We are a women empowerment organisation. We aim to empower, help, support, motivate, inspire & uplift women. We provide a platform for women and implement various programs, workshops, events, training and coaching sessions for their benefit.
“Hi I am Shantana. Born amidst the hills in the North East of India (Meghalaya) I grew up between books, playing Table Tennis (representing my State) and having loads of FUN with friends. Being the youngest in the family I was spoilt for choice not knowing what life had in store for me. I thought life was only travelling and having fun till I completed my graduation. As we grow we learn with experience and realize we are responsible for all our deeds. Happiness lies in our own hands. I believe we have just one short life to live so I want to try out everything. Life has definitely been a roller coaster ride for me.
A Fashion Designer by profession, I taught in this field for a while and moved on to a BPO job. Got married to an awesome guy (a banker) and decided to join the banking industry. Then my daughter was born and we moved to Muscat (Oman) and had my second daughter there. I was a full time mother for 8 years enjoying seeing the girls grow. We then moved to Dubai where I started working with an NGO, a school for the differently abled/ special needs children and adults as an Art Teacher and loved every moment of it!!
Three years ago my husband was offered a job in Sydney and we have been here since. With relocation comes settling down. Away from friends and family I felt lost and lonely. It was then I picked up my husband’s camera and gears (he is a passionate wildlife photographer) and took up photography and realized that it made me feel good and I was actually enjoying it as I was able to get creative with photography. That is how the photographer in me emerged!
I have always been a creative person and definitely a crafty one. So I decided to put my creativity to use with beads and wires. On November 2017, I started my own handcrafted fashion accessories business “ARTantana Handmade” and there has been no looking back since then.
ARTantana Handmade offers you a unique range of accessories which are handmade and created with love and passion. It also brings in a wide array of colours and intricate work of art. It could be wire wrapping, weaving through beads or incorporating the natural goodness of gemstones. No two pieces are the same. Passion is the only common element in each of the pieces created.
Do check out my creations and support handmade artists at:
Meet our featured beauty with brains Felicia Romano, a businesswoman based in Sydney, Australia.
Here is her story.
“My name is Felicia Romano, I am the founder of For the Glam (http://fortheglam.com.au/). I was born in Sydney, I have two brothers, my mum is Fijian-Indian and my dad is Italian (which means I will never say no to a plate of pasta or a curry!).
I have always been driven, determined and extremely passionate about developing and growing myself. I am in my 20’s, I have been working in the Wealth industry for 12 years now, I have recently completed my MBA and am working on a number of side hustles to keep me even busier!
In my life, I am always looking for efficiencies, ways to simplify complex processes and ways to make life more ‘convenient’. This is what led me to creating For the Glam. For the Glam is a new platform created to connect beauty professionals and customers looking for some glam. It is kind of like a one stop shop for all your beauty needs. For example, you might need a make up artist, a hair stylist and someone to do your nails. For the Glam provides you with access to a range of beauty professionals all over Australia, to book in. And not your everyday salon down the road, your mobile freelance businesses that might not have a shopfront.
Over the past few month of building my brand and my business, I have been blown away by the amount of women who are willing to help promote your business or are willing to give you their time for some advice. Through this it has made me (more than ever) realise how amazing we can be as a community, and how powerful we can be by supporting each other.
Like many businesses, I have had my ups and down, my moments where I want to give up and never look back. My advice to those that are ever feeling like that, is to never give up, because every step you take is a step forward, even if it might not feel like that at the time.
Please feel free to reach out to me to connect for a chat or to chat about how we can support each other.
My business page is @fortheglamau or fortheglam.com.au, feel free to check it out to book in a service, or to register if you are a beauty professional.” – Felicia.
Meet our featured beauty with brains Cherisha Nagarkar, an entrepreneur and teacher based in Melbourne, Australia. She is passionate about Health, Nutrition and Natural Medicine.
Cherisha is a natural medicine practitioner who along with her husband has been offering homeopathy treatments and nutritional consultations from her business practice in Melbourne’s western suburbs since the past 8 years. Cherisha moved from Mumbai (India) to Melbourne to pursue her Master’s in Teaching in 2011. She works as a lecturer in one of the prominent institutes of Melbourne that provides natural medicine courses and is passionate about teaching. She believes that the empowerment women can have by making conscious health choices can go a long way when it comes to investing in the health and wellbeing of a family.
