One of the best ways to support your local economic stimulation after a hectic 2020, is to offer patronage to the local businesses that continue to operate.

With a focus on all things local, GALA Life spotlights some of the best small businesses in our home-base of St. Petersburg, Florida – a picturesque, eclectic and chilled coastal city located on Florida’s West Coast.

One of my favorite aspects about this city is proximity to nature and pristine beaches, rich history, culture and not to mention incredible nightlife and world-class restaurants – many helmed by families and generational ownership. I know that every establishment I’ve entered in St. Pete has greeted me with nothing but open arms and a smile. When possible, I make every effort to shop local here and to support the amazing folks that make this such a special place. From fitness to deliciousness, read on for GALA Life’s interviews with the owners of the best local shops in St. Pete! Even if you don’t live in Tampa Bay, they’re all totally worth the drive!

Bohemian Rêves

Address: 1620 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33712

Website: bohemianreves.com

Social: @bohemianreves

Bohemian Rêves is hands-down my favorite boutique, offering a unique curation of plant-based beauty and skin products, as well as some of the cutest apparel, home decor, accessories and trinkets you never realized that you needed until visiting Bohem. Owner and curator Amelia Dean has created the mystic shop of your gypsy dreams, with a keen eye for bohemian-inspired aesthetic, high-quality natural + sustainable products and a beckoning for good vibes.

GALA Lifers, use promo code “GALASP” for 15% off all online orders or mention GALASP in the brick and mortar store for the discount (one use per person).

What’s your name, hometown and title?

Amelia Naomi Dean, Southern Pines NC, Founder of Bohemian Rêves.

Describe Bohemian Rêves?

At its core Bohem is a small batch, plant-based, botanical candle and skin care apothecary with a focus on user friendly skin care for the everyday Bohemian. Our Brick + Mortar location is a combination of all things Bohemian Rêves as well as a hand curated collection of lifestyle, clothing, home decor and of course, plants and desert cacti.

What inspired the start of Bohem Rêves?

Unbeknownst to me at the time, Bohem started on a short trip to New Orleans, I took during a very transitional part of my life. I found myself in a small apothecary off a beaten path along the French Quarter and made my first essential oil blend to help with my anxiety. From there, everything just fell into place and one product turned into where we are now, very quickly.

Why did you choose St. Pete and what’s your favorite part of the city?

I very much feel Saint Pete chose me, I moved here after commuting from Tampa for over a year while doing the local markets as a I noticed that’s where most of my customers and events were happening and thriving. My favorite part of the city is the overwhelming support and vibes from our community, hands down. From day one of pop-up markets, to the first pop-up shop, to the opening of our first solo brick and mortar, even through a pandemic. Saint Pete is Bohem’s home and that’s a vibe for sure.

What are three favorite items/brands that you sell?

Trying to pick a favorite item in the store is like lining up all of your absolute most favorite things and trying to choose one! We have such a wide variety of offerings from Makers near and far.. at the moment it would probably be our newest brand joining the family, Hello Cup. It’s an amazing feeling being able to educate women on more than just skin care but about non-toxic clean beauty and self-care from the inside out.

What is your vision for Bohem Rêves in a post-quarantine world, considering the new norm?

Bohem has been extremely fortunate during this pandemic, we’ve made some changes, adapted to the new norm and kept it moving so that we can continue to get you all the best self-care when you need it most. My vision for Bohem is to continue to grow which has happened even during this challenging time as we solidify accounts with both Thailand and Dubai. It makes you realize during the most challenging of times we are all here in solidarity, despite the distance.

SunState Yoga

Address: 553 Dr M.L.K. Jr St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Website: sunstateyoga.com

Instagram: @sunstateyoga

As soon as I tried my first hot yoga class at SunState shortly after their opening, I was hooked! SunState focuses on sweaty, energetic, power hot yoga, which makes you feel as though you’ve endured an epic boot-camp style workout fused with cathartic meditation. These classes are no joke but they’re open to yogis of all levels, offering hands-on guidance and instruction to help progress you to your namaste best! If you’re looking for something a bit more mellow, SunState also offers incredible restorative classes for athletes, stretching and relaxation. Visit the site here and read on for details from owner (and GALA Life friend) Carrington Kilgroe.

What’s your name, hometown and title?

Carrington Kilgroe, St. Pete FL, Owner of SunState Yoga

Describe SunState Yoga?

SunState Yoga is a Baptiste-inspired yoga studio in St. Pete, FL that delivers a fun, sweaty and empowering yoga practice, while building community in the process. We’re about real people and a practice that drives real growth. We choose inspiration, connection and creating community over showy poses. We’re wholly authentic, driven, smart & playful yogis. You can trust that you’ll be greeted here with open arms.

What inspired the start of SunState?

I was living in Atlanta at the time and started my yoga teacher training with a Baptiste Yoga studio up there. I was working at a marketing start-up at the time, but kept wondering "how could I make teaching yoga a bigger part of my career?" That year when I came home for Christmas, I tried every yoga studio in town and could not find a studio specializing in teaching hot power yoga - so I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to open one of my own.

