MADE. Q3 2025

Second

Cover

Third row: Sarah Valenskiy, Pei Sim, Shannon Davenport, Elaina

Photographs on this page:

INTERIM CEO

Sarah Puil

VP of BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Betsy Blanks

MEDIA SALES EXECUTIVE

Farrar Lindner

MARKETING & PRODUCTION MANAGER

Isabella Petrecca

INTERIM EDITOR

SALES & EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Bobbie Blanks

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Shannon Fraze

Shion Chung

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Ashley Snyder

Corrine Piorkowski

Kimberly Andrade

Isabella Petrecca

Jocelyn Lovelle

ART CONTRIBUTORS

Lucero Creative

All featured photos are courtesy of the makers. See images for credits.

AW MEDIA INC.

CO-OWNER/CO-FOUNDER

Melinda Garvey

CO-FOUNDERS

Kip Garvey

Samantha Stevens

CO-OWNERS

Lana Macrum, Lynelle Mckay, Gretel Perera

Ana Ruelas, Neha Sampat

Austin Woman is a free monthly publication of AW Media Inc. and is available at locations throughout Austin and in Lakeway, Cedar Park, Round Rock and Pflugerville. All rights reserved.

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No part of the magazine may be reprinted or duplicated without permission. Visit us online at atxwoman.com. Email us at info@awmediainc.com. 512 328.2421 | 7401 West Slaughter Lane, Austin, TX 78739

CONTRIBUTORS

Ashley Snyder

Ashley Snyder, Austin Woman’s summer marketing intern, is completing her master’s in Mass Communications at Texas Tech, graduating December 2025. With previous internships in PR, media planning, marketing, strategy and multi-year participation in the National Student Advertising Competition, she embraced this experience as an opportunity to grow in social planning and integrated communications for a publication that inspires and empowers its community.

Corrine Piorkowski

Corinne Piorkowski is a senior at the University of Texas studying journalism. She wants to be a multimedia journalist postgraduation in print, radio or broadcast. She’s a part-time radio host with KUT News 90.5, and this year, will be a fellow for Spectrum News Austin. In her free time, she loves thrifting, hanging out with her friends and watching Vanderpump Rules.

Kimberly Andrade

Kimberly Andrade was born and raised in Laredo, Texas. She earned a degree in Communication and Leadership and a certificate in Digital Arts and Media from UT Austin. She has always had a passion for storytelling, and practices photography, videography and writing in hopes of becoming a multimedia journalist.

Shion Chung

With a background in social work, Shion is a graphic design and motion student passionate about community, storytelling and visual communication. They find joy in mutual aid, shared meals and nature. Through design, they aim to build connections and create meaningful, resonant work that celebrates beauty, belonging and collective care.

EDITOR'S LETTER

Austin Woman Magazine exists to amplify the women in our city, and in that spirit, we will be featuring an inspiring woman each month as the guest writer of this letter. We're starting off this new tradition with a word from our CEO, Sarah Puil.

Dear Readers,

Austin has always been a city of creatives, doers and people making things from scratch. For half a century, we’ve been known for our music scene and our independent spirit, though lately we've been making headlines for our stand-up comedy and our role in emerging tech and the venture capital reshaping our downtown skyline. Even so, makers, and women makers in particular, have always been at the heart of Austin's spirit.

This issue is for them.

For the ones who start small, show up for 4 a.m. load-ins, turn kitchens into offices, garages into production lines, and ideas into income, we are shining the spotlight on their work.

Women all over Austin are creating on their own terms with grit, vision and hustle, and we've talked to those who’ve scaled, and those still finding time after the school drop-off or their day job. They remind us that artistry and entrepreneurship can and do coexist, and that here in Austin, creativity is our backbone and our legacy.

We created MADE to showcase that legacy and offer you, our readers, a glimpse of what it takes to live and work as a maker in a city that’s constantly evolving. In this issue, we celebrate the vision and resilience of all the women makers in Austin, not just the ones on our pages.

See you at the market,

Sarah Puil CEO, Austin Woman

“Here in Austin, creativity is our backbone and our legacy.”

June 26

Networking Happy Hour

On a warm June evening, our Connects Club gathered on the beautiful patio of Hillside Farmacy for a happy hour designed just for Austin Woman. The space set the tone: inviting, lively and perfect for sparking connection. Hillside curated a special wine and cocktail list for us, which paired beautifully with mingling and making new conntections. Later, everyone shared who they are, what they hope to gain from the club and—just for fun—who would play them in a movie. It was an evening of laughter, new friendships and conversations that reminded us why community matters.

Connects Club Summer Experiences

Austin Woman Connects Club is all about creating meaningful connections between professional women, local businesses and experiences that inspire. This summer, we came together for everything from candid virtual workshops to lively happy hours. Each event reminded us how powerful it is to gather, learn and lift each other up. Keep reading for highlights from the season—and don’t miss our upcoming Book Club later this month!

July 8

Virtal: Communication Skills

In this virtual workshop, AWCC members practiced the art of communication with Nammy Sirur of Austin Toastmasters. Through interactive exercises, we asked questions, shared stories, and sharpened our introductions and pitches. From storytelling techniques to nonverbal presence, the session was all about learning by doing. Members left not just with new skills, but with the confidence to capture attention and make their voices heard in any room.

August 5

Virtual: Discussion on DEI

This Austin Woman Connects Club virtual gathering felt more like a circle of women than a panel, as members shared candid stories about equity in their workplaces. Guided by strategist and Scaffina founder Natalie Poindexter, the conversation dug into access, leadership, and everyday decision-making—revealing both the weight women carry and the power they hold. Attendees left with renewed confidence and practical ways to create more equitable spaces.

Upcoming: September 25 Book Club

On September 25, join our Austin Woman Connects Club for a virtual discussion of We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers. Part playbook and part pep talk, Rodgers shares practical steps and mindset shifts to help women claim confidence, power, and financial freedom. In a world where only 10 percent of millionaires are women, this book reminds us that owning our wealth is key to creating lasting equality.

August 8 Self Defense Class

It was a sweaty, high-energy night at Fit & Fearless as AWCC members kicked, punched, screamed and had a blast under the guidance of co-owners Amie and Amelia. They led us through drills, movement and combatives that pushed us out of our comfort zones while showing just how strong and capable our bodies really are. Between bursts of action, there was laughter, encouragement and plenty of cheering each other on. Held in Fit & Fearless’ super-cool gym, the class embodied Amie and Amelia’s mission: creating a welcoming space where movement empowers mind, body and soul.

Are you looking for a community to connect with like-minded women?

Join us next time!

Pop-Up Hustle

The Highs and Lows of Market

Life

For Austin’s makers, pop-up markets are one of the most direct ways to get their work in front of potential customers, and they don't have to fight with an algorithm or get past an anonymous gatekeeper to get their product seen.

Most makers get started at markets the old-school way when a friend encourages them to sell what they make, or they spot an open vendor application online and think maybe they could really do this thing. They pay anywhere from $30 to a few hundred dollars for their booth fee, with no guarantee of a payout at the end of the day. They gamble on weather, foot traffic and their own pitch and product, hoping to cover costs and while they work towards something bigger.

Behind every sun-soaked booth is the real story shoppers never see: weeks spent making enough product, nights planning table setups that won’t blow over, a car packed tighter than a moving truck and a last-minute scramble to bribe a sibling or best friend to help haul it all down to a parking lot before dawn. There’s rain that soaks the booth, wind that flips the sign into the street, heat that has sweat rolling down everyone's back, and then, there are the moments when strangers wander up and become your biggest fans.

The Real Cost of Showing Up

At sunrise on market day, parking lots around Austin flicker awake as rows of tents pop up. Barton Creek’s Maker’s Market, the

Mueller loop, that monthly pop-up on South Congress, each stall hides weeks of prep, backup plans for bad weather and more upfront money than the casual browser would ever guess.

It looks easy to the shoppers on a sunny stroll, but for vendors it rarely is.

Chef Coi Townsend, a former “Hell’s Kitchen” contestant and founder of SmackARon, knows the setup well. Her macaron booth bursts with color and flavor, but the labor behind it is serious.

“I think the most common misconception is that it’s just a weekend hobby,” she says. “For some it might be, but for most, it’s our livelihood. I’m literally creating a storefront that I neatly pack tight in my car, create masterful displays and hope for the best selling day yet. One day I’ll be on a shelf. Today, I’m in a tent, telling you why this SmackARon is magic!”

