SOO•LIP
1. A PLACE WHERE BEAUTY AND INSPIRATION ARE A PART OF EVERY DAY
2. CHINESE; ONE’S LIFE DESTINY IS TO SEEK WISDOM
3. WANDA’S MIDDLE NAME
Soolip is a modern lifestyle brand and creative agency responsible for establishing fine stationery and luxury paper on the fashion map. Founded by Wanda Wen, the renowned paperie was born along Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, California in 1995. An admired brand with a strong point-of-view in the worlds of design, Soolip is the artisanal supplier preferred by celebrities and trendsetters and purveyor of elevated tactile communication. Soolip is synonymous with inspired design, the modern blended with the handcrafted. Defining a new kind of luxury, one of time and slowing down for life’s simple pleasures, Soolip provides a sophisticated style of gracious living, rooted in beauty, intention, and joy.
What really matters today is the conveyance of thought, soulfully.
Wanda Wen
For Wen, no detail is too small, no passion too big.
Wanda Wen’s unremitting romance with the artisanal has made the founder and creative force of Soolip a true presence in the world of sought-after, hand-styled luxury. A consummate, creative entrepreneur with a business degree from the University of Southern California, and a curated eye for art and style, Wen spent more than a decade working in New York's fashion industry for designers Perry Ellis and Stephen Sprouse, before parlaying her own passion for the finer elements of style into the debut of Soolip. A showcase of the unique - in paper, graphic and fine arts, couture packaging, personal and home accessories, and rare findings - Wen’s specialty boutiques quickly became favored by tastemakers and the corporate and Hollywood elite. Today, Wen's curated eye and soulful energy and her team's ability to execute is the draw.
Wen has appeared on Wrap Battle, Today Show, Style Network, E!, HGTV, and the Fine Living Channel, and has been featured in countless publications and websites including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Town & Country, Travel & Leisure, Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, W, People, InStyle, Elle Decoration, and Los Angeles Times.
An expert gift wrapper and former spokesperson for the Scotch Brand, Wen has also served as a judge for Scotch Brand's Most Gifted Wrapper Contest. Wen shares her gift wrapping expertise in her book The Art of Gift Wrapping (Potter Craft/Random House), a visually tantalizing, inspiring and resourceful how-to on the art of gift wrapping. A dedicated student and teacher of yoga, Wen infuses the impulses of this mindful practice throughout her work. Along with partners Bryan Branly and Ashley Dean and mentor Lainie Devina, she launched YogaLand - an experiential board game for the yoga enthusiast - where she cleverly combines her passions for design, creating experiences, uplifting others, and yoga.
Meet the powerhouses of soolip
These are the faces of your creative partners.
We are group of visionaries who bring unique perspectives, creativity and expertise to everything we do.
Wanda Wen
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Wanda wakes up in the morning with a passion to inspire others to see their own light and their gifts. Her heart is open to everyone, and she cares deeply for people and the world around her. She has lived in Southern California for many years, but still holds a soft spot for Oregon where she was born and raised. She loves Soolip because it affords her the opportunity to create beauty for others and help elevate and manifest their visions in all things tactile. She has three children, Simone, Dag, and Odin, whom she adores and is a dedicated yoga student and teacher.
Keanna Pardassie
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Keanna loves spending time with her children, volunteering, and trying unique foods. She is passionate about helping people get organized and master their finances. She lives in Los Angeles. Like a true Californian, she enjoys doing yoga and relaxing under the sun. She likes working for Soolip because she believes that Wanda and the rest of the Soolip team create beautiful, unique pieces that bring a smile to everyone's faces.
Cruz Arreortua
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Cruz has been an integral part of the Soolip family since 2008. She lives life to the fullest every single day. On her days off, she enjoys playing soccer and bonding with her son. Creating beautiful pieces for Soolip has allowed her to explore a passion for creativity everyday. Cruz has watched Soolip grow since she started working with the team, and is excited to be a part of its continuing growth.
Kristen Gara
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Kristen is a mom to three wonderful children. She loves to lose herself in her work, using it as a form of retreat and relaxation. She lives in Los Angeles, but grew up in Connecticut. She misses the seasons and the beautiful lush trees, but she likes that you can spend time out in the sun all year. Kristen loves that Soolip, and her close partnership with Wanda, gives her the opportunity to create one-of-a-kind pieces of art that bring beauty and joy to people’s lives. She really enjoys cooking for friends and when sharing a recipe, she includes “love” as one of the ingredients. In keeping with the Soolip theme, she still uses a paper calendar and doesn't see any need to go digital.
Liese Gardner
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Liese’s marketing strategy at Soolip is built on the one not-so-secret element that makes Soolip so successful – passion. It’s in every detail of Soolip’s creations and it’s been key to the company’s longevity, growth, and most important, the happiness it creates.
In addition to marketing, Liese’s own passion is for telling a great story. Her background in journalism and as a magazine editor dovetail perfectly with her marketing style that puts content first. It makes her especially adept at pinpointing, clarifying and amplifying Soolip’s unique story.
Liese’s passes her marketing knowledge on through courses she teaches at two Southern California Universities. Through those, and her other online workshops, Liese shares many tactics and techniques, including her “Croissant Theory” of life and creativity … which is: It’s always possible to produce something of beauty. The recipe is simple – passion and vision plus time and patience.
Sheri Alikpala
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Sheri is excited to be a part of Soolip and to be surrounded by such beauty and creativity! She loves to decorate, do crafts, and refinish furniture. It’s a wonderful sense of accomplishment when seeing the finished product! Sheri is a native Californian and lives in Ventura County with her husband where they raised their two daughters.
Victoria Thomas
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Columnist for “the Sublime,”, Victoria Thomas was born in the Bronx and grew up in Brooklyn. A lifelong student of the arts, she’s written for publications ranging from Rolling Stone (interviews with Keith Richards, Chuck Berry and Tina Turner) to National Geographic (the heartbreaking truth about the ivory trade) to Bon Appetit (a people’s history of rice). She begins every day with the same question: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
Simone Forsberg
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Having grown up alongside Soolip as Wanda Wen’s eldest daughter, Simone has a keen eye for aesthetics and design and enjoys the creative practice of curating beautiful environments. She is a California native, holds a master’s degree in Child Development, and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She enjoys a regular yoga practice, frequenting the farmer’s market, and figuring out new ways to “maximize space” in her cozy apartment.