We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Hill and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jennifer, as a parent, what have you done for you children that you feel has had the most significant impact?
I became a mama three and a half years ago and it blew my heart completely open! Due to some past trauma I spent a large portion of my adolesence building up a wall of defenses around my heart and emotions. I couldn’t get hurt if I kept my heart safe, right? When I had my little girl Harlow, those walls came tumbling down. I started to search for ways to really channel all of this new found love and really wanted some tools under my belt so that I could show up as a mother in a more grounded whole hearted way. I was introduced to meditation and meditation through a 200 hour meditation teacher training. This practice truly changed my life and opened my eyes (and heart) to a different way of being. A began to dive deeper into this ancient practice as a way to heal from the inside out. Three years later, I have two little babes and am becoming the open hearted, PATIENT, understanding, and FUN parent that I would want for myself. Children learn through action, not words. If you show up each day with compassion for yourself and others, they will follow suit.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I began my career in the fashion industry nearly 15 years ago and have titles such as Store Director, Costume Director, Visual Merchandiser, Producer, Photography and Runway Stylist. I am based in Dallas but have worked in LA and New York for various companies and designers. More recently, over the past 4 years, I began to take a deep dive into another passion of mine, wellness. I studied herbalism through The Herbal Academy taking both an advanced herbalist course as well as a botanical skincare course. As mentioned above, I also became a certified Meditation Teacher through a 200hr MTT course teaching over 21 different styles of meditation. Along with these wellness modalities I began to incorporate my knowledge of the retail and fashion industries to jumpstart my very own company ZENJENN LLC. ZENJENN is a holistic sustainable beauty and skincare company steeped in herbalism, mindfulness, and the ritual of self-care. I began to develop and hone the craft of formulating natural skincare products, a hobby I carried throughout my life since I was about 10 years old. By incorporating my creative background along with these ancient practices of herbalism and meditation I created a brand that speaks to the modern mystic, the health conscious consumer and the moderate to luxury market.
I currently sit on the board of Fashion Group International a non-profit providing a forum for professional development and career advancement unleashing creativity, innovation, and advancing the business of fashion. In my spare time you can find me with my two girls barefoot in our backyard, taking a yoga class, or day dreaming up my next project focused on modern moms called the Accidental Housewife Collective.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First stop, we’d visit the Dallas Arboretum. Let’s pretend it’s holiday time and the 12 days of Christmas display is up! Then to Eataly for dinner. Next, we would visit the Bishop Arts district to do a little shopping at Beatnik Fine Goods, have lunch at Tribal All Day Cafe and then wander around to find what other gems we could find. I don’t get out much these days since I have two very young babes but I love a nice dinner at Sachet any day of the week.
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?
My sweet and ever grounded partner in life, Jeff. He always supports my impulsive and creative whims!
Website: https://www.zen-jenn.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zenjennrituals/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zenjennrituals
Image Credits
Stephen Dux, Emma Leigh, Keetch Miller