When Adoratherapy moved to Asheville from New Jersey in 2016, little did we know how lucky we would be. What attracted me to the area was family and an opportunity to leave the big city life after raising kids, commuting to New York City for 30 years and living an urban life. 

My father spent half the year in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the other half in Miami where I was born. Each time I visited I was drawn in. The beautiful houses, the seasons, nature, memories of summer camp, and dad. When the time was right, and it never really is, I made the leap of faith. It's been six years now and it feels more like home every day. 

"Asheville is a city in western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s known for a vibrant arts scene and historic architecture, including the dome-topped Basilica of Saint Lawrence. The vast 19th-century Biltmore estate displays artwork by masters like Renoir. The Downtown Art District is filled with galleries and museums, and in the nearby River Arts District, former factory buildings house artists' studios."

Often compared to Paris, I should know, since I was raised there, we have the French Broad River, history and architecture, food and music. The comparison stops there. Asheville is the place I came to to bring the parts of me together that were separate: Love, Work and Family.

As an entrepreneur, Asheville offers a great array of services. I have partaken of them all. From Scale Up Bootcamps with Mountain Bizworks, and Elevate through Venture Asheville, to winning the Small Business of the Year award from the Western Women’s Business Center(WWBC). The state of North Carolina has also provided mentorship  through NC Idea and the Soar Triangle program for women entrepreneurs.  All of this opportunity led us back to big city attention, and in 2019 I was invited to become a Tory Burch Fellow, through the Tory Burch Foundation.

Over the last few years a broad range of smaller cities have become attractive to entrepreneurs willing to relocate. As a "maker brand" we are in great company with artisans and crafters who make everything from beer and cider, to chocolate and spices, outdoor apparel and equipment, to potters and jewelers. Healing has long been a tradition of the Appalachian mountains and we are proud to be representing this community which has talented therapists, reiki masters, acupuncturists and herbalists. We recently joined a new community: merchants and shop keepers. When we opened our store at the Grove Arcade in November 2020 during Covid 19 we saw an opportunity to become even more rooted. We recently celebrated our store opening with a ribbon cutting with the Asheville Chamber of Commerce.

As many entrepreneurs and their families have begun an exodus from cities to smaller towns, from the North to South, or the West to the East, changing your lifestyle can change your priorities and provide new resources that are challenging to access when you are competing for survival. Being the "fittest" looks like balance, right sizing, and more compassionate choices every day so that the battlefield of our blue skies and dream businesses can love us back instead of taking from us.