Messages & Messengers
I'm trying something different today by posting this week's email via Substack! My decision to move to this platform is threefold:
It's free
It's more accessible for people who haven't participated in our New Mom's Group or joined my mailing list
It enables conversation and commenting, which wasn't possible with my previous email format
If you're subscribed to my personal mailing list, your email has been automatically added here. For those who don't know me and have never received my weekly Sunday (or occasional early Monday morning) emails, hello!
My high school classmate Ilana Kohn took this picture of me several years ago when her company was releasing this ice cream flavor print in a variety of patterns. She came to our store on Broadway and took these pictures of me in front of the dipping case.
I'm Petrushka, your local ice cream lady and life/business coach. While I primarily run our ice cream business, I also coach people who want to make career shifts or need support starting their first businesses. Before becoming an ice cream owner, I worked in museums and non-profit arts organizations. In 2017, my husband and I founded Sugar Hill Creamery, Harlem's first family-owned ice cream shop since 1983. We've since expanded to five locations, including one seasonal spot. You can find our ice cream in the cafes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and we offer corporate catering. I'm also mother to three children: Ila (12), Zadie (8), and Nico (7).
My most recent family portrait…we took this on a self timer on Christmas morning.
My emails typically focus on my journey as a mother and small business owner in New York City, living in Harlem while building community and deeper roots with loved ones and neighbors. I began writing these emails in 2022 to discuss personal development, promote my coaching practice, and develop my writing skills. Committing to a weekly email seemed challenging schedule-wise but felt manageable if I just started and committed to consistency no matter what. In 2024, I shifted the focus of these emails to share more about my personal journey rather than promoting my coaching services. I realized I needed to dedicate all my time to the ice cream business if I wanted it to grow in alignment with my vision for it.
If you're interested in my weekly email journey, you can find all my past emails archived here.
Photographer Cielito M. Vivas took this picture for a story about Black-owned ice cream shops for Sisters/AARP.
I had planned something different for today's email but decided instead to share a brief anecdote about messages and messengers, inspired by a conversation with Ila during our walk to church this morning.
She was sharing her frustration about annoying comments from friends and classmates, some dating back to last year. She shared a story about a know-it-all classmate who held up a "Speak louder" sign during a school play, directed at all the children on stage. Ila was among them and felt irritated. I would have felt the same at her age. When I asked if her classmate was wrong, she admitted, "She wasn't wrong." I responded, "Then just receive the message."
This exchange made me reflect on how often we reject messages because we deem the messenger unworthy of delivering them. My word for 2025 is "receive"—receive help, receive blessings, and receive feedback (both positive and critical). I know I've sometimes struggled to accept messages because I disliked their delivery or didn't believe the messenger was qualified to give feedback. But I'm learning that if we quiet our spirits and focus on the words rather than the messenger, we often find valuable truths that can help us grow. We just need to quiet our ego to receive them.
Here's to a week of receiving the messages meant for us, even when they come from unexpected messengers.
Petrushka Your Local Ice Cream Lady & Life/Business Coach
P.S. I hope you get this message because I don’t exactly know how to navigate this new platform. Leave a quick comment below to let me know that you did!