The physical toll is real. Vendors stand for hours, lifting bins heavier than they look, smiling through the same pitch on repeat. The mental load follows. Pricing, inventory, signage, receipts. Makers are the face of the business but also the cashier, sales associate and manufacturer.

Still, when the alarm rings the next Saturday, they are up before dawn again with a friend or family member on call to help out when exhaustion hits.

More Than a Sale

For many makers, pop-ups are freedom. They are a way to meet buyers face to face, with no middleman taking a cut and no lease draining profit. It’s where they test new ideas without dumping money into ads or big production runs. It’s also where they connect with other vendors, swap booth hacks and help each other out.

Amanda Willis, co-founder of Grit Mercantile, learned quickly that sales aren’t the only metric of success. She and her husband, Garrett, create handcrafted leather goods that reflect their love for quality and functionality. The business is an extension of Amanda’s lifelong fascination with leather sparked by childhood days cleaning saddles and growing up around horses.

“We went into our first market with the mindset that, ‘No matter what happens, this will be the best market we’ve had,’” she says. “While we did make some sales, it wasn’t enough to cover our costs. But we gained skills we continue to hone and relationships with fellow small businesses that have been just as valuable.”

She also points out that not every market is a fit. “With higherpriced items like handbags, we consider whether the audience is a good match,” she says. It's a critical lesson most new vendors learn the hard way.

Why They Keep Coming Back

So why do they keep doing it?

“The amazing people, the shared grind, the fleeting magic of strangers holding your work, that’s what keeps me showing up,” says Townsend. “Watching a guest light up from something I made with my own hands never gets old.”

For Willis, markets offer both business growth and priceless family memories. “There’s no match for the life skills our daughter learns while watching it all happen. And honestly, the amazing people we meet and the opportunities that occur when innovative creatives gather, that’s what keeps us motivated.”

Makers show up for the chance to stand behind their work and see someone's face change when they hold it. They show up to prove an idea has legs, and to feel the quiet pride of building something real in a town full of big talk and even bigger startups.

Markets remind makers why they started in the first place, to make something by hand, something that lasts, something that has meaning beyond the moment of the market, beyond the hours dedicated to making it all go around.

They can manage to keep showing up because of the maker community that surrounds them. They know someone always has their back whether it's a friend, a spouse or another entrepreneur.

Ask any maker packing up at dusk and they’ll tell you it’s never just about the sale. It’s about carving out a small corner of Austin and saying, “I made this. And I’m still here.” ◆

The Jewelers

Jessica Sherretts

La Lumierie @lalumiereny

Jamie Turner

Jamie Turner Designs @jamieturnerdesigns

Rachel Nathan

Rachel Nathan Design @rachelnathandesign

Sheila Walker

A Wink of Yellow @awinkofyellow

Talla Kuperman

Love Talla @lovetalla

Kate Winternitz

Kate Winternitz Jewelry @katewinternitzjewelry

Leigh and Susan Navarro

Dawn & Dusk @dawnandduskjewelry

Haley Lebeuf

Haley Lebeuf Jewelry @haleylebeuf

Ann Rutt-Enriquez

Limbo Jewelry

@limbojewelry

The Sparkle Set Austin’s Jewelry Makers to Know

Austin sparkles—but not always in storefront windows. You’ll find the city’s most exciting jewelry makers working under tents at Saturday markets, tinkering in backyard studios or packing up orders at midnight.

This list isn’t about household names, though a few of them did start here (think Kendra Scott, Nina Berenato, Zoe Comings, and the early Stella & Dot network). It’s about the women who are grinding, polishing, stringing and shaping their way into the scene, piece by piece. From hammered brass to hand-rolled beads, these micro makers are keeping Austin’s jewelry game fresh, personal and full of texture.

According to the Better Business Bureau, there are more than 160 independent jewelry designers operating in the Austin metro. But we’ve been out there, feet on the street, and there are oh so many more building their brands one market, one DM, one late-night drop at a time.

In a city where handmade still holds weight, jewelry is more than just an accessory—it’s identity, expression and a side hustle turned into something more. So whether you’re looking to support local, discover a new favorite or just catch a little sparkle, these are the women worth watching.

“Jewelry gave me a language to tell stories and build connections.”

— Haley Lebeuf

Made to Taste

Women Behind Austin’s Most Delicious Goods

Austin’s food scene has range. It’s birthed grocery aisle staples like Siete Foods, Lick Honest Ice Creams, NadaMoo!, and mmmpanadas. These are brands that started at kitchen tables and farmers markets and now ship nationwide. And the restaurant world is thriving too, with homegrown hospitality groups shaping how Austin dines.

But this list isn’t about empire builders. It’s about small-batch makers.

The women hand-rolling dough, infusing honey, fermenting sauces, and packaging cookies at midnight after the kids are asleep. From culture-rooted spice blends to next-gen snacks and heirloom-inspired preserves, they’re feeding Austin with flavor, heritage and grit.

According to the City of Austin, more than 300 local food manufacturers and cottage food businesses are registered in the metro area. But if you’ve walked a farmers market lately, you know that’s just the surface. The city is bursting with edible entrepreneurship, and many of the most exciting goods come from women-led brands still flying under the radar.

Ready to taste what’s next? This is your cheat sheet. Meet the women behind some of Austin’s most craveable goods. Come hungry. Leave inspired.

Teddy V Patissiere

friends’ faces when they tried her babka for the first time.”

—

Sariel Brummer & Adar Nadler

Sariel Brummer and Adar Nadler

Lady Babka @lady.babka.co

Hayley Cakes and Cookies

Hayley Cakes @thehayleycakes

Amanda Vasquez

Native Roots Salsa @nativerootssalsaco

Erin Link Yellowbird Hot Sauce @yellowbirdsauce

Nicole Patel Delysia Chocolate @delysia_choc

Judy Crofut

Goodflow Honey @goodflowhoneyco

Kimberly Zash and Sara Gibson

Sightseer Coffee @sightseercoffee

Tara Chapman

Two Hives Honey @twohives

Coi Townsend

Smack-A-Ron @smackarontx

Elisia Valasquez

Teddy V. Patissiere @teddyvcookies

Jazmin Lozano

La Boujee Housewife @laboujeehousewife

Farah Moussellati Sibai Afia Foods @afiafoods

The Artists

Avery Price

Coloring Austin @coloringatx

Camille Richardson

Delgado

Golden Hour Live Art @goldenhourliveart

Melissa Borrell

Melissa Borrell Design @melissaborrellart

Yasmin Youseff

The Gold Current @thegoldcurrent

Maggie Lyon

Maggie Lyon Art @maggielyonart

Tanya Zhou

Wise Art Owls @wise.art.owls

Anna Muniz

WatercolorATX

@watercoloratx

Courtney Holder

Courtney Holder Art @courtneyholderart

Claire Thompson

Flower & Vine

@flowerandvine

Pei Sim

Paper + Craft Pantry @thepapercraftpantry

Kelsey Livingston

Livingston Made @livingstonmade

Sara Mack

Artist Couple LLC

@artistcouplellc

Wall Candy Visual Artists & Printmakers Making Austin Bright

Walk around Austin and you won’t go a block without seeing a mural. Art is everywhere— painted on walls, plastered to poles, layered in zines, printed on T-shirts, or sold out of vintage suitcases at weekend markets. This city doesn’t just support creativity, it lives in it. And the women behind that color and grit? They’re silkscreening, collaging, lino-cutting, and risograph-printing their way into homes, shops, and shared spaces all over town.

This isn’t about highbrow gallery shows or polished fine art. It’s about the kind of work that feels personal, punchy, maybe even a little political. The stuff you frame because it makes you feel something. In Austin, visual artists don’t wait for a curator’s approval. They hit a market, post a drop on Instagram, or team up with a local brand for a limited-edition run.

According to the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division, more than 400 women-identifying artists are officially registered as visual artists or printmakers, and that’s not counting the countless creatives working informally through collectives, studios, and side hustles. With more boutiques stocking local prints and more walls going up for public art, this moment is full of opportunity.

“I love the sensation of getting lost in the flow of creation, where hours slip by unnoticed and I’m completely immersed in the process.”

— Sara Mack

Stiched with Soul

Textile & Fiber Artists to Watch

“We get to create cool, weird, meaningful stuff together—every single day.”

