Meet kimber arezzi

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kimber Arezzi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kimber , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

When I worked in retail sales, I would joke that I was like “Gore-Tex” — weather proof. I could take a hit and keep going. There is a lot of rejection in sales. It’s easy to hear “no” and feel defeated. But I’ve been hearing the word “no” forever. As a child I lived in a house of “NO”. There was abandonment, abuse, mental disease and lot of pain.
But in school, I could excel and I loved the positive reinforement associated with accomplishment. The harder I worked, the more I could accomplish.
Somewhere along the way and many therapy sessions later, I realized that your “no” is your issue. Not mine. And the only person between me and no is me. I learned to advocate for myself and my friends.
Not every opinion matters.
Not every person is going to encourage you.
Be your own best cheerleader.
Get up and GO. Again. And Again.
Brand development and sales isn’t for the weak of heart. Add cannabis to the mix and you are already in an uphill battle.
Everytime I see my brand on a dispensary menu, my heart swells with pride. That for every “No” and for every person who said “you want to do what?”, that I’ve stayed true to my niche and I’m pushing forward.
I’m so proud that I didn’t give up. That I kept going – even when it got so hard.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

If you knew me growing up in the 80s and early 90s, I was Little Miss JustSayNO. I was part of the DARE generation at schools. Those conversations terrified me about all illegal substances. That fear stayed with me through college. And then I met a guy. And one day he asked me how I could be so confident about something I knew nothing about. As someone grounded in research and facts, it seemed obsurd when he said it to me. He made me see that maybe I would be less sad.

Smoking hash made me much less sad. My best friend Lisa and I would smoke and talk about how we felt bad that when we burned we felt like better versions of ourselves. But we LOVED being happy. Even though I grew up in a house filled with depression, bipolar disorder and mania, I never thought about sadness as a “sickness” but we thought smoking was shameful. And we were constantly embarrased that consuming made us feel so good when everything we had been told us implied it was bad.

In 2002 I had gotten engaged. Everything was great until I started getting sick. My body just would stop working. One day my arm would go limp. The next day it would be my foot. Or maybe my hand. The affected part of my body would be covered in purple hives. And I couldn’t feel my body or control my movements, but I could feel pain through every part of my body and into my bones. Less than 24 hours after the episode would start, my skin would clear and the mobility would return but my body would throb inside while my skin felt like it was burning.
My doctor said it was allergies. My coworkers thought I was needy. My fiance couldn’t figure out what to do for me. We changed out linens. We removed fragrance and detergent. I went to specialists. Some cited 911 poisoning. Others gave me lists of medications to take but no answers except “maybe this will help.” Baffled I would refuse medications and ask for answers. As a former journalist I had access to research and Lexis Nexxus to look up the medications and the side effects were frightening.

Through a biopsy of one of my hives I finally received a diagnosis — Hypocomplementemic Urticarial Vasculitis Syndrome. It explained why I got sick over and over again — I had a syndrome. It explained the skin pain and inner pain as my entire vascular system was affected.

Getting treated for a rare disease isn’t easy. You need a doctor who is a thought leader. One who writes research papers. My coworker got me to that specialist in rare disease. That got me to a mayo clinic specialist Marc Grossman who was the doctor who diagnosed the women with anthrax poisoning after 9/11. Taking more 18 someodd pills a day, I was managing my condition but sicker in different ways.

During my biweekly visits we talked about herbal medicine, chinese medicine and cananbis as medicine. Dr. Grossman helped me wean myself off medications and encouraged me as I refined my cannabis regimine. Smoking was my fastest pathway to relief but teas lasted longer and helped with vomiting and being constantly nauseated. Making different oils helped me find sleep. Topicals changed my life. I was able to slather the burning pain away. I was able to continue working in retail and product development, travel to Asia and build children’s brands for retail. I made things that made children happy. I loved the toy industry and creating magic, happiness and smiles. But as the years passed and the industry evolved, so did my interests.

In 2017 people were buzzing about CBD. As the 2018 Farm Act built steam, I became obsessed with finding a way into the cannabis space. It suddenly occured to me that I had a brand and product line. Chime&Chill evolved after my first Women Grow meeting. In a matter of days I had a manufacturer, a logo, branding and samples. Chime&Chill showed how I thought about cannabis as medicine. That by layering small, specific doses of minor cannabinoids, we could enhance our elevation and create relief. And for times when THC might not be appropriate — or desired — I there was an option that still let people be part of the health and wellness conversation with cannabis.

When I became an autism mom, resilence took another meaning to me. Having a special needs child with extreme medical needs changed the way I pushed through the world. The importance of cannabis as medicine changed for me. I wanted to change the way people were talking about plant-based medicine. My son has non-speaking autism, epilepsy and a blood disorder.

The more events I would attend and vend, the more people I would meet with rare rheumatoid conditions and children on the spectrum. I loved making sales when I would vend, but what I was overjoyed when people would reorder. And send me emails about how they felt better. And suddenly I was creating real magic and happiness by helping people feel better. And less alone in their pain and more confident to ask questions and research how they could find relief.

Now Chime&Chill is featured on shelves in some of the most popular legal dispensaries in New York City, including Travel Agency, Housing Works, Etain, and Little Beach Harvest. In the highly competitive NY market focused on high-THC, Chime&Chill is amongst the top five topical brands and top ten sublingual/oral solutions in the entire state.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I’ve always been good at making things run which is why supply chain managment was a great space for me in retail.
My passion for product management has always been my strongest area. I love to bring concepts to life and product to shelf. Understanding the entire supply chain for creation, production, manufacturing, distribution and sales has been the most impactful in my area from journlism to retail development.

Knowing where to bring in partners for support and build a team is another key area to help build your business. Strong teams require partnership. It may be hard to ask for help, but your friends, supporters and team WANT to support you. Everyone wants to be asked for their support and then thanked for their contributions. That builds team which allows you and your company to grow.

Lastly, document your journey. I take so much pride looking back at how far I’ve come. While I’ve been working on building Chime&Chill since 2018, it’s so exciting to see all of the growth, change and consistency.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

Asking for help. It is so hard for me. Coming from a house of “no”, I always try to offer help and be a cheerleader. I would assume that people would realize I need help too.

Now I’m not waiting. I’m asking for help. That’s helping me position to overcome my next challenge – scaling my business. By focusing on building team the company will be able to support growth. I’m so excited to see what we build. It’s ChimeTime!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chimeandchill.com
• Instagram: @chimeitup
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberarezzi/

Image Credits

product shots: @mikejschultz
headshot: @savtheselfiephotographer