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THE ORIGIN STORY
The idea for Mangata was born out of kinship. In the spring of 2018, Nashville native Varina Willse had launched the mindfulness platform, Ponder Effect, an open-source journal featuring weekly questions. Her aim was to inspire intentional living through communal reflection. Eager to push the initiative beyond its digital boundaries, Varina felt called to call upon her friends Sarah, Blaire, Brooke, and Laura—all fellow women who were pursuing their own passions related to living soulfully (tea, aromatherapy, artisanal goods, and design respectively). The idea was to create some sort of “SoulFeed” event that would pool their unique set of talents and interests. Upon hearing the idea, Sarah felt called to call upon her friend, Lauren, owner of nearby Bloomsbury Farms, and the original Mangata Council was formed with the inaugural Mangata gathering taking place less than six months later.

PE_Logo_final_symbol

THE ORIGIN STORY

The idea for Mangata was born out of kinship. In the spring of 2018, Nashville native Varina Willse had launched the mindfulness platform, Ponder Effect, an open-source journal featuring weekly questions. Her aim was to inspire intentional living through communal reflection. Eager to push the initiative beyond its digital boundaries, Varina felt called to call upon her friends Sarah, Blaire, Brooke, and Laura—all fellow women who were pursuing their own passions related to living soulfully (tea, aromatherapy, artisanal goods, and design respectively). The idea was to create some sort of “SoulFeed” event that would pool their unique set of talents and interests. Upon hearing the idea, Sarah felt called to call upon her friend, Lauren, owner of nearby Bloomsbury Farms, and the original Mangata Council was formed with the inaugural Mangata gathering taking place less than six months later.

THE COUNCIL

Who or what are we? The Mangata Council is an ever-growing group of like-minded women who share a passion for stoking the soul. What do we do? Host gatherings where friends new and old can explore, discover, ponder, and grow.
PONDER EFFECT

VARINA WILLSE

Varina Willse is part strategic thinker, part creative-soul. The president of Willse Ink, she provides branding and content to clients across industries and has penned three books on commission, one of which won national awards in Regional Nonfiction. She is also the hidden voice behind Ponder Effect, a digital platform she launched in January 2018 that seeks to foster intentional living by offering a place for communal reflection. Her truth lies in helping others tell their story and find meaningfulness in their lives.

pondereffect.com

CIRCA DESIGN

Laura Deleot

Laura Deleot is Co-Founder and Creative Director at Circa, a creative studio based in Nashville that helps good ideas grow. Having worked in New York, San Francisco and Atlanta in both book and magazine design, Laura relocated to Nashville and opened her own graphic design firm, Crookston Design, in 2004 before partnering to form Circa in 2015. She has a roster of national clients, ranging from healthcare start-ups to established finance firms. The thread connecting all of her work is her desire to create meaningful impact in the world.

circa.design

NOMAD COLLECTIVE

Brooke Morgan

Brooke Morgan is a curator and creative consultant living in Nashville, TN. She founded Nomad Collective in 2014 as a way to connect artists, makers, and collectors around the world with interior designers and consumers. Since then, her scope has expanded to include interior design and creative direction services. Brooke’s latest project, The Abode, opened in January of 2019 and serves as a guest house, gathering place, and gallery — a place to foster community, experience peace, and celebrate creativity. 

nomad-collective.com

THE OIL JAR

Blaire Morriss

Blaire Morriss is a Nurse Practitioner specializing in Integrative Medicine and is a certified Clinical Aromatherapist. She is owner of The Oil Jar: An Aromatic Apothecary and loves spending her time hosting Oil Gatherings and helping her clients + friends find the herbal and aromatic allies that will most support them on their personal healing journey.

theoiljar.com

TEA HUNTRESS

Sarah Scarborough

Sarah Scarborough has devoted the last twenty years of her life to discovering the history and culture of tea. She has followed tea’s journey around the world to learn the ancient tradition of the Tea Ceremony and source high vibrational, ancient and ceremonial varieties. As the founder and tea buyer for Firepot Nomadic Teas, she works to connect tea lovers with tea growers to improve the lives of both. As a registered yoga teacher, she offers yin, restorative and vinyasa classes. Join her at Tea Huntress for the soul and ceremony of tea.

teahuntress.com

BLOOMSBURY FARM

Lauren Palmer

From owner and farmer Lauren Palmer — A love of farming has been passed down through generations of my family.  My father was raised by his grandparents on a dairy farm, and though they were forced out by the Army Corp of Engineers and eminent domain, his love of the land and its gifts only deepened.  His motto for our family has always been “bloom where you were planted.”  Like my father, my mother possesses a deep reverence for the land, and, after ten years of searching, they found a place where their shared love of it could take root, a place where they cultivated my passion for it, and a place where I hope to pass the same on to my own daughter —  the place we named Bloomsbury Farm. 

bloomsburyfarms.com

ELEMENTAL SANCTUARY

Molly Upchurch

Molly Upchurch has spent the past 19 years sourcing from the ancient wisdom of Feng Shui, Yoga, and Shamanism. As a teacher and healer she guides her students in transformational breath, movement, and meditation practices, and as a Feng Shui Advisor she supports her clients in creating a living sanctuary in their home and work spaces.

https://elementalsanctuary.com

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