10 Female-Founder businesses you should know
and some recipes to try this week to celebrate International Women's Day
I hope by now you’ve noticed that it’s International Women’s day tomorrow. The past few weeks have been full of news on panel discussions you can join, opinions you can read, women you should know and honour, issues that are important to raise and solve for.
Here’s my confession. I’ve been a bit cynical about IWD in the past. It felt like an easy way for companies and brands to celebrate women, without necessarily doing the heavy lifting to make real change happen. I get it, I want to say. Women are awesome. Even beyond March 8.
Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize
But then I had a powerful conversation with a very wise friend. And as usual, she gave me a great perspective on why any single day focused on a singular group or issue is both important and meaningful.
There is an enormous need to take pauses where you get to gather everybody's attention on issues that are important. Take International Women's Day. It’s not to say that women didn't matter before and won’t matter the day after. Rather we've put a stake in the ground to say: on this day we're going try and get as many eyeballs, brains and hearts engaged in an opportunity to communicate where the challenges are. Because if your energy and capacity has been focused on your relative worldview and you are surrounded by people who share your worldview, then you’re preaching to the converted. And IWD is an opportunity to broaden the conversation in a meaningful way.
So I’m thinking about IWD in a new way this year, and with fresh eyes. I’ll be joining over 2000 people at the virtual SheEO Summit 2021 (info here), and trying to educate myself on the issues that matter to me, but more importantly, other issues that affect women and non-binary folks in ways I’ve yet to understand. I’ll be applauding the efforts of those who are starting conversations and making steps, however big or small, to make change happen. And I’ll be keeping my cynicism in check.
Celebrating Women with Our Time and Money
In the meantime, I’m devoting Delicious Bits this week to celebrating women in a way that I hope will have immediate impact: by introducing you to businesses, creators and change makers that you can support with your spending power and your time.
Of course this all has a personal bent; after all this is my rather idiosyncratic list, reflecting my passions, interests, geography and personal connections. But I think you’ll find at least one thing on the list to intrigue and interest you, and if I’m right, I’ll consider it a job well done.
What I’m Buying
Routine Cream - natural deodorant; face and body oils
Routine on Instagram
Routine founders, sisters Neiga and Pippa Blair, have formulated a natural deodorant that is free of aluminum zirconium, aluminum chlorohydrate, parabens, triclosan, and propylene glycol. Wait - I know what you’re thinking - natural deodorants don’t work. Trust me, Routine is clean, natural AND incredibly effective. The product line has four formulas, including vegan and for sensitive skin and they come in a wide variety of fun scents, including Cat Lady, Johnny’s Cash, Bonnie N Clyde, Like a Boss, Sexy Sadie and my favourite, The Curator. The glass jars are recyclable and refillable at retailers who carry the product. And yep - men can use it too. Natural never smelled so good.
Lisse - ditching the plastics and toxins, one razor at a time
Lisse on Instagram
If you’re old enough, you’ll remember your dad shaving with a safety razor - a rather perilous-looking affair with a shiny, yes, razor-sharp edge. Thank heaven those safe and easy-to-use plastic razors finally came along. Ummm…but wait. Did you know that right now 10 billion disposable razors are thrown into landfills around the world every year? Amy Michell, the founder of Lisse, was trying to cut down on plastic and couldn’t find a safety razor that wasn’t uber-masculine. Bringing eco and lux together, Lisse was born. With 100% recyclable Swedish-made razors, and both shave oil and shaving soap (that both smell amazing!) to round out your purchase, the Lisse razor is easy to use (really!) and - best of all - made to last a lifetime. Available in pretty rose gold or matte black, this is a product both women and men will love.
Skwalwen Botanicals - indigenous skincare line incorporating respectfully harvested botanicals
Skwalwen on Instagram
Sḵwálwen (skwall-win), founded by Leigh Joseph, is an Indigenous business creating small batch botanical skin care products. The products are created incorporating wild harvested plants and organic, high quality ingredients that honour traditional Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) plant knowledge. Each product has a Squamish name to honour the place where this plant knowledge comes from. Leigh is an ethnobotanist, researcher and community activist with a deep awareness of the important links between food and culture (read her important story here). I am officially obsessed with Kalkay Wild Rose Facial Oil and the Tewin’xw (too-ay-nooh) Cranberry Facial Bar, and I love that I am connected to ancient wisdom and traditions whose history goes well before Canada’s nation status.
