Australian Women who have influenced my work as a designer & retail specialist

Happy International Women’s Day ladies! 

Being an Australian Woman in business I wanted to share a selection of Aussie businesses that influence my work as a designer and retail specialist.

These businesses are founded and run by women and each are contributing to a shift in gender equality and inclusiveness.

I hope they will inspire you to continue growing your business and may influence how you shop and find services.

Shire Women
End of 2018 we become proud Shire Women Members and are enjoying being part of a community of active women in business, thank you Steph Rey (Managing Director) and Vanessa Gorman for your warm welcome and providing insightful and education events that empower and inspire us to continue running our businesses. 

Brogers Natural Beauty  
Melissa Powley is a Shire local, inspired beauty practitioner and Founder of Brogers Natural Beauty.
Her online store sells organic and natural skin care products helping you to look after your skin and treat problematic conditions naturally with care.
Brogers sells exclusive brands Laurel Whole Plant Organics and Lux Botanics.

Mchugh's Shoes
Annie from McHugh's Shoes is a super mum of 3 and has recently taken their products online. Annie is passionate about shoe design, and some of her work has been used in theatre, film and television. The Australian Opera costume department, Miss Connie of Sneaky Sound System, and Belvoir Street Theatre have all used her designs.  One of her personal highlights was designing vegan slippers for Tobey Maguire to wear in The Great Gatsby.

McHugh's Shoes is a family-run business established in 1911 in Leichhardt. Their store specialises in custom made shoe design and repairs helping you to extend the life of your favourite shoes. They sell a stunning range of quality leather shoes from well known and bespoke brands RM Williams, Naot, DuckFeet and Bernard.

Shop You
Kelly is the Founder & CEO of Shop You, and is passionate about helping women save time and shop smarter using AI technology to personalise their shopping experience and align them with brands and styles to suit their tastes, preferences and body shapes.

Femeconomy 
Co-Directors Jade and Alana founded Femeconomy who encourages people to create gender equality by choosing female led brands.
Whether you are a female consumer, business owner or a woman in the workforce, Femeconomy provides a community of Brands that have are at least 30% of women on the Board of Directors or are 50% female owned. Watch Ted Talk 'Move gender equality into hyperdrive with purse power'.

Box For Monkeys
Sarah is the Founder & CEO of Box For Monkeys an online retailer specialising in delivering fun activities to kids that will keep them happy, entertained, tech-free and stimulate creativity and engagement.
Box For Monkeys support Westmead Children’s Hospital and Vinnies donating $1 from each box sold to each of these charities and also donate activity boxes to sick kids.

Our men
Let's not forget the men as they are our back bone and support our businesses, they are our mentors, partners, family and friends and also are inspired to make a more inclusive future.

gentSac.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear Shira Founder & CEO of gentSac at the Rocketeers of Retail event in Sydney.
Shira gave us insights into how gentSac. started their business at Paddington Markets selling mens grooming kits, tested their product range as a pop up and now run a successful flagship store in The Galeries in Sydney CBD.
To help men save time and not forget to shave they have a grooming subscription service.

Shira also reminded us of the importance of looking after our mental health, she meditates each day and says her quiet time helps her to make good decisions and stay calm when things are challenging in business.

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I’d love to hear from you so please get in touch and tell me what your biggest challenge has been in business this year and how you used technology and innovation to overcome it.

Cheers,
Chana Imsirovic
Designer and Online Retail Specialist
0412 473 406
Owl and Monk