Outside of work, Cherisha enjoys practicing Yoga, gardening and spending time on creatively upcycling household items to support sustainable lifestyle. She also conducts kids Yoga workshops (Little Minds Yoga) to educate children on the benefits of physical activity and mindfulness.
Being an animal lover, she loves to spread awareness on the benefits of vegetarian diet and is passionate about cooking healthy nutritious wholesome food with a mixture of Indian and western cuisines.
Here is an interview with the immensely talented and inspirational lady.
What are your goals in life? Have you achieved them?
I can say that I am at a good starting point to be focusing on my long-term goals which include raising awareness about the drawbacks of consumption of processed foods. I would want to be able to provide people with the knowledge of cooking healthier meals with basic ingredients and educate about nutritional value of foods to children. Getting the kids involved in cooking helps in increasing their interest towards healthy eating. I have achieved some of these goals within my clinical practice setting but being able to reach a broader audience is a work in progress long-term goal for me.
What is a typical day in your life?
I start my day with a 5 to 10-minute mindfulness practice followed by a healthy breakfast. In a week I have different days allocated to homeopathic consultations and my teaching therefore depending on the agenda for the day, I follow my work routine. An important tip for those who (like me) are working from home considering the COVID situation, try to have a specific work space so that you can separate your break and relaxation time from work. It is essential to take regular breaks, to move and stretch or even go for a walk to ensure we can work productively. After finishing work, I spend time with my 4 and half year-old daughter and we usually do a few activities together like painting, reading, doing yoga or going out cycling. This is followed by meal prep for dinner and I involve my daughter so she participates in household chores and helps with tiny kitchen tasks. We try to stick to a regular meal time which involves no distractions from TV or phone or any other devices as this allows us to focus on what we eat with mindfulness. It is also essential to turn off electronic devices about half an hour before the sleep time to follow a relaxing sleep pattern.
Can you give some basic health and wellness tips for busy women trying to juggle both home and career?
I would say that planning ahead for the week with prepping for healthy meals works well for me. Also being aware of how much canned/packaged food items go in preparing a meal is essential to cut back on the preservatives and replacing these with wholesome ingredients. Taking time out everyday for physical activity is essential, even if you can spare 30 mins a day this would be beneficial. Exercise doesn’t have to be exertional or stressful on your body so try something that makes you feel good and this can be walking, dancing, yoga, cardio or anything that truly helps you feel energised at the same time as burning calories. Working from home can create the urge for frequent snacking too, therefore try to replace the packaged foods with whole nuts, yogurt or fruits which are essential for the body. Set yourself a daily goal of having 6 to 8 glasses of water a day and remind yourself to keep hydrated. Following a set pattern for meal times also helps the body in maintain good metabolism and you can try to keep a gap of about 2-3 hours between dinner and bedtime as this is essential for the body to absorb the nutrients in a meal.
Meet our featured beauty with brains Charan Kamal Manhotra, a Healer and YouTuber based in Sydney, Australia.
She was born in Mumbai (India), brought up in Chandigarh (India) and came to Sydney to pursue an Accounting Masters degree. She is a new mum.
She does energy healing, works closely with her clients, teaches Reiki, takes online sessions for Angel card readings, meditations etc. She is looking forward to helping people by providing them knowledge / tips through her YouTube videos.
Www.youtube.com/c/HolisticLiving
Here is an interview with her.
Tell us more about yourself – your hobbies, dreams, aspirations.
I dream to inspire people – Inspire them to get close to themselves, connect with their own skills and hidden powers which they possess. Many of us know what we want to do/achieve in life, we may already have a path set for us which we are taking with full faith and trust. However, millions of us still do not know where to go, what to do, why we are here on this beautiful planet called “Earth”?? I want to connect with them and enable them to get to know themselves in & out, get closer to their “soul’s purpose”, experience on the go, learn and grow in life at a soul level.
Some of my hobbies are :
Daring to dream big and positive in life. Manifesting what I really want to achieve. Playing with my 2 yr old (as he helps me to connect with my own inner child). Apart from this, I love to interact with like minded people.
Who or what inspires you to do what you do?
People around me, my family, friends & OUR SOCIETY. There is so much good happening around us, if we have an eye to see that, we will realise that things are taking shape in society for betterment. More and more of us are wanting to help others in whichever way possible. Many of us are confronting their feelings. People want to take a step for their and their family’s upliftment and much more.. My surroundings have given me a lot and I strive to give something back to it / human race in return !
