Meet Luke Shalan | Aaron Denner | Creatives

We had the good fortune of connecting with Luke Shalan | Aaron Denner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Luke Shalan |, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We created Stone and Leaf Tea Co as a channel to share our personal passions with our local community in the Big Bear Valley as well as the larger tea and ceramics community.

With Luke’s experience working with ceramics and Aaron’s years of following the way of tea we discovered our passions have a rich intertwined history that we wanted to continually learn from and share with others.

Stone and Leaf was an opportunity to build something together. So we took the leap, and turned our combined passions into a business.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Luke : I have been working clay as an artist, fabricator and consultant for almost 10 years. I went to California College of the Arts and received a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts with a focus in ceramics which lead me to pursue my artistic career as well as work with other artists and designers. Building my own business was no easy task but it allows for a level of freedom and responsibility that I was looking for. I have experienced challenges that felt unapproachable but also provided the opportunity to show myself that I could persevere and adapt.

Aaron: I have been with tea and all that it offers for about 7 years now because I wanted to have something different than coffee. With my first cup of puerh I was instantly captivated by the world of tea; the different varieties, the tastes, the smells, the regions, energetics, practices and rituals performed in many different cultures in many different ways. I have found the best way to understand this world was to fully dive in and experience all that it offers through drinking many many cups of tea. At the beginning it so overwhelming to enter into such a large and complex new world but over time, with the compassionate tea community and their openness to share really helped my overcome the initial obstacles while also helping me develop my intentional self development.

Luke and Aaron: We want to share what we are passionate about through education and creation and follow our own path while connecting with others and hoping to inspire the pursuit of a balanced life.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We live in Big Bear and our happiest places are in the woods. We value the connection to nature and want to share and appreciate its beauty.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our parents because without them we wouldn’t be here. The ski patrollers who were our guinea pigs through the winter season. Taylor Denner for all of the time and care she puts in. Lastly, Freya and Nadi are two very important beings that offer endless emotional support and fuzzy cuddles.

Website: https://www.stoneandleafteaco.com/

Instagram: @stoneandleaf.teaco

Facebook: @stoneandleafteaco