
100+ Pics From The In Good Company Retreat In Sonoma
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Kara Brodgesell
While we absolutely love building community online—getting the chance to meet members of our crew in real life is something we’ve been sorely missing over the last few years. Luckily, in partnership with our sister brand In Good Company, we were able to host our first IRL event in over 2+ years this spring. Thanks to Abbot’s Passage Winery + Mercantile in Sonoma (a female-led winery founded by a brand-new mom), we were able to safely gather with 100 creatives, moms, and entrepreneurs for our first pandemic-era event in a spacious outdoor setting. And boy, did it feel good!
In addition to an opening panel featuring a trio of MOTHER favorites (Kalkidan Gebreyohannes, Bonkosi Horn, and Anna Chiu—all inspiring business owners and mothers of 3), our unforgettable day included curated breakout pods to ponder work and life, a DIY floral bar, massages, ear-piercing, acupuncture, delicious food and drinks, and the most killer gift bags around!
Swipe through our deluxe slideshow below to relive the day with us, while discovering dozens of women-led (and mama-led) brands that you are sure to love!
- Getting the party started by checking in guests at the registration desk.
- Lots of hugs and gratitude for a day at the gorgeous Abbot's Passage Winery + Mercantile.
- Guests Aisha Mays and J'Maica Thomas proving that In Good Company events also double as a fashion show.
- Natalie Brookshire and Charmin Baaqee picking up their Go-To Notebooks for the day and giving each other a big squeeze.
- No In Good Company event would be complete without the presence of Lady Falcon Coffee Club's instantly recognizable vintage coffee truck.
- Cake-making mama Tami Busia sipping on some Lady Falcon.
- Cecilia Tse and Lynsey Coke-Ferreira kicking off the day with Lady Falcon iced tea and coffee.
- Lady Falcon Coffee Club founder Buffy Maguire (left), Emily Scott, Sherri McMullen, and Anna Chiu.
- The sweet Lady Falcon Coffee Club crew. Kaly Harrington (left) wears a breezy summer dress from our partner A Pea In The Pod.
- Lady Falcon goodies to snag for home-brewing.
- We are loving these white-hot summer looks.
- Brittany Dunn of Saltwater Bakeshop with her delicious breakfast pastries.
- The tasty and gorgeous treats were presented by Pastel, a new business allowing Bay Area residents to easily sample and support indie food vendors.
- Eirinie Carson and Dulci Edge dig into the breakfast spread.
- Organic orange and elderberry juices from Uncle Matt's Organic to wash it all down.
- Sri Bodanapu, founder of Heirloom, shows off her company's unique DIY cookbooks.
- Heirloom allows folks to create heirloom-quality customizable cookbooks that include family recipes that can be passed down for generations.
- Nutritious and absolutely gorgeous.
- Arriving with old friends, leaving with new friends: Aisha Mays, Mariama Wang, Chun-Mui Miller, and Tasneem Cherry.
- Just one of the beautiful outdoor spaces at Abbot's Passage.
- All smiles for Leslie Wang Su, founder of the upcoming sleep sack line, Kwin.
- Roma Patel at the A Pea In The Pod pop-up shop, wearing a new dress by the brand's collaboration with Something Navy.
- In addition to showcasing their beautiful summer dress styles, A Pea In The Pod provided what every mama wants for Mother's Day...
- ...massages!
- Beautiful maxi-dresses perfect for pregnancy and beyond.
- Hand, shoulder, and neck massages were provided by the Bay Area's own Redmint.
- Body oil by the mama-founded brand Wiley Body was used during the relaxing services.
- Wiley Body—which has recently underwent a rebrand—was also present in our bathrooms.
- You can shop the brand's soaps, lotions, and oils for the whole family here.
- Inspiring mama Jenny Sung came up from L.A. to set up an ear-piercing station and showcase her gorgeous Gjenmi brand.
- A glittering sampling from the Gjenmi collection.
- Mickey piercing one of our lucky guests with new Gjenmi studs.
- Pretty bracelets and anklets—which is your fave?