Is there any special or memorable experience you would like to share with us?
Moment when I held my baby for the first time ! A mother can never forget that and neither will I 🙂
Have you faced any obstacles in your line of work? If so, how did you overcome them?
A little story here for all the readers 😉 – This holistic work is my passion which I have pursued along with my job. Yes, initially there were few budding issues like – managing “office work and passion work” and managing the household all together. But slowly I felt the calling and gained strength to accept it all and work around my way. After my son was born and until now, nearly 2 years I didn’t go back to work. I tried to apply for vacancies and get hired, but somehow something is telling me there is something more and BIG in life coming up. Something is telling me to just keep going with “faith” and keep working for what I really want.
Overcoming obstacles get easy – when we follow our “gut” and show faith in that one “supreme power”. Many obstacles have come and passed in life, it’s just about keeping going and learning the best we can out of them!
Meet our featured beauty with brains Jessica Renfro, an entrepreneur and medical assistant based in Fenton, Missouri (USA).
“Hello! My name is Jessica and I currently work full time as a medical assistant an I also sell ZYIA active. I was invited to one party and got hooked for life! I enjoy hiking and spending lots of time outside in the summer so it goes great with my values. I am married and we have a teenager. My husband works on computers and he and our son love to play video games with each other. Together we enjoy watching Ethan (son) play soccer. So we are a very active family.” – Jessica.
Here is an interview with her.
Who or what inspires you?
My family inspires me. I want to support them in every way that I can, by joining ZYIA I am hoping to build a team and save more money for future travel. I really enjoying seeing new places!
What is a typical day in your life like?
I work full time in a doctors office, I am the medical assistant that will bring you back into the rooms before the doctor sees you. I do vitals, shots, EKG’s and anything else the doctor might want.
After work you can find me working on my ZYIA business or out taking a hike with family and friends.
What kind of active wear is trendy nowadays?
Leggings and matching leggings and sport bras are very trendy right now. We have some really awesome shorts too for the summer!
Do you feel there is a need for women to either compromise on comfort or style while buying activewear or is it possible to have both?
I feel you can totally have both comfort and style! ZYIa has clothing you can wear for just comfort, but you can add heels and style it for a night out too!
Meet our featured beauty with brains Lucy Peters, a businesswoman based in Sydney, Australia. She owns Lulu Beauty Bar (http://www.lulubeautybar.com.au/).
“My name is Lucy Peters and I own Lulu Beauty Bar. I am a committed small business owner with a serious passion for beauty and all things pretty! My interest in beauty started at a young age, however I didn’t enter the industry until a few years ago when I trained in London, England to become a fully qualified Eyelash Technician. Alongside lash extensions and lifts I also offer spray tanning, nails & brows at my friendly and cosy home salon in Castle Hill, NSW. I am fully passionate about what I do and I aim to make women feel amazing and confident in themselves!” – Lucy.
Here is an interview with her.
Who or what inspires you?
To be honest, I don’t have one particular role model. I admire many successful entrepreneurs who have overcome a plethora of obstacles throughout their lives, such as financial hardship or class barriers, in order to achieve their dreams. Michelle Mone (founder of Ultimo, the UK Wonderbra) is amazing and continues to inspire me to this day. If you ever get the chance to read up on her rags to riches story starting out on a Glasgow council estate to now being a hugely successful multi-millionaire, it’s well worth the read! Gary Vaynerchuck is also one of the most fascinating and driven people I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.
What are your aims and goals in life? Have you achieved them?
I always knew I wanted to travel and explore the different cultures of the world, so I spent most of my 20’s traveling and working my way around the globe. I have definitely ticked a large majority of my travel goals but naturally I still have more! At a young age, I expressed an interest in entering the beauty industry, however I was discouraged to do so by certain family members (which is why I only came into beauty later in life) so instead I pursued a career in music. My music career enabled me to experience some insane achievements like singing for the Queen on multiple occasions, performing on TV and appearing at some infamous music venues. I still have many more goals and I am currently in the process of updating my bucket list.
How has the pandemic impacted your business?