— Gusto Graphic Tees

Before fast fashion, there was the thread. The stitch. The weave. The hands that knew how to repair, repurpose, and reimagine what fabric could do. In Austin, that spirit is woven into quilts, tapestries, garments, and fiber installations that carry not just color, but meaning.

The city’s fiber artists are telling stories with texture, using embroidery, natural dye, punch needle, visible mending, and quilting to create art that doesn’t just hang on a wall, but wraps, moves, and heals. They come from backgrounds in fashion, education, homemaking, and activism. What unites them is a deep reverence for process—and a quiet rebellion against disposability.

Austin is home to dozens of women working in fiber and textile art, from heritage quiltmakers to experimental weavers and wearable art designers. While there’s no single registry, local studios like The Fiber House Collective and Austin School of Fiber Arts have seen a 40% increase in textilerelated classes and exhibitions over the past two years—a clear sign that the craft resurgence isn’t slowing down.

This list honors the women who are reclaiming the slow, soulful art of fiber. The ones turning stitches into stories and cloth into connection.

Tabria Williford Tawa Threads @tawathreads

Csilla Somogyi

Csilla Somogyi @csilla_somogyi

Deborah Main

The Pillow Goddess @thepillowgoddess

Kelli & Amy

Gusto Graphic Tees @gustographictees

Kathy Buck and Emily Preece

The Monogram Lady @themonogramlady

Gabrielle Zanda

Copper Dot Weaving @copperdotweaving

Uwakima Udom Uwakstar Designs @uwakstar

Ashley Ludkowski Selva Studio @selvastudio.co

Marcela Homrich

Marcela Homrich @marcelahomrich

Isabella Johnson Wildflower Apparel @wildflower.apparel

Making a living by making in

Austin is a deeply creative act, and also a highly logistical one.

From navigating zoning laws to managing limited or expensive studio space, local makers are balancing ambition, identity and economics. This isn’t the glossy Instagram version of entrepreneurship. It’s the reality: craft tables where dining rooms used to be, long days spent fulfilling orders and late nights reconciling expenses. It’s labor, both emotional and physical. And it doesn’t always look the way people think it does.

To understand what it really takes, we talked to two Austin-based women who built full-time creative businesses from the ground up by combining home and business, a not uncommon practice (and often necessity) for early stage solopreneurs and side hustlers.

South Austin

Succulents, Systems and Starting From Scratch

Shannon Donaldson Founder of Succulent Native

Shannon Donaldson started Succulent Native as a popup cart, a side hustle that grew, pivoted and bloomed into a full-time, multi-channel business, and like a lot of makers, that growth came with compromise.

“I literally lived inside my retail shop at one point,” Donaldson says. “Now, I split my living room into two zones: a messy workspace for packing and shipping and a clean one for office work.”

Like many makers, she juggles inventory, logistics and personal space in the same footprint.

“Most people don’t realize how deeply your home becomes entangled with your business,” she says. “You feel obligated to work every single day. Your home stops being your sanctuary.”

While the work is creative, Donaldson's success didn’t come from creativity alone. It came from structure. “A good bookkeeping app is a lifesaver,” she says. “If QuickBooks is too complicated, use Wave. Something to help you stay organized and grounded in the business side of it.”

For Donaldson, thriving as a home-based maker in Austin has meant sacrifice, relentless problem-solving and adapting her space again and again, all to keep the dream alive and keep the lights on.

Kelly Buller

West Austin

Parenthood, Passion and the Power of Boundaries

Kelly Buller Founder of Austin Baby Company

When Kelly Buller became a mom, her creative drive fueled the decision to create a lifestyle that allowed her to be more present to her family.

“I’ve always loved to create,” she says. “But when I had my son, it hit me: I wanted to build a life that worked around my family, not one that made me miss it.”

Austin Baby Company was born out of that vision. The business offers thoughtful, eco- and human-friendly products for on-the-go children and their families. Every product Buller carries is developed, prototyped and shipped from her home.

From the outside, it can look clean and neat, even easy, but any maker will tell you, that's not what's behind the curtain. “We didn’t have the option to get a studio space,” she says. “So we just made it work. I built my workspace into the flow of our home by necessity.”

Like many home-based makers, she confronts the disconnect between the public perception of her work and the behind-the-scenes reality. “It appears more glamorous than it truly is on social media,” Buller says. “People don’t see the time management, the chaos, the discipline.”

For Buller, success is about boundaries, business strategy and balance.

“Self-care, daily movement, remembering why I started, those are the tools that keep me going.”

The Work Beyond the Work

Both Donaldson and Buller agree being a maker is more than just creating. Bringing a vision to life is full of the business of getting it into the hands of customers, from prototypes, iterations, branding, labels, boxes, shipping and bookkeeping.

Austin’s creative economy depends on women like Donaldson and Buller, but they and other makers face real impediments to starting, growing and scaling, from lack of affordable studio spaces to zoning logistics and cost of living that makes it hard or impossible to quit a good-paying job and attend to the business full time. This causes many makers to scale slower than they’d like, or burn out trying to do it all.

And yet, many keep going.

Because the work and the possibility of something more, something created by hand, is worth it. ◆

From Boardroom to Workbench

Women Who Swapped Corporate for Creativity

They walked away from high-powered meetings, polished resumes and steady paychecks in order to create some sweetness in their lives and the lives of others.

More and more, women are choosing hands-on paths over continuing to climb corporate ladders. They're changing their tools, their hours, their metrics and how they measure success. Perhaps because what they’re creating is tangible and has nothing to do with performance reviews or stock options.

Nobody quits at lunch and goes viral by dinner. There's a process to detangling habits and unwinding a life from systems that no longer serve in order to build one that does.

The Breaking Point

There's rarely a dramatic revelation that creates an immediate shift. The decision to dramatically change careers often comes more slowly, starting with the desire for more, the need for creating something by hand. It's often a slow burn from long days that have bled into longer nights for too long and the promise of worklife balance collapsing under meetings, deadlines and a crushing mental load.

A 2023 Deloitte study found that nearly half of working women in the U.S. report feeling burned out. A separate report from McKinsey and LeanIn.org revealed that women in senior roles are leaving companies at the highest rate in years, driven by unmanageable workloads, lack of flexibility and the rising cost of ignoring their own needs.

Burnout isn’t the only catalyst. Layoffs, maternity leave and life transitions often act as unexpected turning points like they did for Nicole Patel, founder of Delysia Chocolatier.

Patel began making chocolate as holiday gifts while pregnant with her first child. At the time, she was leading a semiconductor fabrication team and overseeing a Six Sigma program. But when she was laid off while expecting her second child everything changed. What had started as a creative outlet suddenly became a lifeline.

She describes those early days as both overwhelming and clarifying. Making chocolates gave her a sense of calm and direction during a season of uncertainty. “It helped me cope with the grief of leaving behind a career I loved,” she says, “all while caring for a two-year-old and expecting another child.” Looking back, she believes that if the layoff hadn’t happened, she never would have pursued her passion, built a brand or dared to imagine herself as a business owner. “I went from manufacturing semiconductors to making chocolate,” she says. “Building Delysia Chocolatier taught me something entirely different in that growth often comes from letting go.”

What They Let Go of and What They Found

There’s no romanticizing what these women gave up. Corporate jobs offer structure, insurance, direct deposits and tidy LinkedIn titles. They come with stability, or at least the illusion of it.

Stepping into a handmade life means embracing uncertainty and learning the hard way under tents at farmers markets, in long solitary hours with no clear roadmap and all the blame when deadlines are missed.

Elisia Velasquez, founder of Teddy V. Patisserie, understands that trade-off intimately. While still working in healthcare, she applied for a spot at the Mueller Farmers Market in 2017. “I thought, let me just have fun with this,” she says. Baking was always something she loved, but it lived in the background, behind the scenes of a stable job.

The weekend gig quickly became more than a creative outlet. By early 2019, the stress of balancing two careers caught up with her. “I was running myself ragged doing both and wanted to give my all to Teddy V.,” she recalls. She quit her job and jumped in fully.

Without formal culinary training, Velasquez had to learn by doing, and like most makers, by often failing. At times, the lack of traditional industry knowledge gave her the confidence to carve her own path. Other times, it left her feeling like an imposter. “Sometimes not knowing protocols was freeing,” she explains, “but sometimes it made me feel like I had no idea what I was doing and someone would find me out.”

