreciating a good brew I wanted to know: Where, how, and who grew these leaves? Were they paid fairly? How does this tea honor tradition and sustainability?
Turns out, Studio.89 had quietly trained me to ask these questions to look beyond the product and see the bigger picture, to look beyond the branding (the visual) to uncover the brand (the story). Working here has shown me that every choice we make even something as simple as choosing tea can be an act of awareness, a step toward something better.
This isn’t just a place that serves ethically sourced drinks; it’s a space that encourages dialogue, creativity, and action in ways that matter.
Being part of this mission has inspired me to engage with the world more thoughtfully, to recognize the interconnectedness of what’s in my cup with the hands that picked the leaves, the land that nourished them, and the systems that bring them to us.
Experiences like these have taught me that leadership isn’t about standing at a podium. It’s in the conversations we have, the choices we make, and the communities we build. It’s about being aware, being engaged, sharing our awareness and letting that guide how we move through the world.
At the festival, I wasn’t just enjoying tea; I was experiencing the cultures, histories, and labor behind every steeped leaf. I left with a deeper respect for the industry and a sense of responsibility that I hope to share with other. So here’s my takeaway… Enjoy your tea. Savor it.
But next time, let it stir up some questions too. Because true enjoyment requires true equity, and deeper structural (dare I say systemic) change.
At the age of 7, I took my aunt’s cashmere scarf and continued to wrap it around the world of my head,
Day One: All the baby hairs showing
Day two: transformed into a tighter tangle of the hair, the ringlets flattened as the pressure continued.
Day Three: I gave up the effort
Day Three-Sixty-Five: was me going to the market to buy a hundred types of cashmere colourful scarves,
I continue the ritual of the daily namaz as I gently kneel and place my forehead onto the ground of the mat painted with an antique gold of the Kabah in Mecca.
The cashmere became a symbol of heaven, daily routine, and a devoted faith to whomever the One I prayed towards.
A simple, delicate, warm and light scarf managed to transform the way my movement and momentum of life flowed towards.
7759 days later, and the gratitude has become a multitude of daily confidence, daily reminders and daily serenity from my body to my mind to my soul.
The world looks at this beautiful act of Hijab as a terror, but they have carved a mind through the social world that media portrays, without seeing the way that we actually practice it.
The true meaning and purpose of a scarf covering every ringlet on our head is devotion.
It is empowerment. It is trust. It is faith. It is a unity of women.
