HISTORY
A little more about HEMLEVA
Launched in the Autumn of 2013, HEMLEVA is focused on bringing greenery and joy into the home and our daily lives with nature-inspired products. Samantha Leung is the independent artist, plant mom, and cat mom behind HEMLEVA.
Originally launching under the name Handmade Sam*Made, the company and brand launched with a mix of both traditional and original handmade brass mobiles, gradually incorporating more nature-inspired keepsakes and gifts.
HEMLEVA has partnered with over 400 retail partners around the world.
To this day, each and every product is designed, handmade or finished and packaged by Samantha herself out of her Seattle studio.
A little more about Samantha
Samantha (She/Her) has always been an artist and a maker. She learned how to crochet at the age of four, learned how to wood burn at six, was screen printing at eleven, oil painting at twelve, developing her own film at fourteen, and was hand pouring candles at fifteen. When she was sixteen, she along with two other friends started a bespoke handmade costume business. Alongside this exploration of different mediums, Samantha was working consistently part time starting at the age of fourteen.
Samantha graduated from Drake University with a BA in Law, Politics, & Society - an interdisciplinary study of the effect of Law, Politics and Society and how each discipline drives change in the other. She also graduated with minors in Sociology, Psychology, Art and Politics. All the while serving as the Art Director for the campus satirical magazine, DUIN, She simultaneously served as committee chairs for over 15 different organizations while attending Drake University, as well as successfully lobbying with a Non-Profit for the well-being of Iowa citizens.
Following graduation, Samantha spent a year teaching English and American culture in China. Upon returning, she decided against pursuing law school. She married her college sweetheart, moved cross country from Chicago to Seattle and decided to start a business.