Fashion industry veteran, pattern designer and clothing brand founder Christine Lindebak joins Editor in Chief Jennifer Blot for a conversation on her transition from working in the fast-paced corporate fashion world to building websites and running her very own creative business.

Christine Lindebak is an American designer and creator based on the Mediterranean seaside in Valencia, Spain. She’s the force behind Sewing and the City, selling fashion sewing patterns online and in shops around the globe and inspiring people of all ages to sew their own clothes. Christine is also the founder of a bespoke homeware brand called Lindy Lindy, where she transforms vintage Spanish linens into one-of-a-kind, getting-ready attire for brides.

Learn more about Christine Lindebak:

Sewing in the City Website

Instagram – Sewing in the City

Lindy Lindy Website

Instagram – Lindy Lindy

Artist Megan Aroon joins Editor in Chief Jennifer Blot for a conversation on the beauty of living a nomadic life and creating on the go. For the past two years, Megan has traveled the U.S. in her tiny home, aka her van/mobile studio, with her cat Mikee, creating series of artworks along the way — including paintings inspired by the National Parks and other natural wonders. She is a conservation artist, striving to preserve and conserve the natural world, sharing the beauty of our planet as seen through her eyes in colorful, whimsical art.

Her art was featured on “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Good Morning America,” along with magazine features in WHERE Women Create, O, The Oprah Magazine, Good Housekeeping and even the cover of Interior Design. Products with Megan’s art can be found at Urban Outfitters, HomeGoods, Nordstrom and more.

Learn more about Megan Aroon:

Website

Instagram

Pinterest

Sewing pattern designer and entrepreneur Sara Lawson joins Editor in Chief Jennifer Blot for a conversation on building an online community, the importance of using long-form video to support and inspire your customers’ creativity and more! Based in Chicago, Sara started her company Sew Sweetness in 2013, and today her team includes family members and pattern testers. In addition to designing sewing patterns for a wide array of tote bags, purses and pouches, she also produces full-length instructional videos to complement her patterns.

Sara has a popular live show on Facebook and YouTube called “Sewcial Sunday.” Topics for the show include new fabrics in the stash, a Bag Lab demonstration, book review and live question-and-answer session.

Learn more about Sara Lawson:

Website
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube

Internationally renowned surface pattern designer, entrepreneur and award-winning online educator Bonnie Christine joins Editor in Chief Jennifer Blot for a conversation on how to hit the ground running with pattern designing, methods to improve your productivity and much more!

Bonnie has been creating delicate and ethereal artwork for brands and products around the world since 2009. She’s a mama, artist and fabric designer living nestled back in the hills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Her goal is to help creatives earn a living doing what they love. Her journey of being a self-taught designer and learning “the hard way” is exactly what drives her passion for teaching others how to become a successful creative entrepreneur.

Learn more about Bonnie Christine:

Instagram

Website

Immersion with Bonnie Christine - Course

The Professional Creative Podcast

Weaver, spinner, garment designer and entrepreneur Astrid Tauber joins Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Blot for a conversation on what led Astrid to textile arts, along with her favorite parts of the creative process, the advantages to her family’s unconventional approach to education, and MUCH more!

Astrid, whose story was featured in WHAT Women Create in 2023, is the youngest artist to be featured in our magazines.

When she was 7 years old, her mom signed her up for a series of craft classes at a local store. Little did Astrid know that all these years later (she’s now 14), she would be a girl who could “shear a sheep, spin balanced yarn, and weave her own fabric to create garments.” Fiber was the chrysalis that took Astrid from a painfully shy girl who looked like a deer in headlights any time someone approached her, to a young woman who has found her voice and the confidence to be heard.

Learn More about Astrid Tauber:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Master Milliner Jenny Pfanenstiel joins Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Blot for a conversation on her journey from making hats in her basement as a hobby to founding her couture shop Formé Millinery in Louisville, Kentucky, and acquiring supply companies that provide materials for other milliners and help ensure that the craft of millinery continues to thrive. Jenny is a world-renowned milliner awarded for her skill of creating and sculpting hats by hand using the highest quality and rare materials from across the globe.

The art of millinery is a technique that dates back centuries through molding straw and wool over wooden hat forms. Taking from traditional millinery techniques, Jenny is known throughout the world for her unique process of sculpting hats on a braid machine from the 1800s. She is a five-time Featured Milliner of the Kentucky Derby. In 2019, she was 1 of 50 women entrepreneurs selected as a Tory Burch Fellow through the Tory Burch Foundation. She has three co-branded hat patterns through McCall Patterns, and leads hat-making workshops for all levels. Jenny is the author of the book The Making of a Milliner and has collaborated with exciting brands and dignitaries such as Woodford Reserve, Vineyard Vines, J Peterman, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Madonna, and Barbara Cochran, to name a few. She and her husband Bart own four hat companies and just celebrated opening their third hat shop in Kentucky.

Learn more about Jenny Pfanenstiel:

Forme Millinery Website

Hat Box USA Website

Judith M Supply Website

The Hat Shoppe Louisville Website

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Forme Millinery Instagram

The Hat Shoppe Louisville Instagram

Judith M Supply Instagram

Cara Loffredo and Africa Rubio Pastor join Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Blot for a conversation on the importance of shopping local woman-founded businesses, especially during the critical holiday selling season. For the past six years, Cara and Africa have been running markets throughout the Boston area and have helped launch the careers of many women entrepreneurs, along with expanding their own business with new initiatives, including a popup brick-and-mortar shop earlier this year and a new series of Holiday Markets at the historic Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

A passion for entrepreneurship runs in Cara Loffredo‘s blood. She grew up surrounded by family members that all have had a small business at one point or another, from a dog and cat boarding kennel to an outdoor waterpark. After graduating from Suffolk University, Cara began working for a variety of organizations where she was able to get her hands dirty in all things small business, from running payroll, to event organization, to graphic design. Over the years she has come to realize she gets the greatest satisfaction and joy from helping others learn and succeed, and strives to bring this to the BWM community every day.

Africa Rubio Pastor is the co-founder of Boston Women’s Market. Africa is originally from Madrid, Spain. When she lived in Spain she spent a lot of time with her mother at markets (as a vendor) helping her with her business. Africa realized the hard work that goes into building a business, setting up for markets, selling products and the long hours standing. BWM was built to provide vendors with an incredible experience while being part of the markets and community. Africa loves that she can help businesses thrive and support makers’ journeys through Boston Women’s Market.

Website

Instagram

Explore the Boston Women’s Market Events Calendar HERE

Artist and Interior Designer Kalen Mehlman of Kalen's Place joins Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Blot for a conversation on how our “creative selves” can transform over time, tapping into new opportunities and growth as professionals and artistic beings. Kalen shares the importance of recognizing our inner creative journey and how that can serve us professionally and personally.

A lifelong “creative”, Kalen Mehlman can be found in Phoenix, Arizona working as an artist and full-time interior designer…and taco slinger at her family’s local restaurant, The Beach House. Kalen’s scope of creative work includes providing custom pieces of whimsical artwork that were sold in boutiques and directly to clients throughout the Valley, teaching children’s art classes and inspiring workshops for many years, and designing interiors for both residential and commercial spaces. Currently, her primary focus as a creative and female entrepreneur is in the interior design world…but to her, there’s always room for new future “creative career” opportunities just around the corner!