Cuddlebug - customizable handmade animal artwork
Cuddlebug on Instagram
Cuddlebug is near and dear to my heart, as it’s the fledging company started by my niece, Marla Tullio-Spyridis. Marla creates original - and adorable - animal prints to brighten your child’s room, or to gift to a little one. The premium quality giclée prints are printed onto cotton based water-resistant, textured, acid-free, and lignin-free fine art paper. Archival and fade-resistant, the inks are hyper pigmented and mimic the vibrancy of the original watercolour paintings Marla creates. Best of all, they can be customised with a child’s name or favourite saying. Next up: beautiful greeting cards, with the same high quality ethos.
Services I’m Using
The Pineapple Purveyor - curated travel finds & experiences
The Pineapple Purveyor on Instagram
If there’s a universal *something* that everyone seems to be missing, it’s travel. Whether it’s the fun of sipping a signature cocktail at a hotel bar, relaxing poolside at an exotic resort, or day-tripping down laneways to discover treasures in your favourite city (tossup between Paris and London for me), this past year of going nowhere has just about reached its limits. Enter Joanne Henry, founder and Chief Curator at The Pineapple Purveyor. Joanne is a seasoned event management pro and hospitality specialist who’s always had a passion for travel. Now she’s applied her passion and fine eye for detail to virtual experiences. From a Tuscan cooking class that will bring you to the Italian countryside, to a Pizza Workshop in old Montreal, these events are online and can be enjoyed from home, while at the same time transporting you far away. No luggage required.
Callia - the best new experience sending flowers
Callia on Instagram
Receiving flowers from Callia is the beautiful sum of many parts. The packaging is simply stunning: a flat box that contains gorgeous fresh seasonal flowers, a vase and instructions to make the most of your bouquet. Once your bouquet is delivered, you get an immediate text with a link to tips on how to make it last. Three days later another text arrives with more tips on how to refresh your bouquet - which still looks great. Founder Catherine Metrycki was frustrated by the lack of ease in sending flowers to a friend and was inspired to create an easy-to-use tech platform combined with a very personal touch. Beginning in Winnipeg in 2016, Callia now delivers flowers across Canada.
People I’m Following and the Food I’m Making
If you’ve been reading Delicious Bits or you follow me on Instagram, you know that in my waking hours, I spend a lot of time thinking about food. But it wasn’t until last year that I realised how narrow my view really was. I have Samin Nosrat to thank for broadening my perspective.
You may know Nosrat through her really excellent cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat (and the Netflix miniseries by the same name). Last year in the midst of the BLM protests, Nosrat did not put a black square on her Instagram feed. Instead, she used her considerable reach to showcase and amplify a wide-ranging group of Black and Brown food activists, creators, restaurant owners, historians and chefs. FOLLOW @tonitiptonmartin. FOLLOW @hawahassan. FOLLOW @grandbabycakes. And so on. Next was: You’ve Followed - Now What? And then she created a spreadsheet that shared more about their work, books, restaurants, and businesses.
It opened up a world of history and food and flavours and issues that I wasn’t aware of before. And so, on this eve of IWD, I encourage you to visit Nosrat’s Instagram feed to learn more and follow some of these wonderful women yourself. Use that as a jumping off point to immerse yourself in the rich history, traditions and yes, issues around us.
And because this is Delicious Bits after all, I’ll also leave you with a few recipe links to tempt your taste buds.
Kunde - black-eyed peas and tomatoes with peanut sauce from In Bibi’s Kitchen, by Hawa Hassan with Julia Turshen. While I haven’t tried this one yet, the Digaag Qumbe (chicken stew) I made last week was amazing! This cookbook is a beautiful love letter to the traditions, tastes and tales of eight African countries and the bibis - grandmothers - who carry the through line of their cultures to the table with every dish they cook.
Award-winning Carrot Cake - from Jocelyn Delk Adams over at Grandbaby Cakes. My sister swears this is the best carrot cake she’s ever made. Delk Adams was inspired by her grandmother, and shares classic recipes updated in a modern and accessible way, and encourage everyone to not feel guilty about enjoying dessert!
Louisiana Barbecued Shrimp - from Toni Tipton-Martin’s fabulous cookbook Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking. Tipton-Martin has amassed an extensive collection of African-American cookbooks and used these as the basis for this excellent book (read her book in The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks for a closer look).
Lemon Pound Cake - from Vallery Lomas (@foodieinnewyork). Catch her show on The Food Network: Vallery Bakes Your Questions, and pre-order her gorgeous new cookbook, Life is What You Bake It, coming out this fall (PS. Pre-ordering books determines how many books are printed, and can really boost a book’s release).
Do me and all of the creators listed here a favour and share this post far and wide. At the very best of times it’s hard to be a business owner, a creator, an educator. And I’d love to hear about your favourites too - leave a comment below.
Let’s celebrate women in an impactful way - today, tomorrow and every day this year.