So, a quick back story; I returned to the UK for about 2 years as I am originally from England and having spent 11 years prior to that living in Sydney, I felt I needed to spend some quality time with my elderly parents. Having absolutely no idea that we would be hit by an international pandemic, my partner and I planned to and subsequently moved back to Australia in March this year (great timing, hey?!).
Fast forward through mandatory quarantine, then lockdown, I finally set about opening my salon from 1st June. It has definitely been a bit of a tricky road to navigate given I’m building my business again in the current climate. The major positive from all of this is that I have received a huge amount of support from the community who are actively choosing to shop local and support small businesses, which has been amazing.
Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
My aim is to grow Lulu Beauty Bar into a large salon focussing on multiple facets of beauty i.e. lashes, semi-permanent makeup, injectables, hair extensions. Somewhere in that mix I’d also like to have a child but one thing I can guarantee is that I won’t be moving away from the beautiful shores of Sydney ever again!
Meet our featured beauty with brains Poonam Kumar, a makeup artist based in Sydney, Australia.
“My name is Poonam Kumar. Sydney has been home for the past 23 plus years, I moved here with my family when I was only 13. All through my life, I knew I wanted to be my own boss, as working for an hourly pay wasn’t my thing.
Life’s moral was to always work smarter not harder. I always wanted to follow my heart and do something that I really loved and I have always been passionate about making women feel and look beautiful.
I have dedicated years in perfecting my skills as a makeup artist learning from the best celebrity artist out there so I am able to give my ladies the same red carpet look the stars get .I decided that I will open up my own hair and makeup studio 5 years ago.
I feel very blessed to have my hard work pay off as I saw my business flourish as years went by. A single mother with 3 kids wasn’t an easy task as depression and anxiety attacks became a part of me after my divorce, but I kept fighting through so I can be a role model to my kids. I needed to know that even through the hardest of times quitting was not an option.
I believe in empowering women to be the very best they can be, even though it can be hard as we are burdened with life duties, I believe we all need to find our passion and follow it to the very end. Happiness is when you achieve your dreams and you know you have worked your butt off for it. I want every woman to know that they are the strongest and the most valuable thing God created.” – Poonam
Meet our featured beauty with brains Shalina Lodhia, a businesswoman based in Sydney, Australia.
Here is her story:
“I was never the smartest one in the classroom. Never the popular one in school, and by no means was I confident in myself either – it was quite the opposite when I was growing up. My school life was filled with bullying and racism which had affected me a lot. The only thing which kept me sane, was a diary and a pen. I used to write in this personal diary, which was also like a creative journal where I would write about my experiences and turn them into creative writing pieces and poetry. It was a form of self-reflection and healing. I began singing at the age of 8 and performed a few times on stage as well. I chose to keep music and writing as a hobby instead of turning it into a career. But I knew I wanted to use my voice one day to stand up for what I believed in and to make music.
Growing up and experiencing life and its challenges made me develop an avid interest in human behaviour – particularly the criminal mind. I always questioned the motives of people and what led them to commit crimes. Out of pure interest, I eventually ended up graduating from university with a bachelors in social science with my majors being criminology and criminal justice.
I always knew that I wanted to be my own boss and do my own thing, my way, one day. After years of experience in the public sector, I now have my own business as a career counsellor and business writer. It felt like the right thing to do as I enjoy guiding people to achieve their highest potential. I will always tell you everything you can do, not everything you cannot do. I love being able to give my clients options and clarity of what their future could look like – it opens up a world of opportunity where potential is limitless.
Apart from this, I am a human rights activist. I raise awareness and share my experiences about topics that need to be heard – domestic violence, mental health, sexual assault and bullying, just to name a few. I endeavour to be the voice of the voiceless and to provide people with as much insight and knowledge as I can. If I don’t know the answer, you can rest assured I will find you one. These issues are close to my heart.
I am currently also working as an independent artist under the stage name of SED8. I sing, write, produce and record my own music. I just released my fourth single called “Higher”. I stay raw and real with my work – unapologetically me. Art in its truest form is intensely beautiful. I do not expect everyone to enjoy what they hear, but my goal is to reach out to anyone who can resonate with my experiences and feel understood.
It is a common known fact that women are multitaskers. Why stop at one thing when you have the capacity to do plenty?” – Shalina
Here is an interview with her:
What is a typical day in your life like?