- Karinn Casey of AcuPop! walks guests through the benefits of acupuncture ear seeds.
- Some of the science behind AcuPop!'s methods.
- Photographer Samantha Tyler Cooper with her new AcuPop! ear seeds.
- Yours truly (left) with our lovely panelists: Kalkidan Gebreyohannes of Blk Girls Greenhouse, Bonkosi Horn of Freedom Apothecary, and Anna Chiu of Kamperett.
- All seated and ready for our panel on running a business—while parenting—during a pandemic.
- Bonkosi dropping one of several gems.
- Each of our speakers—all of them mothers of 3—discussed the new perspectives they gained during this intense time.
- Holly Blakey of Breathing Room (center) and other guests taking it all in.
- Kalkidan started her latest business, Blk Girls Greenhouse, in August 2020, as a life-giving refuge for her community.
- Taking notes in the Go-To Notebook, a collaboration between Chronicle Books and Mohawk Paper.
- Serious points were made, but many laughs were also had.
- A peaceful setting to hold our first in-person panel conversation in 2+ years.
- Anna Chiu on working smarter, not harder while taking Kamperett to new heights.
- Fellow creatives and business owners, soaking it up.
- And the cutest mini-attendee.
- Roma Patel of Tejari, Vanessa Wade of Wiley Body, and Dulci Edge chopping it up.
- Rebecca Wright of Bravo Charlie and artist Jaime Lovejoy.
- With the founders of Honeycomb Kids Club, Brittni Chicuata (center) and Johanna Key (far right).
- Xiomara Rosa-Tedla (right), co-founder of the father-daughter leather goods brand UnoEth.
- Checking out what's next on the packed schedule.
- The Abbot's Passage venue was spacious enough for us to spread out as we broke into our smaller group sessions.
- Getting to know each other with an ice breaker.
- Lesser Evil provided organic popcorn—in the new summer-ready flavor, Watermelon Hibiscus—to fuel the conversations.
- Doing some thinking and journaling before sharing with the group.
- Each group was curated based on interests and career goals.
- Pietisserie founder Jaynelle St. Jean writing down her thoughts in her Go-To Notebook.
- Making new connections with each other...
- ...and connecting dots privately.
- So much beauty, everywhere.
- The one and only Dr. Joy Cooper, whom our readers recently met via her MOTHER profile.
- Artists, makers, civil engineers, and company presidents—all in conversation about business and life.
- Deep thinker Charmin Roundtree-Baaqee—an engineer, curator, and twin mom!
- Kellie Menendez, the founder, creative director, and talented artist behind Half Full.
- Several of the mamas in this pod had ties to kid-centric brands.
- Consultant Anjelika Temple (left) and Mapamundi Kids owner Terra Becks (right)—both moms of two.
- Brand consultant Deedra Veerathanongdech (left) and Marlo Bea founder Shun Moore (right).
- Another pod with design and fashion industry ties.
- Monkei Miles owner Monica Urick (left) and sexual wealth coach Jo Portia (right).
- Another creative group—including Franchesca Hashim, Rheanna Martinez, and Amatus Sami-Karim Ali—gathered in the redwood grove.
- Artist Jamie Lovejoy (left) and Johanna Key of Honeycomb Kids Club (right).
- Taking notes in the Go-To Notebook, which was designed with inspiration and project-building in mind.
- Brittni Chicuata of Honeycomb Kids Club soaking up the conversation.
- This lucky crew scored a shady spot and loungy adirondack chairs.
- Lunch is served!
- Along with healthy sandwiches and salads, we had delicious desserts by Brownie Brittle and Partake.
- And our favorite cauliflower chips by From The Ground Up.
- Plus, refreshing sparkling tonics from Sunwink in the prettiest bottles.
- And spicy Hippeas organic chickpea snacks in new flavor Sriracha Sunshine.
- All of these cute outfits creating a feast for the eyes, too.
- Filling up at the all-day water station by Juna.
- Guests could dose their water with Juna's new Detox Drops that are full of antioxidants that detox the body and boost energy.