What helped her stay grounded was finding a support system. A mentorship program called The Non-Nine-to-Five™ gave her structure, tools and most importantly, belief in herself. “It was crucial, critical, essential in getting me started and transitioning out of my job,” she says. Now, every early morning, every risk, every batch of cookies is hers, made from scratch and on her terms.

Craft as a Compass

Women who go from boardroom to creating don't start out seeing craft as a career. It started as something they did on the side, stealing moments in between real life. It was something they did for joy, and eventually, they needed more of that in their life.

Tara Chapman’s story is just as sweet as Patel's and Velasquez's.

After nearly a decade working in U.S. intelligence, with deployments from Pakistan to Afghanistan, Chapman returned to Texas disillusioned. She had built a career in national security, but the work no longer felt aligned with the life she wanted to build. On a whim, she signed up for a beekeeping class she found on Groupon. That class changed everything.

What started as curiosity quickly turned to obsession. “I found myself fascinated and borderline obsessed with honey bees,” she says. Within six months of setting up her first hives with a friend, she was already making plans to leave her government job and launch a new kind of business.

That business became Two Hives Honey, a company offering handcrafted products and immersive beekeeping education experiences. But the leap was anything but easy. “Quitting your job to start a business is scary,” she says, "and anyone who reports otherwise is, I’m convinced, lying or sitting on a trust fund, or both.” Even now, she admits she’s still surprised she took the risk at all. “I would never have considered myself the risk-taking type.”

More challenging than the fear, though, was the loneliness. “No one, not your partner, your kids, your friends, truly understands what it’s like to be an

entrepreneur unless you’ve done it yourself with your own money,” she says. That’s why, for Chapman, building community with other founders has been just as important as building a business.

Letting It Be Enough

None of the women in this story set out to prove something. But at some point, they realized they no longer wanted to meet the corporate definition of success.

The ambition is still there, it just looks different now.

Nicole Patel still sets goals, Elisia Velasquez still wakes up early and Tara Chapman still keeps spreadsheets. But their drive is now shaped by satisfaction, joy, instinct and self-direction, not performance reviews and corporate metrics.

The risks are real. But so is the reward: autonomy, alignment and a life built on their own terms.

The Shape of What Comes Next

There’s no tidy ending to a story like this. No guaranteed trajectory. Some will scale. Some will stay small on purpose. Some will decide it's not for them.

Each of these women knows what it means to begin again and to let one version of themselves go and build something new with their own hands. They understand it’s about the success and satisfaction of making space for something new to grow and trusting they don’t need all the answers at once. ◆

Pop-Up to Powerhouse

The Handmade Hustle

Behind Austin’s Most Creative Shops

Most successes in Austin’s maker scene start something like this: a folding table, a handmade sign, little sleep and lots of grit.

Pop-up markets in this city are the low-barrier-toentry way for a solopreneur to get their product and name out there, while providing a proving ground, helping makers turn their weekend hobby slash late night side hustle into full-fledged brands. They're where nascent entrepreneurs learn how to connect, pivot and persevere.

But what does it really take to grow from market booth to storefront? Two Austin-based women, Hayley Callaway of Hayley Cakes and Cookies and Sarah Sides of Loveweld, share with us how they built creative empires from humble beginnings. Their paths weren’t linear, and their growth didn’t come easily, but both women turned the grind of weekly set ups into the foundation of permanent doors on Austin’s small business landscape.

From Late Nights to Loyal Customers

“I had the product made and ready to go, but I had to stay up all night long,” said Hayley Callaway, founder of HayleyCakes, recalling her first market. “I called a friend for a Hail Mary save at 5 a.m. so I could shower while she packaged the cookies. Then we raced to the market to set it up!”

Markets were chaotic, but she loved them, and they quickly revealed the demand for her product was outgrowing her ability to produce.

Her tipping point came when she was paying $1,500 a month to rent table space in a shared kitchen, and her dad said, “What the hell are you thinking?” Callaway realized, “If I could afford that, I could afford a storefront. So that was that.

But owning a space didn’t make things easier. On the first day,

her original baker quit, and all the recipes were either in her baker's head or scribbled in Spanish. “It was chaos,” Calloway said. “I had to teach myself to make bread for sandwiches and homemade tortillas for breakfast tacos. I wanted to quit, but luckily I was young enough that I didn’t need too much sleep.”

Even as the business grew, maintaining her personal touch in a scaled environment proved to be the hardest part.

“Staffing is so hard,” she said. “You want everyone who works for you to be creative, but customers expect it to look like your work every time. Balancing that while growing is incredibly difficult.”

What kept her going was a refusal to let setbacks define her or her business and an unwavering belief that her creative identity mattered.

“Scaling isn’t just more orders. It’s training people in your style, protecting your creativity and still making rent.”

Building from Scratch and Welding the Vision

For Sarah Sides, founder of Loveweld, the path to a permanent storefront also began with a pop-up and a product nobody fully understood yet.

“We were welding jewelry on the spot, and people were genuinely intrigued,” she said. “But the concept wasn’t widely known. One customer said, ‘Wait, you’re actually welding this on me?’”

Permanent jewelry was brand-new to most Austinites, and Sarah was hauling equipment, managing tech issues and operating with no roadmap, making the early days grueling. “There was no training, no precedence, no one to help answer my questions,” Sides said.

She kept at it, kept explaining what her jewelry was about and she became her own roadmap. “Every time a customer shared that our jewelry marked a special moment — a friendship, a milestone, a commitment — it reminded me why we started.”

Sides' move to a storefront was prompted by a demand, just like Calloway's. “People kept asking, ‘Where’s your permanent location?’ That told us there was a real need,” she said. “Opening a storefront felt like giving Loveweld a home, a space where the experience could unfold more intentionally.”

From a shared space in East Austin to 10 locations nationwide, the transition felt surreal. But scaling while staying rooted has required consistent gut checks. “It’s easy to get pulled into the mechanics of growth like operations, hiring, expansion, and lose the spark that made you different,” Sides said.

That intentionality led to a subtle brand shift. “We started as permanent jewelry, but we’ve evolved into being ‘jewelry tailors,’” she said. “Helping clients create beautiful custom pieces in luxurious environments. That’s what’s helped us expand, without losing the heart of what we do.”

To keep that spark alive, her team regularly asks: Are we building systems that support creativity or squeeze it out.

The Unseen Work of Creative Growth

Both Callaway and Sides agree: pop-up markets are like entrepreneur boot camp. Makers learn to fail fast and try again, from handling rejection to understanding margins, all under the pressure and acceleration of setting up shop under a 10x10 tent in 100-degree heat.

Real growth takes more than great products. It takes resilience, systems, support, the ability to say no to the wrong opportunities and yes to the ones that make you stretch.

“Scaling isn’t just more orders,” Callaway said. “It’s training people in your style, protecting your creativity and still making rent.”

For Sides, it’s about alignment. “You have to believe in what you’re building and be willing to turn down anything that dilutes it.”

In a city that romanticizes entrepreneurship, these women live the reality. The late nights, the slow progress, the faith it takes to keep showing up when it feels like nothing is working, until in what only seems like the blink of an eye, it is. ◆

The Botanists

Monique Campanelli Articulture @articulture

Kari Shelton

The Flower Girl @theflowergirltx

Mary Cowger

Austin Moss Creations @austinmosscreations

Jackie Haisley

Burlap & Twine @bulapandtwineatx

Sarah Barnes Frond @frondplantshop

Keri Anderson Plant Party @plantparty.co

Marie Winger

Flower Peddler @flowerpeddlertruck

Shannon Donaldson

Succulent Native @succulentnative

Jodi Strenkowski

Native Bloom @nativebloomfloral

Lauren Yokham

Ollie and Willow Florals @ollieandwillowflorals

Jordan Flowers

Jordan Flowers & Events @jordanflowersevent

For Plant People

Botanical Makers & NatureInspired Goods

“It was about creating something meaningful that helps people feel connected, calm, and inspired.”

— Mary Cowger

Walk any Austin market and you’ll spot tables lined with dried flowers, herbal salves, lavender bundles, and candles that smell like the hill country after a rain. These women are turning plants into products—thoughtfully, beautifully, and often in small batches that sell out before noon.

This list is all about the local makers blending nature with creativity. From herbalists and tea makers to floral artists and botanical printmakers, these are the women using what grows around us to create goods you’ll actually

use, or a gift. Their work is earthy but elevated, often handmade the night before a market or grown in their own gardens.

