so'ham ritual journal
How a message from a stranger became a partnership, and a friendship.
Some brands begin with a business plan. so'ham began with a few small bottles of rare oils, made by hand in Portugal by an Ayurvedic therapist named Kim. It was only later that a second person entered the story, and she arrived in a way neither of them could have planned.
1It began with Kim
so'ham existed before Shasi ever heard of it. It was Kim's brand, shaped by her work as an Ayurvedic therapist and by a deep passion for the transformative power of rare oils.
Kim lives in Portugal, in a tiny village directly on the Atlantic coast, with her two daughters. It is also where she produces the so'ham oils. At that point it was a one-woman vision: a small collection of botanical blends, made with care and offered quietly.
2A retreat, a small shop, one oil
Shasi, an expert in aesthetics and brand building who lives in Germany, came to Portugal for a retreat. She and Kim did not know each other, and their paths had not crossed yet.
During her stay, Shasi found a so'ham oil in a small shop and bought it. When the retreat ended, she took the bottle home with her to Germany.
Once she was back, she began to use it. Something about the oil stayed with her, and the more she used it, the more she loved it.
3A message from a stranger
Shasi did what most of us would never do. There was something about this oil that intuitively moved her to reach out to Kim. She found her on social media and wrote to her, without knowing her at all, to ask whether she could invest in so'ham and become part of the brand.
Kim's first reaction was honest and understandable: she thought it was a scam. A stranger, an offer to invest, a message out of nowhere. So she asked for a video call.
The two connected so well that Kim decided to make Shasi an equal partner of so'ham.
4Building it together
What started as a surprising message became a shared journey, and not always an easy one. Like every young brand, so'ham had its stones to climb over. Kim and Shasi mastered them together.
Delays and a trademark fight, which so'ham won, held up the registration of the name, and patience became part of the process.
Together they searched for the best production company in Portugal, so that every oil could be made with the care it deserves.
An oil developed by Kim and Shasi together, and a first expression of what their partnership could create.
And there were many more steps along the way, large and small, each one taken side by side.
5More than a partnership
Somewhere between the first video call and the first shared milestones, something deeper grew. A beautiful friendship arose between Kim and Shasi, and it has only become stronger since. Today they are inseparable.
That friendship is part of every so'ham oil: the trust between two women who began as strangers, the shared eye for detail, and the belief that good things grow when they are made with care.
The story of so'ham is still being written, one bottle, one ritual and one new friend at a time.
If it has taught Kim and Shasi anything, it is that the best things rarely arrive on schedule. They arrive when we are open to them, and when we find the courage to simply try what our heart is calling us for.
Some things are meant to find each other.
Thank you for being part of it.
so'ham