Meet Judith Goldstein, the owner of Anju and Highland Park’s queen of health and wellness.
A love letter to Anju’s birth and ever-growing identity
Photography, Interview & Profile by Maleah Pasasouk
Based in Highland Park, Los Angeles
Big windows preserved the natural light shining upon the open space. Curtains draping down to the floor, chic couches decorated the expansive wood and walls of the storefront. It’s the type of shop where you walk into your personal and immediate zen mode, and might have even found yourself getting lost in due to its specially curated nature. In all it’s glory, health and wellness shop Anju upheld it’s time within the enclosure of Highland Park’s welcoming strip of Figueora Street, now at the cross roads of a stage of metamorphisis and new beginning. In better terms, in a moving period.
It couldn’t have been done without Judith Goldstein, or as myself, shoppers, and friends know her to be Juju. If not through the lovely lady herself, you’d know her from her shop Luca, in the middle of the rather laid-back avenue. Luca is prideful in its pitch of being a “one-stop shop”, with varied non-toxic and sustainable products for everyone. Through Juju, owner of the shops, something made possible is space for experience on Figueroa Street to welcome room for the endless possibility of partaking in the surrounding aspects of health some would not deem possible as a mix into one. For a better relationship with oneself, Judith is a believer in being all of one.
As someone born and raised in Highland Park, new shops on Figueroa street are and will always be intriguing new ventures. So to my luck, on a stroll (as one does), I was lucky to find Anju’s sign as seen on the top left listening things a girl like me partakes in. Ready to explore, up the stairs I was. From there, I deem as history.
Speaking with Juju herself, I was able to learn of her Iranian up-bringing, the translation of plants and herbs from her childhood to business ventures, sense of growing, and above all - energy and it’s prominence within navigating owning a business and taking ownership in her own life.
So what is Anju and how would you characterize it?
That’s such a hard thing to pin down! However, I always describe myself as a hednious environmentalist. I’m a believer that truly the best way to make a change is to put joy into whatever you’re trying to give to people! The environmental world often feels limiting and austere, but I want to change that narrative and make it exciting.
I wanted to convey that it's possible to be eco-friendly and conscious of the ingredients you use without giving up makeup or fashion. You don't have to fit into a specific mold - you can embrace different aspects and be true to yourself. There's this world where you have to be a hippie, a minimalist, and this and that, but why not be everything?
Can I be spiritual and a little superficial? Can I be into skincare and healthcare while also all of the other things? That's the overarching question. Luca and Anju were created for those seeking an outlet to enjoy all aspects of themselves. There's also an ever-changing element, and I think that humans are the same in that way. We are constantly everchanging and evolving and I want this space to reflect our humanity. This is a reflection of feeling good for me and I can hope for people who enter as well.
Take us back to when you first had the vision that sparked the birth of Anju
Well, it definitely wasn’t a thing of “I’m gonna open this store! and it’s gonna be this!” Both times (with Luca and Anju) there was an opportunity that opened, and then the spaces became their identity. There was never a preconceived notion of any identity. I wanted to create a non-toxic and low-waste drug store, but I didn't fully know how to make that happen. Unexpected things, like "Luca," played a big role in shaping the plan. Many aspects of the project came about by accident.
With Anju, I thought the original idea was to open another Luca, there was no intention to open this space. When I saw this space though, I saw exactly how it looked before we put any furniture at all. It was like a dream for me. Before I opened Anju, I spent four years collecting pictures from magazines and books to create a vision board. I realized that the pictures I had collected represented different elements - some earthy, some airy, and some fiery. When I arranged everything together, I realized that the space represented Air and Water for me, while Luca's space represented Earth and Fire.
I knew that and had these visions around the elements. The space told me what it wanted to be and what it was comfortable with. Something uncomfortable right now in the process is that I don’t fully have that conceptualized vision that Luca has. It is still shaping into what it wants to be. So that’s been an interesting rollercoaster of evolving and reshaping so much with Anju. It reminds me of the beginning of Luca where there were the same growing pains.