You’ll find them at places like Texas Farmers Market at Mueller, Barton Creek, Boggy Creek Farm, and seasonal markets like Blue Genie or Frond. And while their products range from wellness-focused to simply beautiful, they all have one thing in common: they’re made with plants, intention, and a serious eye for detail. These aren’t lifestyle influencers. They’re makers growing something real.

Cut, Carved, Crafted

Woodworkers, Leatherworkers & Material Masters

Across Austin, a new generation of craftswomen is reshaping the landscape with tools in hand, boots on, sleeves rolled. They’re chiseling, sanding, riveting, and welding their way into spaces long dominated by sawdust and steel. From custom furniture to handtooled leather and forged metalwork, they’re not just creating beautiful things. They’re building objects meant to last.

Their materials are raw: oak slabs, vegetable-tanned hides, molten metal, reclaimed beams. But what they make are objects that are meant to be used, loved,

and passed down. Think: chairs that hold posture and memory. Bags that get better with age. Pieces that feel as grounded as the women who made them.

Learn more

You may not see their work at every weekend pop-up, but it’s everywhere if you know where to look: hanging on boutique walls, lining thoughtfully curated shelves, furnishing slow-built homes, and anchoring local restaurants with tactile warmth. This kind of making is less about trend and more about legacy.

“I’ve worked hard to building a practice rooted in thoughtful design, and skilled craftsmanship.”

Eliana Bernard Elaina Bernard @elianabernard

Karla Cabido Karmita Creative @karmita.creative

Amanda Willis Grit Mercantile @gritmercantile

Tressa Gilmer Kaimera Leather @kaimera_leather

Michelle Myer

Emiko Woodworks @emiko_woodworks

Linda Rollins Dusty Girl @dustygirlcarver

Cat Quintanilla

Stone Carver Cat @stonecarvercat

— Emiko Woodworks

Emiko Woodworks

Kirsten Dickerson

Raven + Lily @ravenandlily

Conni Reed Consuela @consuelastyle

The Scent Makers

Tai Clay Clay House Candles @clayhousecandles

Fiona Thomas Fairy Fire Creations @fairyfirecandles

Mint Pattanan Kandlery @getkandlery

Emily McKabb Butler

The Good Hippie @thegoodhippie

Christina Hernandez Moon Heart Apothecary @moonheartapothecary

Annette Mayfield

Austin Natural Soap @austinsoaps

Brooke Weathers

Ainsley's Apothecary @ainsleysapothecary

Jessica Devon Nelson Petals & Clay @petalsandclayapothecary

Kelly Johnson

Edgewater Candles ATX @edgewatercandlesatx

Jill Patton

Luna Tigre Candles @lunatigreco

Susan Mays

Veta Nell

@veta.nell

Scent, Light, Ritual

Candle & Wellness Creators

You’ll Want to Follow

“The leap from hobbyist to business owner wasn't a single moment—it was a slow, steady nudge from the people around me who believed in what I was creating.”

Austin’s candle and wellness scene may be small, but it’s surging. More than 40 local brands now line the shelves of boutiques, spas, and hotel lobbies across the city. With one of the highest concentrations of metaphysical and ritual-based shops in Texas, Austin has quietly become a hub for scent-driven self-care.

Every city has a scent. In Austin, it’s palo santo curling off a backyard porch, eucalyptus mist rising in a boutique spa, sage smoke drifting through a pop-up market, and lavender oil dabbed on before a Zoom call. These aren’t

just background notes. They’re the mood music of a city that wears its energy on its sleeve.

At the center of this sensory shift are women who create with meaning. They're not just pouring candles or mixing oils. They're shaping moments, bottling emotion, and infusing everyday rituals with intention. Their work isn’t about mass production. It’s about care that’s crafted, energy-aware, and deeply personal.

Whether you're setting intentions or just

Skin Deep Women

Making Natural Beauty & Body Products in Austin

Ina city where the weather often can’t make up its mind, Austinites take skincare seriously. From triple-digit sun to cedar fever, the elements here are no joke—and local makers have taken note.

Across small-batch apothecaries and markets, Austin women are creating body and beauty products that do more than sit pretty on a shelf. Often born from a maker’s own skincare struggle or wellness need, These are formulas designed to soothe, hydrate, protect, and heal. Think calendula balms made in small backyard studios, face oils that double as fragrance, bar soaps hand-cut and wrapped with dried botanicals.

Shannon Davenport Esker Beauty @eskerbeauty

Jyoti Lohman The Beauty Way @thebeautyway_co

Gloria Henry Black Butterfly @blackbutterflybathbody

Jamie Chandlee and Dr. Hallie McDonald Erly Skincare

Sarah Valenskiy Blossom Essentials @try_blossom

Learn more

Natural skincare isn’t new, but what’s happening in Austin is different. It’s hyperlocal, ingredient-aware, and deeply personal. And it’s growing. From weekly market regulars to brands landing on boutique shelves, these makers are building loyal followings by focusing on quality over hype and results over trend.

This list is a celebration of the women who know their way around a good base oil and a glass dropper. Who test everything on themselves first. Who read the labels so you don’t have to.

“Watching someone light up when they find something that works for them—that's the best part.”

— Erly Skincare

Rebekah Jasso Jenson

Sanara Skincare @sanaraskincare

Dr. Kristina Collins Foy Skincare @love.foy

Vivian Robinson Blübiome Beauty @blubiomebeauty

Mariska Nicholson Olive + M @oliveandm

Raeka Morar Raeka Beauty @raekabeauty

Raina Rose Folk Potions @folkpotions

Rochelle Rae Rae Cosmetics @raecosmetics

How Makers Fund Their Dreams

Grants, Micro Loans and Savings

“You have to be realistic with your pricing. Don't undervalue your work just because you love it”

Ask any Austin maker what it really costs to turn an idea into something people will buy, and they will tell you it's more than you think and it's more than they knew.

The cost of raw materials keeps going up, tools break at just the wrong time, pop-up booths are expensive and the money is sunk, whether there's rain or a 104-degree day. Between supplies, packaging, studio or pop-up space and the marketing it takes to stand out in a crowded city, most makers spend more up front than they ever show in a behind-the-scenes reel.

In a city where startups pitch big ideas and raise millions fast, makers still build the old way. Many save what they can, work nights for what they can’t and stretch every dollar twice.

It's not all on the maker though, from side gigs and family help to small city grants and crowdfunding, there are options and opportunities that help creatives start, produce and continue on to scale.

Starting In Their Own Pocket

For most Austin makers, they are their own first investor using money from their maker side hustle, a tax refund or savings. As romantic as being a maker sounds, for most, getting started is a lot of extra work, scrimping, worrying and careful accounting.

Sariel Brummer and Adar Nadler, co-founders of Lady Babka, used personal savings to launch their Jewish deli pop-up concept. “We used our own savings to purchase ingredients and test recipes,” Brummer says. “Every dollar was calculated and repurposed.”

They started small, with pop-ups and farmer’s markets, and slowly scaled operations once they had a customer base. “We said yes to the things that made financial sense and aligned with our vision, and we said no when it didn’t.”

That early discernment helped them grow sustainably without falling into debt or burnout.

Loans Without the Ladder

When personal savings run out and banks want collateral you don’t have, small lenders can make a big difference.

Cranky Granny’s Sweet Rolls, founded by Sianni Dean, found footing thanks to a microloan. “I had already been in business a few years when I started looking for funding to scale,” she says. “Getting approved through PeopleFund was the difference between staying where I was and moving into a retail space.”

PeopleFund, a Texas-based nonprofit, focuses on underserved entrepreneurs offering microloans, financial coaching and business guidance without traditional barriers. Their support helped Dean prepare her finances, strengthen her business plan and eventually expand her operations.

Other makers turn to peer-to-peer platforms like Kiva Austin. Zero-interest loans backed by the community offer access when conventional financing falls short. These unconventional lenders offer a bridge for growth with cash, and they provide valuable intangible support through their belief in the maker when that maker needs it most.

Money Hiding in Plain Sight

Austin offers several programs designed to keep its creative economy alive. But many makers don’t know they exist, or if they do, they don’t have the time or bandwidth to apply.

Brummer and Nadler tapped into a local grant program during the early stages of Lady Babka. “We received support from the City of Austin, which allowed us to cover essential costs like marketing and vendor fees,” they said. “It wasn’t a huge amount, but it bridged the gap when it really mattered.”