- Tati from Matilda's Bloombox setting up our DIY floral bar.
- A beautiful array of spring blooms from Matilda's Bloombox—a mom-founded company that delivers a gorgeous bundle of stems to your door (for $39 + free shipping) to DIY your own bouquet.
- Photographer and mama Kristen Murakoshi putting together her arrangement.
- What's better than peony season?
- Coffee-making mama Lea Sabado choosing her blooms.
- Mariama Wang (left) with her pretty creation, alongside Jaynelle St. Jean and Tasneem Cherry.
- Ezelda Silveira of ZZ Hair Studio and Virginie De Papae of Painted Ladies Tour Company with their beautiful Matilda's Bloombox bouquets.
- Melissa Goldberg, Juvilynn Arbuthnot, Susan Work, and Roma Patel—reunited and feeling so good.
- Sundresses, sun hats, and a floral bar—spring is in the air.
- Bold florals being served by Akilah Cadet of Change Cadet (left) and Gitanjali Morris of The Dance Floor (right).
- And more unplanned sartorial coordination that we absolutely love.
- Our friends at Noggin supported our event with a fun photobooth bus!
- In addition to signing up for a free trial of Noggin (you can learn more about Noggin's educational programming for kids 2-6 right here!), guests loaded up on playful, child-like props before striking a pose in the photobooth.
- A glimpse at some of the fun options.
- Here's a sneak-peek at the results—see more here!
- Roma Patel of Tejari at our happy hour dessert station. (Roma wears a tiered maxi dress by A Pea In The Pod).
- Roma partnered with Flouring to create these botanical shortbread cookies, infused with Tejari's signature plant-based protein blends (see more Tejari recipes here!).
- Meanwhile, Butter& created a 2-tiered masterpiece, filled with layers of roasted berries.
- The woman-founded brand (which is opening its first storefront in S.F.) also provided its signature buttercream cakes, embellished with gold leaf.
- Stunning arrangements by Matilda's Bloombox adding color throughout the event.
- Winding the event down with some wine by Abbot's Passage!
- Abbot's Passage's Noontime blend was created with fruit sourced from 100+ year-old vines of the historic Contra Costa AVA—delivering a beautiful brightness of dried cranberry and pomegranate, complimented by savory notes of forest floor and cedar.
- Bottoms up for Ali Price (left), Ashley Petersen (center) and Lydia Kandel (right).
- Abbot's Passage founder Katie Bundschu, a new mama and the first female winemaker in her six-generation California wine family. We are so appreciative of Katie and her stellar team for hosting us!
- The founders of Brycie Prints (left) and Saltwater Bakeshop's Brittany Dunn (right), waiting for a pour.
- Of course, no In Good Company event would be complete without killer gift bags! Our chic, reusable bags were provided by our friends at Baggu.
- Stuffed to the max, our Baggu gift bags also came with a side of Honey Mama's cocoa truffle bars—including the latest Carrot Cake flavor.
- Some of our favorites in the goodie bags include items from Sago Mini, OSEA, Fly By Jing, Kid Made Modern, The Dough Project, Vadham Teas, Nailmatic, HATCH Collection, Courant, Honey Mama's, Girlfriend Collective, Clevr, Agni, Sunnies Face, Lady Falcon Coffee Club, Rae, Welly, The Suffragist Playbook, Ingrid & Isabel, Prima, Misha + Puff, and Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change by Angela Garbes.
- A close-up of some of the luxe must-haves for mamas and kiddos: an activity box by Sago Mini, Fly By Jing's cult-followed Sichuan Chili Crisp, a Giant Crazy Crayon by Kid Made Modern, Algae Body Butter by OSEA, a knit scrunchie by Misha + Puff, and Angela Garbes' fantastic new book, Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change.
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Our VIP guests also enjoyed recycled cutting boards by Material, robes by Mori, swaddle bags by ergoPouch, lipstick by Sunnies Face, and custom cards by Caring Ink.
Until next time...be sure to follow @beingoodcompany on Instagram to find out about our next in-person event!
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