Sage Loman
Owner, Sage Aubrey Handbags
A simple yet powerful four-letter word is propelling Sage Aubrey Handbags owner Sage Loman’s luxury line to a higher level.
When Loman speaks about her elegant bags made in collaboration with one of the premier craftsmanship families in Florence, Italy, being “kind” is at the heart of it all—as in a new kind of minimalist luxury with kind intentions to everyone and aspect involved.
Loman’s success in the retail industry and support of charitable efforts around the globe opened her eyes to the unglamorous side of the upper echelon of the fashion industry.
“I realized how unkind the luxury market treated women and marketed to women, and all of the waste the industry produces,” Loman says.
She made the decision to build her business around the mission of kindness to fellow humans and the environment. She accomplished this with a marketing strategy that sets realistic images and celebrates diversity. Hers is a zero-waste company that creates small-batch, crafted bags in limited collections to prevent excess, and upcycles all accumulated leather and materials into its smaller leather goods.
“I recognized a kinder way to do business in the luxury world,” Loman says. “It’s about being kind to the people who make the product, kind to the people who we sell it to and kind to the earth.” SageAubrey.com—Georgann Yara
Helen Yung and Jan Wichayanuparp
Co-Owners, Sweet Republic
When Helen Yung and Jan Wichayanuparp started their celebrated artisan ice cream shop in 2008, theirs was amid a sea dominated by major chains.
The longtime friends with finance backgrounds knew there was good reason for that.
“The nature of the business relies heavily on very expensive equipment. It doesn’t make sense for independents to do it,” Yung says.
Also, making ice cream and its accoutrements—like brownies and bacon brittle—truly from scratch was unheard of.
“It’s very labor intensive,” Yung says. “But we believe firmly that’s the only way to make the best ice cream—to be able to control the process from beginning to end. No corners are cut.”
This persistence is among the reasons Sweet Republic has been locally and nationally lauded since it opened, including a nod from Bon Appétit as among the Top 10 ice cream spots in the nation in 2009.
A collection of more than 100 flavors is only a springboard for more, like their travel series that takes consumers’ palates around the world. Think the iconic UK Eton mess and the Ireland-inspired concoction of from-scratch Irish brown bread cubes that are caramelized and folded into sour cream ice cream.
Yung says, “We’re always asking, ‘What can we do to make it even better than last year?’” SweetRepublic.com—Georgann Yara
Krista Kutac
Owner, UGlow Aesthetics
Sixteen years ago, Krista Kutac managed a medspa for a national company. Since then, she’s opened 31 medspas and managed over 100.
While working for a handful of national companies, she found the focus was primarily on making sales quotas, rather than focusing on treatments that deliver real results.
“There wasn’t a focus on what would truly help them or deliver the most dramatic results,” Kutac says. “I opened my business so I could be honest with clients and offer treatments that are truly best for their individual skin concerns—not what’s best for the investors.”
So, she founded U Glow Aesthetics.
“Collectively, our team has performed more than 100,000 treatments. We’re now all under one roof, providing regenerative aesthetic treatments and delivering dramatic results.”
Kutac also aimed to set her destination apart from others by offering cutting-edge and effective treatment plans. She’s the exclusive provider in Arizona of the JetPeel Infusion Facial and VKMD Chemical Peels, as well as the official distributor and training house for the chemical peels and skincare line. She offers medical-grade PRP treatments—uncommon in the medspa industry. She also has an exclusive skincare line that contains the highest concentration of active ingredients of any skincare line on the market.
“I set out to be different and offer advanced, regenerative treatments that can’t be found anywhere else.” UGlowAesthetics.com—Michelle Glicksman
Haley Byfield
Co-Owner, Yoga Democracy
Comfortable clothes enthusiasts now have a creative way to reduce their fashion footprints.
With fiber made from post-consumer recycled plastic bottles and fishing nets, in 2015, Haley Beyfield and her husband, Travis, along with Holly Cannon and her husband, Jeff, created high-quality, sustainable garments that support people, the planet, and all aspects of the yoga lifestyle.
"At Yoga Democracy, yoga isn’t simply physical movement. Yoga is meditation and mental health. Yoga is flowing through life. Yoga is holding space, for others and ourselves. Yoga is harmony between the outer world, and the inner world. At the end of the day, we create clothing to support every aspect of yoga, and those that practice it," says Travis. "We’re made for free-range humans."
Haley, Yoga Democracy's (YD) lead seamstress and creative captain, personally begins the sewing process on every single product the company produces, which include leggings, shorts, sports bras, T-shirts, and crop tops.
YD clothes are made from 79% recycled plastic (P.E.T.) and 21% spandex.
Holly, YV Yoga Democracy Active Wear partner, says the company's team takes every scrap of material that passes through their shop and turns it into something of use and beauty.
Supporting and empowering women also is an integral part of the foundation of this sustainable, active wear alternative company. YogaDemocracy.com—Julie Brown Patton