From the City of Austin’s Small Business Program to creative grants through Big Medium and other organizations, small amounts can make a big difference especially when slow downs or surprise expenses hit.

Build Hype and Get Backed

Crowdfunding is about raising capital as much as it's about testing the market and discovering if your idea or product can rally community support in its early iterations or before it even exists.

Dean launched a Kickstarter campaign to help with the expansion of Cranky Granny’s and was surprised by the emotional backing as much as the financial. “It wasn’t just funding. It was seeing that people wanted me to succeed. That gave me the push I needed.”

Pre-orders and campaign-style launches allow makers to gauge demand, validate new products and fund production without going into debt. And when done well, they double as marketing, building hype before a single product ships.

No Margin, No Magic

Getting the money is one thing. Making it work is another.

Both Lady Babka and Cranky Granny’s founders say the real shift came when they started treating their creativity like a business with spreadsheets, projections and discipline.

“It’s easy to spend without tracking,” says Dean. “Now I’m watching margins every day. I know what it costs to make every batch, and I know what I need to stay profitable.”

Brummer agrees. “You have to be realistic with your pricing. Don’t undervalue your work just because you love it. Passion doesn’t pay your rent, customers do.” ◆

DIY DNA

Where Makers Get Their Skills

Before the logo, the storefront, the website, all the things, there’s someone with a need to create, in the kitchen, in the basement, in the corner of the living room, the borrowed garage, wherever they can find the space.

DIY is in the heart of Austin’s makers, starting wherever they can, with calls to mom for the secret ingredient, by dozens of trials and errors, or 100 hours

on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok. This city’s creative DNA is 100% grass roots, functional, improvised and communal. It comes from using what you have, sharing what you know and learning as you go.

Makers make it in Austin with a mixture of passion, grit and the kind of curiosity that sees mistakes and failures as lessons and a reason to continually get better.

LeighElena

Lessons Passed Down

Behind every stitched hem or hand-forged necklace, there’s a memory of a grandmother’s quilting frame, a father’s toolbox or an older cousin showing you how to twist wire into a simple chain in the garage. For many Austin makers, family was the first teacher.

Jewelry designer Leigh Navarro of LeighElena gets her creative instincts from her mom.

“I joined my mom at her art shows and would bead earrings or make necklaces and sell them, and I had a taste for it at a very young age,” she said.

Her early exposure to creating, being at the shows, watching her mom connect with customers and having that experience of someone saying, “Here, let me show you how,” laid the foundation for Navarro. “That was pivotal for starting my first professional line, LeighElena, 20 years ago.”

These early lessons were about spending quality time, the value of shared knowledge passed from one hand to another, and the power of creation as connection.

Trial, Error, Repeat

Tai Clay of Clay House Candles didn’t grow up in a family of candle makers. She came to it sideways after years as a pastry chef, searching for a creative outlet during the pandemic.

“It was initially intended to just serve as a creative outlet, but I soon realized that candle making and baking were remarkably similar, the exact science, artistry and patience it required,” she said.

Like many makers, Clay taught herself through persistence and patience.

“Every skill I’ve developed came from hands-on trial and error, and a passion for putting a creative twist on an ordinary product,” she said. That trial-and-error phase wasn’t short. “It took me eight months to perfect my recipe, and sometimes it can take weeks just to realize you’ve been using the wrong size wick the whole time.”

The creative side was challenging enough. But the financial side was even tougher.

“The price of starting a candle business is much higher than most people realize, including me,” she said. “Six months and thousands of dollars into testing, and not knowing if you would ever find a formula that worked.”

What kept her going was community. Clay turned to Facebook groups filled with experienced candle makers, many of whom were also running their own businesses.

“What should’ve been a competitive space turned out to be incredibly supportive,” she said. “Without it, I think the testing phase before Clay House Candles was launched would’ve been much longer.”

That experience taught her everything doesn’t have to be figured out alone. Austin is wonderfully weird and has kept to its maker roots, so it is full of co-ops, workshops and tool-sharing spaces where creatives can find their tribe and create a supportive community around their work.

Communities That Keep You Going

Tai Clay found her first real feedback loop in a Facebook group. As she tested candle formulas late into the night, she sought advice from strangers on the internet, many of them fellow business owners.

“What should’ve been a competitive space turned out to be incredibly supportive,” she said. “Without it, I think the testing phase before Clay House Candles was launched would’ve been much longer.”

“Every skill I’ve developed came from hands—on trial and error, and a passion for putting a creative twist on an ordinary product.”

Tai Clay

That spirit of mutual aid is woven into the real-world fabric of the Austin maker scene. From tool libraries to ceramics co-ops, the city is full of spaces where creative people come together to learn, troubleshoot and grow together.

Spend an afternoon at Austin School of Furniture and you might leave with your first dovetail joint and a new friend. Pop into Eastside Pot Shop and you’ll catch seasoned ceramicists swapping glaze recipes between kiln loads. At the Austin Public Library’s MakerSpace, digital labs, 3D printers and laser cutters are free to use, and someone is usually around who’s happy to help you not break them.

Whether you’re trying to figure out candle wicks, soldering irons or pricing your first product, someone at the maker’s spaces in Austin has been through it, and has at least one tip to wwshare.

In a busy world, these spaces in Austin remind us that learning is a process, and that no one is ever too late or alone.

No Rules, Just Makers

In Austin, there’s no one single way to become a maker. You have a passion, you seek guidance, you make mistakes, you succeed, rinse and repeat. And if there’s a right way, it’s to start, to ask for help, to believe in yourself and to keep going.

“The inevitable setbacks make everything feel worth it once you overcome them,” says Navarro. “Problems with sourcing, finding employees, breakage, invoicing, all of it, will happen, and you will learn a lesson from each.”

As Clay puts it, “You’re learning this new skill for a reason, whether it’s for a hobby or starting a new business. When it gets tough and you feel like quitting, think back to your ‘why.’ That reasoning will carry you through the hard days and keep you creating with passion.”

Austin’s makers prove again and again that the path doesn’t have to be traditional to be transformative. No degree required, just curiosity, community and the guts to keep going. ◆

Clay House Candles

ROLL CALL

From small businesses to large corporations, women are shifting conversations, sparking ideas and leaving marks that shape Austin. The paths they carve go beyond paving their own way. One step at a time, they’re leading us into a future where more women can step up, stand out and make an impact.

That’s what Roll Call is for. Not attendance. Presence. The kind that rewrites rules and reshapes industries. The women in these pages aren’t waiting to be noticed. They’re busy restoring eyesight at UT Health, amplifying voices at Coffee Milk Media and building community one roast at a time at Lazarus Brewing.

Each story is different, but the thread is the same: fearless commitment to doing things differently and empowering others along the way.

By ISABELLA PETRECCA

ROLL CALL ROSTER

DEBBIE MUÑOZ

DR. SALEEMA KHERANI-ALI

THERESIA INTAG

JULIA EVANS

RACHEL GREEN-WILLIAMS

TERA MARTIN

KEOCHA LAFLEUR-ANDERS

MARILYN CRYDER

LUCERO VALLE

DEBBIE MU Ñ OZ

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

TEXAS MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM

This year, Debbie Muñoz made history as she stepped into her role as the first woman to lead the Texas Municipal Retirement System. For Muñoz, it was a full-circle moment as nearly three decades prior she walked through TMRS’s doors determined to make an impact.

Impact, in many ways, has been her north star all along. From the start, she was drawn to the idea of building something new inside the organization, shaping processes and teams that mattered. That spark never left. She still sees herself first as a servant leader, someone who believes deeply in the value of public service and the promise of a secure pension for the people who keep Texas cities running.

Ask her what she loves most about her work and she won’t point to the numbers or the scale of the system. No, she’ll point to the people. The colleagues she works alongside. The employees she serves. For Muñoz, connection is the measure of success, and she’s still learning how to strengthen it, refining the way she communicates so that each person feels heard in their own way.

Her leadership has also been shaped by hard lessons. Bosses who pushed her harder than she thought possible. Times when she didn’t get what she thought she deserved. Those moments taught her resilience and gave her clarity on what kind of leader she wanted to

be. Today, she carries those lessons forward, letting the small stuff slide off her back, staying grounded in serving public servants with her unwavering commitment to strengthen the financial security of municipal employees throughout Texas.

Depending on the situation, you might even find her humming "You Got Another Thing Coming," by Judas Priest.

