Meet Tara Benmeleh | Author, Designer, Mother and Tea Server

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tara Benmeleh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tara, as a parent, what do you feel is the most meaningful thing you’ve done for them?
Continuing to work. My son Max Aero is 6 and is so proud of Gracias Madre book and my jewelry line, espiritutara. Gracias Madre “birthed” the same time my second child, Bodhi Hy was born 3 months ago. I also serve tea ceremony and Max enjoys sharing and serving his friends tea and also sings mantras to them. In all these practices, he has learned to serve, create and share. The fact that I didn’t stop being me when I became a mother allows my child to understand how important it is to do what you love.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My background is in fashion, I worked many years styling and aiding people with their visual identity and did retail merchandising and fashion design. One of my favorite jobs, I worked in an accessory store which sold intentional jewelry. I connected to this on a deep level as my grandmother collected jewelry and taught me about it but this gave meaning to what I had learned through my grandmother. Over the years, I developed a practice of spirituality and ritual which eventually led me to launch my lifestyle brand, espiritútara 10 years ago. Through the brand, I create intentional jewelry, tea ware and now Gracias Madre. The inspiration for the jewelry comes through dreams, meditation, life experiences and travel. In the last 5-6 years I became more and more connected to nature and earths magic and through that connection, I began meditation through tea ceremony and serving it ceremonially. For these ceremonies I curate magical playlists and joke that I now became a tea-J. The idea for the book was a cumulative process of my spiritual practice deepening, becoming a mother, enjoying books with Max Aero, seeing what I loved and what was missing, working with tea as medicine, deepening my understanding/ speaking of the Spanish language and developing a gratitude practice. Gracias Madre bridged the gap of everything I loved and everything I wanted to share.
There were moments in my career I felt i didn’t know where I was going or it didn’t have much meaning or financial payout but I’m grateful to say all the work I do now, between being a collage artist and meditating through creation, serving tea in ritual, creating Gracias Madre, designing and producing a jewelry line, and being a mother of 2 amazing boys…. I feel my life has so much purpose and I have so much to share… so I am sharing!!!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
To eat : La Natural
Mandolin
Le Jardinier
Cecconis
Hoja Taqueria and after to Margot natural wine bar next door
Plant Miami
OTL
naoe – full sushi experience
Yasu Tanaka – casual omakase

Farmers Market in the grove on Saturdays

Viscaya

Miami Beach Botanical Garden

Beach at Faena
Soho Beach house pool

A tea tasting at Jojo tea room

A private tea ceremony with me

A picnic in south point park (with stone crabs from Joes takeaway when in season)

Forest bathing in greynolds park

An afternoon wandering Fairchild tropical park

A visit to plant the future

museums Visit: ICA, Rubell Museum, Bass Museum, PAMM, De la Cruz collection and if you have kids the frost museum.

Galleries: David Castillo, Nina Johnson, Bill Brady, Primary Projects, Spinello

Pilates with Karen Schachter
Ashanti Yoga with Jaya
Kundalini yoga with Karen safarik or Joanna Derouin

Meditation or spiritual activations at Moon Temple.

You can buy espiritutara jewelry in person at Moon Temple, PAMM and at Modern Farmacy at the Sacred Space.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m shouting out Octavia Yearwood, my publisher but I call her my “book doula.” Gracias Madre has been in the works for a few years but as soon as Octavia came on board, she really helped push it through. She held me accountable, showed up physically and professionally and is supporting me in the process of sharing it now that it’s out in the world. I am forever grateful for her support.

I would also like to acknowledge Wisehearts, the forest pre-school I attended with my son Max Aero – through that experience I became closer to nature, more connected to ritual, the Spanish language, and my child and developed a deeper gratitude practice.

And I would also like to thank Gelareh Mizrahi who introduced me to Tierra Armstrong, the illustrator of Gracias Madre. Without that connection the book would not be as magical. Gelareh understands the magic I want to share and totally connected me with the perfect artist.

Website: Espiritutara.com

Instagram: @lightwizardess @graciasmadrebook @espiritutara

Facebook: Espiritutara

Image Credits
1 and 3 @inmakko_marakasso 2 Jack Benmeleh 4 Bernardo Gasparini photographer @be.gasparini Creative: @mmmmmadrigal_ (Agatha) 5/6 Emma Dey Rey 7 Andrea Céspedes 8 David Bley