The beginning is very very very very hard. There isn’t that stability of this is what it is, and it takes a while to find that rhythm.
Out of all of the offerings you provide through your shop's mission (anoint, adorn, decor, vitality, radiance, and ritual), Which offer do you find yourself returning to the most?
Definitely Radiance and Ritual! Radiance is like skincare, haircare, and keeping yourself glowy, and Ritual is incense, tarot cards, tea, books, and journals. Anoint is definitely another one too.
The two greatest pillars of my life are the true health care inside and outside. I drink a lot of tea as well as taking lots of supplements. Radiance within myself comes down to my creams, lotions, and toners, and I love skincare so much.
Your skin is beautiful must I add!
How do you decide on what gets stocked in Anju, is there a criteria your goods tend to meet?
1. The first important thing is gonna be the ingredients. There can’t be any preservatives, artificial scents, sulfites, and a few others. We keep a lot of things in mind and category of cleanliness.
2. If we’re looking for a specific product, the first thing we do is go local, we try to start with LA, move to California, and then later move into the greater US area. So a lot of products are from local people!
The goal and hope is to find smaller brands that are incredibly special but don’t necessarily have the budget for marketing yet. So many people don’t know about them but for us, these are the best products we’ve ever used. We really try to discover smaller ones and give that platform to smaller brands.
The last thing is that we try all the products before we put them on the shelf. If we don’t absolutely love them, we don’t sell them.
You own and run two shops here on Figueroa Street, How has the community of Highland Park whether it be your customers or just the overall area influenced your shop?
We wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for this community. There’s no question about that. The support we’ve gotten, the consistency, the closeness, the encouragement when things were hard, and the friendships all gave huge incentives to this project. There are some people who from day 1 praised Luca, and have been coming since day 1 as well. Here at Anju, that’s happened too! It's beautiful.
There were times at the beginning of Anju when I just didn’t know if I wanted to keep doing this, then someone would come in and tell me “Ju, I just have to tell you this store has changed my life”. If it wasn’t for all of it, I don’t think the businesses would be here.
Almost all of my staff live here in Highland Park and are customers. It’s truly inside and out all because of the community.
Who is your target customer?
I don’t know because it’s an energy more than anything. That energy isn’t defined by what you look like, what religion you are, what ethnic background you are, or your gender or socioeconomic status.
When I first opened Luca, people would come in and I would try and convince them like “Oh this product is great” and then I learned fast that it’s a true energy frequency. Some people connect with it and truly feel it, while others don’t.
When people connected I received all with love, and when people didn’t, I let them go with love. I think that was the best thing I learned about owning a business. The people who clicked fell tremendously deep. I’ve seen some of those same customers get into relationships, get engaged, and have babies, and I’ve fully witnessed their life journeys. The relationships are quite intimate now.
Professors, women young and old, construction workers, plumbers, and teenage girls, everyone is here. That energy is not defined by anything external. It’s internal and I guess even a flame. I bet if you put all our customers together you would find this thread of exactly that and something magnetic.
How has your Iranian background contributed to your love for plants and overall health?
That’s it! That’s the reason! It’s the food and it’s the culture. It’s not something magical to Iranian culture, you’re simply born into it. Most foods are made with herbs, you drink a lot of tea, and your family knows thousands of plant medicines. The wisdom of wellness exists hereditary.
So much of the knowledge and wisdom of plants are alive in Iran because of the influence of India. It doesn’t feel special to Iranians and it’s just the way of life. Almost every food you eat is exclusively made up of 10 different herbs at least.
As a curator of both fashion and general wellness here, what has your experience been like integrating these two fields into a cohesive offering?
There was a vintage clothing reseller who previously used this space to source and sell clothing outside of this space. I started curating alongside them and began to sell as well. It completed the picture of Anju for me. It merged the environmental aspect with the heinous elements I value. Curating the products is very much the eco-non-toxic girl in me who wants to keep things chemical-free and natural and then curating the jewelry, clothing, and handbags is that Iranian part of me. Our glamorous people are the inspiration.