Bio

Known for her infectious energy, warm smile and unwavering commitment to public service, Debbie Muñoz – a native Texan and proud UT graduate – is the Executive Director of the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS). On July 1, 2025, Debbie stepped into her new role and made history as the first woman to lead the organization since it was founded 77 years ago. TMRS is an award-winning public pension system that serves 260,000 members and 942 cities, manages $44 billion in assets, and boosts the Texas economy by $3.5 billion annually. Debbie’s passion for public service was inspired by her father, a retired San Antonio firefighter, and during her 27-year career at TMRS she has worked tirelessly to strengthen the financial security of municipal employees throughout Texas. This new position will magnify the impact Debbie continues to have on the state of Texas and shape the future of public pension management.

DR. SALEEMA KHERANI-ALI

OPHTHALMOLOGIST

UT HEALTH AUSTIN

For Dr. Saleema Kherani-Ali, the choice to pursue ophthalmology began with a simple truth: sight is essential. During medical school, she was struck by how restoring vision could instantly transform a patient’s life. This impact remains her driving force today.

At UT Health Austin’s Mitchel and Shannon Wong Eye Institute, Kherani-Ali treats complex cases of adult and pediatric uveitis, cataracts and anterior segment disorders. Many of her patients arrive after years of uncertainty, carrying unanswered questions and the weight of conditions that have gone untreated for too long. She describes her work as solving medical mysteries. “Helping patients finally get the care they need is incredibly rewarding,” she says.

That sense of purpose is especially clear in her work with UT Health Austin’s MAP program, which provides care for patients who struggle to access medical services. “Restoring sight for people right here in Austin who may have gone without care for years feels like mission work at home,” she says. It is one of the moments in her career she is most proud of.

Beyond her clinical work, Kherani-Ali’s research explores new treatments and outcomes for ocular inflammation. But at the heart of her practice is individualized, evidence-based care: meeting

each patient where they are with compassion and clarity. For her, ophthalmology is about restoring dignity and quality of life.

Her legacy, she hopes, will be measured not only in research and outcomes, but in every patient who leaves her care with their vision and their future a little clearer.

Bio

Saleema Kherani-Ali, M.D., M.P.H., is a board-certified ophthalmologist in UT Health Austin’s Mitchel and Shannon Wong Eye Institute. She also serves as an assistant professor in the Dell Medical School Department of Ophthalmology at UT Austin. Kherani-Ali specializes in diagnosing and treating adult and pediatric uveitis, cataracts and anterior segment eye disorders. She earned her medical degree from Aga Khan University in Pakistan and her master’s in public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She completed her ophthalmology residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin and a fellowship in uveitis and ocular immunology at Northwestern University. Her research focuses on treatments and outcomes for ocular inflammation. Kherani-Ali is dedicated to providing individualized, evidence-based care to her patients.

THERESIA INTAG

CEO, STRATEGIST, TRUTH-TELLER

Pressure has never rattled Theresia Intag. She’s built a career turning tension into clarity, stripping away what doesn’t work and pushing leaders to face hard truths about their teams and their strategy.

Before IntagHire, she spent years watching the same scene play out: executives clinging to rigid HR systems and outdated recruiting models while wondering why their businesses stalled. She knew the cost of misalignment, and she wasn’t willing to play along. So she built something of her own, an HR and recruiting business that's both strategic and human.

The commitment to the human side of business was deepened outside the office as Intag parented through unexpected challenges. That experience demanded adaptability and advocacy, flexibility stopped being a management buzzword or a luxury, but a survival skill and self care became essential. This experience sharpened her ability to adapt, prioritize and lead with empathy.

It’s the same lens she now brings to her clients. She asks leaders to see their people clearly, to adjust instead of double down on existing methods and to align their teams with strategies that actually fuel growth. What she loves most is the moment when a leader connects

the dots between their people, their culture and their bottom line and realizes that change doesn’t mean loss. It means freedom.

Bio

Theresia Intag is the founder and CEO of IntagHire, a national HR and recruiting firm helping innovative and mission-driven organizations build agile, scalable teams that drive growth. A recognized expert in fractional workforce models, Intag advises leaders on aligning talent strategy with business acceleration. She is also co-founder of FogHead Productions, a creative studio producing satirical, story-driven commercials that expose the humor and truth of business life. Intag serves on the board of Her HealthX, a nonprofit empowering women to navigate healthcare with data and community. Across all ventures, she bridges strategy and humanity to create lasting impact.

JULIA EVANS FOUNDER & CEO

TWIN ROOTS CONSULTING

In 2024, Evans Evans walked away from her role as VP of Marketing, a role that offered security and status. Instead, she chose uncertainty, freedom and the chance to build something on her own terms. That choice became Twin Roots Consulting, a boutique agency rooted in strategy, storytelling and grassroots marketing that builds genuine community.

Evans’s marketing background runs deep. She spent 15 years leading operations and marketing for national brands like Dillard’s, The Joint Chiropractic and Buff City Soap. She knows what it takes to scale a franchise, launch products and execute campaigns with reach. But, experience also showed her the moments when traditional playbooks smothered creativity and brands lost their voice. Twin Roots is her way of rewriting the rules.

What keeps her in it is the variety and the way each new client helps her access new avenues of creativity and learning. One client might be a calligraphy artist, another a bar and mixology class, another a children’s author. Each industry comes with its own set of challenges, and that unpredictability keeps her sharp. She loves a challenge, pushing herself to learn more at every opportunity.

“My secret superpower is my ability to drive growth,” she said. Not

the polished kind you put on a pitch deck, but the relentless push to figure things out, get better and refuse to stay stuck. Evans is the kind of leader who doesn’t wait for permission. She builds, she adapts and she makes sure every brand she touches grows stronger roots.

Bio

Julia Evans is the founder of Twin Roots Consulting, a boutique agency helping businesses grow through smart operations and marketing strategies. With 15 years of experience, she’s led operations and marketing for brands like Dillard’s Department Stores, The Joint Chiropractic and Buff City Soap. Julia’s expertise spans multi-unit leadership, franchise growth, product launches, grassroots marketing and national campaigns. Inspired by her journey in both operations and marketing, Twin Roots reflects her belief in strong foundations and balanced growth. Raised in Memphis, TN and now based in Austin, TX, she’s dedicated to helping businesses grow through creativity & passion for storytelling.

RACHEL GREENWILLIAMS

CO-OWNER & HEAD OF PARTNERSHIPS GRAPES & RYE

Rachel Green-Williams knows how to move between worlds. After more than a decade building corporate partnerships and managing large-scale events at Google, she left the tech world to co-create Grapes & Rye, a cocktail innovation hub in Hutto.

With a Master’s in Marketing and a WSET Level 3 certification in wine and spirits, Green-Williams brings deep technical expertise to her new venture that, coupled with her instinct for connection, sets her apart. What started as late nights hosting friends and mixing cocktails in her own home has grown into a space where people can learn, experiment and discover confidence in the art of mixology. That original spark, bringing people together over a shared experience, still drives everything she does, only now on a much larger scale.

Green-Williams loves the transformational moments when a guest surprises themselves, whether it’s shaking a cocktail for the first time or realizing they actually enjoy a spirit they once avoided. She sees drinks as entry points into confidence, celebration and community.

The proudest milestone in her career was the opening of Grapes & Rye’s Cocktail Innovation Hub. What began as a hobby in her kitchen now stands as a physical space that reflects both her professional grit and her personal love for hospitality.

If she had a walk-up song, Green-Williams says it would be Mary Mary’s “God in Me”, a fitting choice for someone whose work is as much about the spirit of connection as it is about spirits.

Bio

Rachel Green-Williams, Co-Owner and Head of Partnerships for Grapes & Rye, brings a unique blend of tech-world savvy and entrepreneurial passion to the cocktail scene. With over a decade of experience in corporate partnerships and large-scale event management at Google, she holds a Master's in Marketing and is a WSET Level 3 certified wine and spirits expert. Rachel's true passion lies in building authentic brand relationships and crafting exceptional experiences. Alongside her husband, Lawrence, she's the creative force behind Grapes & Rye's cocktail innovation hub, designed to encourage everyone from novices to connoisseurs to explore the art of mixology.

