The Loom is a monthly gathering for entrepreneurs, placemakers and keepers, creatives, and community builders. For those creating things, holding things down, or dreaming something new into being. The Loom creates space for mutual support, resource sharing, tool swapping, and simply being in community with others on the journey.
Showing Up as Yourself: A Conversation on Authenticity in Business
Building something of your own comes with many roles (leader, employer, public face, creative, operator…) and it's easy to lose track of which one is actually you. This month, The Loom opens with a conversation between Rhonda Faison of rōJō Juice and our host Lynda Lopez, exploring what it means to embody authenticity as an entrepreneur.
We'll get honest about the nuance:
how to hold your different roles without losing yourself in any of them
how capitalism pressures us to compete, perform, and present a polished version of what we're building
how staying aligned with who we actually are might be one of the most sustainable things we can do for our businesses and ourselves
This is a space to name the challenge of staying grounded as an entrepreneur, creative, or placemaker, and to reconnect with our authenticity if we’ve drifted from it. Come as you are. Leave encouraged, inspired, resourced, and more connected to the people building alongside you.
Container
We meet in person at The Apothecary, Shelterwood Collective’s street level shop and gathering space in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood.
This month’s gathering will feature fresh, organic juice from rōJō!
Our flow:
10:00-10:15 — Connection: Arrive, settle in, mingle & connect
10:15-10:45 — Learn/Inspire: A thoughtful conversation with a fellow entrepreneur/creative/placemaker. Topics emerge from what the group is living and navigating
10:45-11:15 — Connect: Collaboration and mutual support in smaller groups
11:15-11:30 — Sending: Space to linger, minger, share resources
Exchange
The exchange allows us to sustainably hold this space while allowing you to opt in what’s most sustainable for you:
$11 — Access point (covers refreshments)
$22 — True cost (covers the container: space, hospitality, and a stipend for our speaker)
$33 — Pay it forward (helps hold space for someone else)
$0 — No one will be turned away for lack of funds
We look forward to gathering with you! Feel free to share with other founders/builders/creatives in your community. Please sign up to support us in preparing the space and refreshments.
Rhonda Faison
Founder of rōJō Juice
Rhonda is the heart-first force behind rōJō Juice, an organic juice shop rooted in Pike Place Market. Born from her love of juicing, a decade in the healthcare industry, and a deep belief in self-care, rōJō is a family-run, mission-driven brand with a commitment to helping people feel their best from the inside out.
What started as a booth at the Queen Anne Farmers Market in 2020 has grown into a community of people who trust rōJō's balanced, locally sourced juices — crafted to make you feel good without compromising taste or creativity. Rhonda’s care and groundedness extends beyond juice to wellness, education, and community building.
Lynda Lopez
Director of Collective Development at Shelterwood Collective
Lynda is a strategic facilitator and community builder who helps purpose-driven leaders, teams, and organizations root into purpose and take aligned action toward meaningful, lasting impact. As Shelterwood's Director of Collective Development, she grows mission-aligned strategy, programming, and partnerships. She also coaches and facilitates strategy for purpose-led companies and leaders through her business Lynda Lopez and Co. Her diverse background — spanning racial justice, public policy, leadership development, real estate, and hospitality — informs the way she brings people and ideas together.