We’re thrilled to have been featured for the third time in VoyageLA!

Hi Kala, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
The company was founded, as so many are, as kind of a side gig. I was working full-time in a technology company but I was also curious about bringing my background in music together with my growing love of wine. I wasn’t in love with how wine was taught, and I wasn’t in love with how classical music was marketed so I wondered if I could take the idea of a “flight” of wine and apply it to music. That’s how the idea of “tasting the music” was born. As time went on, I started to realize that the experiences I was curating were really more than just tastings; they were full-body, full-sensory experiences and so I started playing with the term “sensory wellness.” That stuck, and now a huge part of our messaging is about unlocking the energy, power, and play of your five senses.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely, not a bump in the road. Juuust kidding! Without a doubt, there have been obstacles and challenges along the way. The biggest one for me was the initial decision to bite the bullet and pursue the business full-time. It wasn’t easy to give up a steady paycheck, stability, and the camaraderie of an office to go out on my own. Ultimately, I knew it wasn’t really a choice, but it took me well over a year finally to make the leap into full-time entrepreneurship.

Any solopreneur will also tell you that loneliness can be a real killer. There can definitely be days when I don’t talk to a living soul from sunrise to sunset. I’ve learned how to make the most of these days, carving my day into hour-long chunks so that I don’t get distracted or lose my focus, and I actually love them now!

And then there’s the fact that I am introducing a completely new concept to the world  It excites and thrills me every day but conveying the significance and value of something unfamiliar can, of course, be a challenge at times.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I curate sensory wellness events that bring the five senses into harmony through the careful and meaningful pairing of wine, food, sweet treats… and music! We’re known for the care we take in customizing each of our events to our client’s stories. What sets us apart is how we consider the tasting elements. Sure, they’re delicious, but in all honesty, they’re just the icing on the cake. They are introduced in service of the client’s story. I’ve been known to nix a song or a wine because I can’t make the connection I need to make the client’s story come alive.

I hope we’re also soon known for our Wine PB&J – our Wine P(airings) in B(ox) with “J(ams)” – our take on corporate gifting that gives people the sense of comfort they get from a great peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a box, curated just for them!

How do you think about luck?
Luck is a funny thing: I think we assume that anything that comes to us “from out of the blue” is luck but I am a firm believer in the idea that the energy you put out into the world comes back to you. Perhaps it’s in the form of something you see coming or perhaps it’s in the form of “luck.” Either way, of course, it’s played a role… and I’m grateful for it when it shows up, even if I had a hand in making it happen and whether I know it or not.

Thanks VoyageLA for featuring Five Senses Tastings!