The vintage clothing in itself was such a blessing, considering that new clothing is the greatest environmental damager of our time. Did you know we have enough clothes to clothe the entire population for 10 years? It's absurd.
The true joy I get from finding clothing made entirely of cotton, linen, silk, and other natural materials, beautifully crafted and patterned, is immense. It's so much more special and affordable, and also fun, to give this clothing another life.
Finally, as someone unsure yet hopeful of the uncertainty of paths, what can you hope for Anju? Maybe even envision for the future?
It’s such a hard question because obviously, my dream was to have Anju as a community space that brings everyone together. I do believe there will be a space that does that. It brings me back to that saying “in divine timing”.
I think that there was always a different aspect to Anju that I hope takes this role to share the stories of people, and share important information to people. In it’s evolution, that’s the direction Anju’s gonna go to.
I want to do what you’re doing right now and have that media aspect where we can have a podcast and talk to people we admire. Delve into their stories, messages, and what their life experiences have taught them that can be a tool for someone else.
When you started doing your third space specialties of coming in for tea and relaxing, you easily made this space beautifully interactive.
Highlighting creativity, culture and the human connection of humanity is the ultimate dream. When we go back to the core of why I opened Anju, this is what I want to do. All there is now is the growing pains of Anju’s journey and how it wants to express that. Figuring out how we express and create that platform is the journey now.
Getting to share who I am today and the things I’m sharing with you isn’t just me. It combines the paths I’ve crossed, and the people I’ve met and shared with. I’d love to amplify those voices, and let them share their life and lessons and what they can impart to us because those are the people who have shaped me myself.
“I believe that art is created for people to experience and if I can be a vehicle for that experience that would be the greatest blessing and gift.”
For me, a host became my mentor with Juju. My first real interaction with her was at her sound bath gong event hosted in Anju itself. May 9th, 2023, and a day after finishing my freshman year of college. I couldn’t begin to imagine the doors that would have opened for me that day.
The event itself was nothing short of a true and personal journey. I remember laying down on Anju’s vintage couches with the ringing of an hour-long gong practice, running through the big emotions and time stamps of the 12 months that had passed. Romantic losses, new beginnings, uncertainty, and sadness all soared throughout the vibration of the gong. The intensity of it rang through my entire body and later brought me to tears when sharing my experience with my fellow event-goers. Post-event Juju gave me the most fulfilling hug I think I’ve ever gotten and told me the feeling wouldn’t last, but it would take me some days to process the gong’s effects. Her smile screamed joy for my participation and with welcome arms, showed true care though she didn’t know the intensity of what I had lived. It was a scary thought but the time locked in my head throughout that hour of noise sat still for about 3 days, just as she said. I cried a lot that night.
4 months later, and now nineteen years old, Anju’s gong rings. It’s the effect that has been a staple of the person I’ve grown into today. Nothing could have fulfilled this without curator, Judith Goldstein. Finding ourselves in cross-legged rabbit holes on talks of womanhood, staying true to ourselves, and mirroring of one another is something that has become my favorite practice. To be seen by Juju is to be loved and celebrated. It fully encapsulates the work of her creation with Anju and Luca.
Additionally, to own a shop is to be moved and thrown around somewhat unwillingly, as Juju has expressed to me. In retrospect, it’s a scary thought but the grounding of her inner being is something that radiates beautifully inside and outside. She’s a superwoman in every regard, oozing consistent ties to where she first began her journey of life. Ties to her early studies of food science and journalism, storytelling is her greatest love. She has embodied what being the vehicle for a greater cause through the world of curation can look like. From the people she has met along the way, her faith in tarot and God, and comfort in her apprehension, Juju is nothing short of remarkable. Her pivots through life that on out-skirts can feel less than ideal, is something that is rather embraced in staying on track to what’s meant for her. For the greater cause of a relationship with yourself partnered with touching others, knowing the vehicle won’t change with the ride you’re on is the overarching idea for Juju, and the lesson taught of Anju’s beautiful existence.