A Celebration of Life
Feb. 27, 1964 – Sept. 27, 2020
September 27, 2020 was a sad day. A young man lost his mother, a sister lost her only sibling, a nephew lost his only aunt. For those of us in the tea community, we lost a beloved member or our family.
Darlene Lavern Meyers was a multi-talented and multi-faceted woman. She studied accounting at Borough of Manhattan Community College and worked for Wathne Limited for 22 years. As she rose to a more senior management position, her achievements grew, including managing accounts like Victoria’s Secret and Nordstrom’s and developing and producing the first retail bag line for Bath & Body Works. Designing handbags and fashion accessories became a niche for Darlene, as she created lines for Ralph Lauren, L’Oréal Luxury Products and Anna Griffin Crafts and office bags.
Darlene maintained a passion for knowledge and wisdom. She studied Fashion Floral Design at New York City’s famed Parsons School of Design, and her thirst for knowledge never abated as she sought and obtained a degree in Library and Information Services in April 2019.
A Love for All Things Tea
However, all those that had the great fortune to know Darlene knew of her deep and abiding passion for all things tea. She became a Certified Tea Specialist, was a tea educator, spoke at the World Tea Conference + Expo numerous times, and volunteered at Specialty Tea Institute events. She traveled to countries of origin to pick leaves with Taiwanese tea farmers and to experience the beauty of the Japanese tea ceremony.
While Darlene’s tea blog, The Tea Enthusiast’s Scrapbook, had many avid followers, she felt the desire to create a way to share more of the beauty of the tea world with others. Thus, she created The Tea Lover’s Archives, which allowed her to share her favorite teas and tea wares so that others could fully experience the beauty she herself found in the world of tea. She always gave back to the tea community, and she served as a board member of the Mid-Atlantic Tea Association and as a member of the Tea Blogger’s Association.
Darlene made the tea world better, more beautiful and immeasurably enjoyed. Her spirit and enthusiasm for tea will be missed immensely. For those of us lucky enough to call her our friend, we will miss her big smile, her wry “oh, gurrl” and her generous heart.
FaithAnn Bailes, content manager for the World Tea Conference + Expo, said, "One of the greatest perks of doing what I do is getting to meet all the wonderful tea movers and shakers, all the speakers, volunteers, attendees, and exhibitors. Darlene was one of those rare finds, someone who you wanted to spend more time with and drink more tea with while chatting and sharing the events of the day. Her constant support of World Tea was appreciated by all, and the void she has left will be felt by all. She'll be missed."
We will always have a cup of tea for you, Darlene.
- Jeni Dodd, Jeni Dodd Tea