Kiersten Ozhelevskiy

Kiersten Ozhelevskiy is the owner of Sunkissed Pantry, a zero-waste shop in Santa Barbara. She comes from a long line of entrepreneurs and hard workers. She said “My grandfather started his own business when he was 18, and my parents started their own business when I was very young, so I grew up in an environment where working for yourself was viewed as something to aspire for. I was always in my grandfather and my parents’ offices, which showed me all the incredibly hard work that goes into running the day–to–day of a business, but in turn I also got to see all the amazing benefits of what running your own business can bring you and your family.”  

Like so many of WEV’s clients, Kiersten heard about WEV through word of mouth after mentioning she was interested in starting her own business. She took the advice and enrolled for WEV’s Explore class to assess her business readiness, then created a business plan in the LivePlan course, and moved on to the Thrive Business Advisory program. “I regularly chat with Eric (her business advisor) through the advisory program, but even better: my business is right below the WEV office so I get to see a lot of the people who work there regularly…and I try to come and support any WEV events that I can,” said Kiersten. 

Because of the nature of her business, she likes to keep things eco-friendly and local. She has partnered with other fellow WEV clients such as Lizzy from Simple Wealth Art, Lauren from Local Bath Box, and Geena from Wine Cult Club: “I love to showcase and support other women in business in any way I can, including collaborations and carrying their items in my shop or working with them on an event or workshop.” 

She is grateful for the support she has received through WEV and its donors “Thank you for believing in us, for helping us provide for the community, and provide for future generations. Helping small businesses not only makes an impact on the community right now but it helps build brighter futures for many generations.”  

Kiersten’s biggest success so far has been opening her shop and having her business idea come to fruition- something she feels incredibly fortunate to have been able to do.  

She is excited for what’s next.  “I have so many plans for the future of my business. I want to be able to provide the community with so many more eco-friendly products and to be a one-stop shop for all zero-waste needs. I also want to get more involved with the community as much as I can through education and volunteering. I want to continue spreading the knowledge of how to live a more eco-conscious lifestyle and teach people how they can get involved with things like beach clean ups, composting, or community gardens. Spreading the word that every small eco-action counts!”