I love to balance out my day with a mix of things. I exercise in the morning – brisk walk/run on the treadmill or do some boxing; I love cardio. I am trying to be vegan (was previously vegetarian), so my health is important to me – I cook fresh food almost every day and am still learning new recipes. I believe your health is your wealth. No matter how much money you accumulate, it won’t save you from health issues, so I try to take preventative measures – my diet and exercise is imperative to me.
I work remotely from home, so I will then check my emails and start working. If it is a quiet day work-wise, I will research about current events/trends on the news or social media and post my take about them, or I will research topics less talked about and write articles or posts about that. Music and writing are something I do almost every night as I feel the most creative at that time. If I am not making music, I’m still thinking of rhymes and lyrics in my head and writing them down throughout the day. Even though I work from home, balance is essential. I’m always doing something until I sleep. It keeps me going.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years, I see myself continuing with career counselling, business writing and my activism work. I want to continue to help the underprivileged by always being approachable, reliable and ‘one call away’. One day, I hope to be recognised as an Australian born Indian singer/songwriter and producer – working and collaborating with other artists would be on the list of things I’d love to accomplish. Marriage and kids are something I look forward too, I love children. But I could never give up my passions – it’s all about balance and making sure your family, partner and friends know your dreams and goals. These cannot and should not be taken away from you.
What does women empowerment mean to you?
It means individually working towards continuously bettering ourselves and collectively working together to create a positive experience with the people around us. It’s about challenging social norms and expectations and changing the way the world sees women without belittling anyone. I think women already know, and need to always remember, that we are indestructible – we always were and always will be. Social constructs have made women believe they are not capable or worthy of certain things and that is absolutely false. Throughout history, women have endured and have also overcome A LOT. We still have a long way to go and we need to stick together and support one another to get the recognition and respect we rightfully deserve.
Meet our featured beauty with brains Surjeet Bawa, a fashion designer and stylist based in Sydney, Australia.
She is the owner of the label ‘Coco By Bawa’. She is very passionate towards her work and her designs are very unique and trendy.
Surjeet started her career as a model. Since childhood, fashion was her passion. She took up modelling offers and assignments while studying at college in Delhi (India). She also achieved fame in the field of fashion design and styling and is known for her distinctive designs. Her taste and ideas have always different from the rest.
Label ‘Coco By Bawa’ has been a part of many distinguished fashion shows. Surjeet Bawa is not only a master of design but also of creativity and innovation. This lady is going global!
Meet our featured beauty with brains Pragati Jain, a makeup artist based in Sydney, Australia.
Here is an interview with her:
Tell us more about yourself, your hobbies, passions etc.
Well, for the basics, I am a 20 years old girl pursuing my degree in business administration from SP Jain School of Global Management, Sydney. As for my hobbies, I love to dabble between things and explore new skills. I am an avid bathroom singer, hahaha. Besides that I really like to dance, sketch and write. I even have an instagram page where I portray a bit of my writing and sketching (@doodlesbypaggy). Currently I have started a new venture called BreakThruu that advocates mental health and wellbeing (www.breakthruu.com) I am sure you see what I mean by dabbling between new things. Apart from that I really love to travel. I’ve visited a lot of countries and explored lots of new cultures.
Who or what inspired you to become a makeup artist? To be honest, I’ve been drawing and painting ever since I was a kid and makeup just expands those boundaries. I mean with makeup being added to the list, you are not just constricted or confined to the canvas or a sketchbook, you have much more to explore. Apart from that I love meeting new people and makeup allows me to connect with amazing people with really powerful personalities. I learn something new from every client of mine and that’s what I really really like. This is why I decided to become a makeup artist and this was my inspiration.
If you could give any celebrity a makeover, who would it be and why?
Ummm, this is a tough one actually because there are so many people I would love to give a makeover to. But if I have to come down to one person, I think it would be Emma Watson. She inspires me. Ever since I was a kid I have been a potter head, plus she is the one person who fights for things she is passionate about. She has done so much for the world. She is a true feminist and has constantly fought for gender equality and sexual harassment. I really admire her. We need more women like her.
Who is your style icon and why?
I have 4 style icons and they are my mom, my grandma and my aunts (bua) (masi). All four of them are strong, independent women who carry themselves with a certain class and elegance. I’ve really admired the way they wear what their heart desires but still look refined and sophisticated and I think that’s really rare. I’ve always looked up to them and will continue to do so my entire life.
Feel free to check out her makeup page on Instagram:
Business With Balance 