Good Luck, Good Life Geena!

Good morning, tea friends! Today I come to you with some exciting news for someone in the Good Life Tea family. While we are incredibly saddened to see our little green tea-loving gal go, our beautiful Geena is moving to Ithaca, New York with her new fiancé! The two artistic souls have been looking for somewhere to expand their artwork space and just a new place to continue to grow in. It turns out that the very special area of Ithaca is perfect for them. As Geena is leaving us, we wanted to ask her a few questions about her time with Good Life Tea, how that has developed her love of tea, and how it has been integrated with her artwork. Below are her answers as well as a link to her and Sam's (her fiancé

) art show!

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting our Geena in the shop, she is an extremely talented artist who would bring peace, tranquility, and an overall sense of calmness with her each day when she would come in. The first question we asked Geena was:

1. When you first started work here, what was your favorite tea?

"I always liked to drink a cup of tea in the evening after dinner and my go to was Bigelow’s Jasmine Green tea. I would steep loose tea every now and then but yeah- since I began working at GLT, I was stoked to try everything. But, once I tried the Jasmine Dragon Pearls, I leaned on it pretty hard for a while. It truly put Bigelow to shame."

2. Has that since changed? Do you have a new favorite tea?

"I’ve always loved green tea for the hyper-focus benefits the slow caffeine release serves you so, eventually, I moved into the Japanese Sencha, then into Gyokuro. I played around with mixing some of our herbal teas with Dragonwell and our Gunpowder but then one day- I actually spent some time researching Yerba Mate.

You guys.

This tea has all the magic powers.

I’m a very sentimental person and once I read about the mythological/cultural traditions of mate in South America, I was deeply moved and inspired and wanted to spend some time with it.

Sharing mate is a symbol of friendship. Coming out of 2021, I figured we all could use an extra extension of kindness- to others and to ourselves.

Not to mention, this herbal tea enhances your vitality like no other and will take you for a truly euphoric ride- if you open yourself up to it."

3. Does Sam have a favorite tea and has that changed?

"Sam was a chai guy initially but honestly, he has a wider pallet for teas than I do. He was hooked on the Chocolate Truffle Oolong for some time (can you blame him?) but now, he surely has become the materado to my materadora."

4. Are you bringing any specific teas with you to Ithaca?

"We’re bringing what we’ve got in the cabinet- which is mostly mate and matcha."

5. Do you drink tea while you do art? Do you have a favorite to do so with?

"We absolutely do! Like I stated before, green tea and mate are super helpful in inducing a hyper-focus state which no doubt is of amazing use when you’re drawing or painting and you need to scrutinize form or tone or what have you.

But, I gotta say- it kind of depends on the time of day and moreover- what I gotta get into.

If I really need a jolt to get into a piece (especially lately- as I was building these ceramic pieces for our upcoming exhibition, I just needed something to make me MOVE) I drink coffee.

I’m not ashamed.

I love coffee too, dude.

But I am aware that the caffeine crash off of the beans isn’t as gentle a ride as it is with mate or green tea."

6. What are you most excited for in your move?

"Truthfully, we’re very excited to move to a slightly faster-paced city. Sam and I both went to school in major cities in the country, which we absolutely enjoyed and thrived in and miss- but we also both grew up in the country so we want to be able to escape into the woods whenever we like. Ithaca is a happy balance of both the nature we love and the art-culture we crave. We’ll miss Canandaigua but we’re really excited to go and grow elsewhere."

We are going to miss our little artist so very much. We were so blessed with her artwork in our front window and her calming presence within our store. If you would like to see more of Geena and Sam's artwork, we highly recommend that you check out their upcoming art show that we have linked below! The show will run from August 6, 2021 - September 17, 2021 with an opening reception on August 6th. We hope to see you there!

https://mainstreetartscs.org/exhibitions/love-songs/

Love Songs: Sam Fratto and Geena Massaro

"An exhibition of drawings and paintings of Sam and Geena by Geena and Sam. The title is taken from the Paul McCartney and Wings song of the same name with the lyrics: “Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs”—Paul McCartney. This exhibition, held on our second floor is a visual record of the relationship between the two artists, who are also both former artists in residence at Main Street Arts. This exhibition is held in conjunction with the exhibition, Eternal Ephemera on our main floor."

With our beloved Geena leaving for Ithaca, another important announcement that we have for you all today proves, we are looking for help! Although she has little feet, Miss Geena is leaving behind big shoes to fill and we are looking for just the right person to help here in the shop! For inquiries about what is required of the position, the scheduling of hours, or any other questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at info@goodlifetea.com today! We can't wait to receive your resumé and add you to the Good Life Tea Team. Happy sipping and good luck to you, Geena! You will be so missed! - Kaytea :)

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1 comment

Welcome to Ithaca,! Wish we had a good tea store here! I have been in Ithaca with the exception of 3 1/2 years since starting college at IC in 1968. It is a great combination of city and wonderful outdoor activities.

Jody Scriber on