Fortunately, I had a boss that used to ask us in meetings "Is there someone in the world who could do this?. Is there any reason why you couldn't be that person?" And so, when self-doubt would naturally creep in, I kept that in the back of my head that if anyone could open a power yoga studio in St. Pete, it was going to be me.

Why did you choose St. Pete and what’s your favorite part of the city?

Easy, this is home, and this is where it was needed. St. Pete has one of the best communities I've ever seen - everyone really supports one another and genuinely loves this place that we live in.

What’s your favorite class that you offer?

Our SunState Power Hour is a standard class that we offer 24 times a week, but I personally have a love for our Yoga for Athletes class on Monday nights. I was an athlete growing up and there are so many benefits in yoga both mentally and physically for those playing sports or even just working out really hard during the week. This class is a 45 minute power vinyasa class with an emphasis on balance, mobility, and strength through a greater range of motion.

Favorite yoga pose?

Aah I have so many! Triangle pose, pyramid, and supta baddha konasana are the top 3. :)

What is your vision for SunState in a post-quarantine world, considering the new norm?

During the whole shut down, I decided that I didn't want to make our students keep paying for classes on Zoom when the main value our studio provides is the community culture, heated studio, and awesome hands-on assists. Instead, we filmed free Facebook Live classes every day until we could reopen the studio - this allowed people who have never even been to our studio before to try us out before coming in!

Now that we are back open, the biggest adjustments we've made include limiting class sizes, more space in between mats, and students must bring in their own yoga mats and blocks. Otherwise, we're still the same community-focused, badass power yoga studio you knew and loved before.

Mana Bakery

Website: Manabakeryco.com

Instagram: @manabakeryco

Looking for delicious, homemade, specialty baked treats? Look no further than Mana Bakery! Owner and gifted baker Kaitlin Doane grant us a glimpse into the magical Mana life below with a one-on-one chat below.

What’s your name, hometown and title?

I'm Kaitlin Doane, owner of Mana Bakery. I grew up in Pennsylvania but moved to Florida when I was a kid.

Describe Mana Bakery?

The thought behind Mana Bakery is to create seasonal fare for local food magic. I've always believed that the food I create should speak for itself. That's partly why I didn't name Mana Bakery after myself-- I wanted it to be about the food and not any version of myself that I create or portray online. I've always felt that food should be magical, and that idea has kind of been my guide behind how I create what I make.

What inspired the start of Mana Bakery?

I wish I had a startup story that was intentional or had some deeper meaning, but Mana Bakery was started when I was at a major crossroads in my life. I had just turned down grad school and moved back from D.C. I had no intention of starting a business when I started Mana. But I happened to meet the amazing people behind Bandit Coffee and they were looking for a wholesale baker and were willing to work with me. I had nothing to lose at the time, so I took the risk and started Mana.

What inspired the name Mana Bakery?

My love of video games. MP or magical power is usually referred to as mana in video games. Hence the term, "food should be magical".

LOVE that you offer some vegan treats, can you shed some more light on this decision?

Well, some of my treats are vegan, but not all. That was a decision that was made purely from demand. St. Pete has a huge vegan community-- even if people aren't vegan here, they love vegan goods. We have something for everybody!

Why did you choose St. Pete and what’s your favorite part of the city?

St. Pete has such a great sense of community. Moving back here and deciding to start a small business creates a lot of unknowns. But the St. Pete community really fosters and supports small business growth and I love that about this town.

What’s your favorite item on the menu that you offer?

Oh man, that one is hard. My menu changes seasonally so my favorite item always changes as well. I love creating anything with fruit and I've been on a yuzu kick lately so probably my Blueberry Yuzu Scone.

What is your vision for Mana Bakery in a post-quarantine world, considering the new norm?

I'm taking it step-by-step. It's hard right now to plan and move forward with any type of long-term goal when I have no idea what the economy is going to do and how it's going to affect people. So right now, I'm concentrating on expanding my presence through my online store, on continuing to create good food, and on trying to stay positive about all that is happening in the world right now.

Solace Sauna Studio

Address: 2454 Central Ave. St. Petersburg, FL 33712

Website: solacesaunastudio.com

Instagram: @solacesaunastudio

What’s your name, hometown and title?

My name is Erica and I am the Owner and Founder of Solace Sauna Studio. I’m originally from California but have lived in the Tampa Bay area since I was 7, so basically a Floridian at this point! I moved across the bridge to St. Pete in 2015 and haven’t looked back.

Describe Solace Sauna Studio?

Solace Sauna Studio is an infrared sauna studio located in the Grand Central District of St. Petersburg, FL. We offer private infrared sauna sessions where you’re able to disconnect and refresh the mind, body and soul. The beauty of infrared is that it is heating you directly - so you get a deeper sweat and more health benefits. Unlike traditional saunas, there is no steam or humidity inside our infrared cabins, making it much easier to breathe and not as stuffy of an environment.

Saunas are great for supporting the immune system, detoxing, muscle recovery, weight loss, pain relief and improving the texture of your skin. Each session at our studio is completely private and features additional chromotherapy lighting. Chromotherapy, also called light color therapy, is the process of restoring balance to the body using color. We like to think of each sauna session as your own personal sanctuary where you’re free to read, listen to music or meditate! We even have saunas that can fit more than one person, so you’re welcome to share the experience with a friend.

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