TERA MARTIN FOUNDER

DUSK 2 DAWN PRIVATE CHEF & CATERTING

Tera Martin came to her career with a mission: to be living proof that it's possible to build something meaningful and to create success with vision and grit, even if you come from circumstances that say otherwise. That purpose still beats at the center of her work, but it has grown into something bigger. Today, her "why" includes creating unforgettable experiences through her food, artistry, and creativity. She dreams of legacy in the shape of products on shelves, books in kitchens and recipes that outlast her name.

At the heart of her work is connection. “What I love most is the way food allows me to connect with people on an emotional level,” she says. A meal, to Martin, is never just dinner. It’s a memory in the making. Whether through private dining, catering or intimate classes, she uses her artistry to transform simple ingredients into unforgettable experiences. For her guests, food is comfort, celebration and sometimes even healing. For her, it’s freedom. The freedom to work for herself, to create her own opportunities and to own her vision.

Cooking is more than just a job to her, it's an expression of who she is and what she represents: legacy, creativity, and the power of belief. In every dish, she goes beyond flavor to serve proof that resilience, artistry and belief can turn dreams into legacy.

She landed her own cooking TV show, welcoming families into her kitchen week after week. Viewers cooked alongside her, turning her recipes into shared traditions. It was one of her proudest moments, a reminder of her first “why” and how far it had carried her.

In kitchens where pressure runs high and chaos is constant, Martin turns pressure into purpose. “I never let it break me,” she says. “I use it to adapt and create something memorable.”

In every dish, she goes beyond flavor to serve proof that resilience, artistry and belief can turn dreams into legacy.

Bio

Tera Martin is a renowned celebrity chef and the visionary founder of Dusk 2 Dawn Private Chef & Catering llc, a thriving Austin-based culinary brand. Specializing in private dining, catering, cooking courses and meal prep, Tera is known for her bold, soulful dishes that celebrate flavor and community. She travels globally to serve high-profile clients and curate unforgettable culinary experiences. As a newfound author and cooking TV show host, her creative menus create experiences for her clients. Her mission to nourish and empower allows her to continue to make her mark one plate at a time.

KEOCHA LAFLEURANDERS

CEO AND FOUNDER

COFFEE MILK MEDIA

For Keocha (K.) LaFleur-Anders, storytelling is her family's love language. Her grandparents filled her childhood with stories, inspiring her to pursue a career of curating conversations, elevating women’s voices and sparking dialogue that communities can’t ignore. She uses stories to connect, her children fueling her reason to keep telling them and weave a thread of love and memory across generations.

That deep connection to storytelling runs through her work. LaFleur-Anders is the CEO and founder of Coffee Milk Media, a creative wellness consultancy rooted in multimedia storytelling.

At the heart of her work is a devotion to presence. “What I love most is practicing active listening,” she says. “I get to make people feel seen and heard. That’s what we all want—to be acknowledged, understood and embraced.” For her, storytelling is about creating a space where empathy and connection feel tangible.

But even passion comes with a cost. LaFleur-Anders admits she is still learning not to lose herself in the work. She reminds herself that she's not her title, that self-care has to come before output. “The work is an extension of me,” she says. “But I have to show myself love in order to continue it. I am embracing being and doing well, but being first.”

Her edge comes from solitude, her ability to sit with silence. That stillness allows her to recharge, reflect and show up fully for others.

Her secret superpower is knowing how to be alone. The silence and stillness helps her do her work in the world. "I love people, and I need time by myself, so I take it religiously," she says.

Whether through Coffee Milk Media, TEDx or the stories she passes down at home, LaFleur-Anders carries her family’s legacy forward, using stories to connect, heal and keep love alive.

Bio

Keocha (K.) LaFleur-Anders is a visionary entrepreneur and multimedia storyteller who blends creativity with wellness. She is a creative wellness consultant, speaker and the CEO and founder of Coffee Milk Media, LLC. As the organizer and executive producer of TEDxRound Rock Women, K. is curating conversations that elevate women's voices and inspire meaningful community dialogue. With a passion for helping others lead with purpose and vision, K. brings a grounded, insightful perspective to discussions on creativity, leadership and holistic success.

MARILYN CRYDER CO-FOUNDER LAZARUS

BREWING

CMarilyn Cryder grew up in Chile, sipping coffee since the age of two, and it’s been an integral part of her life ever since.

At Lazarus Brewing in East Austin, the combination housechurch and brewery Cryder co-founded with her husband, coffee lives alongside beer and tacos, and Cryder runs the coffee program with the kind of ease that comes from two decades of roasting experience.

The process and the collaboration is her passion. She lights up when she talks about working with importers, brewers and bartenders to bring something to life that tastes as good as it feels. Community and shared goals is what makes the cup worth it.

The hardest lesson, though, has been learning to step back and how to, "Work less and enjoy life,” she admits. A brewery that doubles as a community hub doesn’t exactly slow down, and she’s still figuring out how to pause long enough to savor it.

It’s why her walk-up song is Joan Jett’s I Love Rock and Roll. The anthem reminds her to carry that bold, unapologetic energy with her.

Bio

Marilyn Cryder co-founded Lazarus Brewing in Austin with her husband, Christian, in 2013 after moving from Montana. Their vision paired the launch of a house church, All Souls, with the opening of a community brewery. With more than 20 years of experience in specialty coffee roasting, Cryder leads the brewery’s coffee program, roasting beans daily for the café alongside the taproom. She also helps shape the warm, welcoming atmosphere that defines Lazarus Brewing, a space where beer, coffee, tacos and community come together.

LUCERO VALLE PHOTOGRAPHER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, ARTIST

Creative. Magnetic. Empowering. Those are the three words most often used to describe Lucero Valle, an Austin-based photographer and creative director whose work blends artistry with intention.

Raised in a family of photographers, Valle inherited not only the technical skill of the craft but also its deeper meaning: storytelling. Through her studio, Lucero Creative, she partners with entrepreneurs, leaders and mission-driven organizations to create imagery that goes beyond surface-level polish. Her portraits, editorials and branding photography are designed to help people show up authentically and powerfully in their work.

“At first, my 'why' was simple—to do the work I loved and make a living,” Valle says. “Now, it’s about impact. I want to help leaders, entrepreneurs and communities show up with imagery that matches the strength of their mission.”

That impact has already taken shape in projects such as Resilient Hearts, a city-funded series honoring mothers raising children with different abilities. The project was a turning point. That same year, she was named Business Woman of the Year by the Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a recognition that affirmed both her creative vision and her dedication to her community.

When Valle considers her legacy, it’s not about accolades. “I want the people I’ve photographed to feel seen, celebrated and represented authentically,” she says. Her work, whether commercial or artistic, is ultimately about expanding visibility and telling richer, more inclusive stories.

Her images are proof of presence, resilience and possibility.

Bio

Lucero Valle is a Mexico-born, Austin-based commercial photographer, creative director and artist. Raised in a family of photographers, she carries forward a legacy of craft, quality and storytelling. Through her studio, Lucero Creative, she works with entrepreneurs, leaders and mission-driven organizations to create professional, intentional imagery that fuels growth. Her portfolio spans branding portraits, editorial shoots and product photography. Beyond her commercial work, she is a curator and artist whose projects explore identity, visibility and cultural heritage, often in collaboration with community partners and non-profits dedicated to equity and representation.

3 Questions with

Courtney Joyner

Lucero Archuleta Valle

Shannon Davenport

Sara Mack

Marlene Holmes Jazmin Lozano ?

What happens when you stop talking about women in business and start listening to them instead? You get real, layered stories rich with insight and personality. In these profiles, Austin makers tell their own stories, sharing the choices that sparked their journey, the challenges they navigated and the motivation that continues to drive them forward. Together, their stories remind us that making isn’t just about the finished product but also about process, persistence and the personal meaning woven into each step.

By ISABELLA PETRECCA

3 Questions with Courtney Joyner

How did your mother's artistic practice shape your understanding of creativity as both craft and lifestyle?

I learned that creativity isn't just about making something beautiful but about how you live your life. She was constantly reinventing herself, shifting from teaching to hand-painted apparel, to watercolor, to mixed media. She taught me that art isn't linear, and neither is life.

Mom had this fearless curiosity and would paint with bubble wrap, tape, toothpicks, anything she could get her hands on. That willingness to experiment shaped how I approach my own work, giving me permission to try, to fail, to play and to trust the process. She also showed me that art can be therapy. Her studio was her sanctuary, and that's why I've always wanted Brush Strokes to feel like more than just a business, but a home.

Even though she's no longer here physically, I know she's with me in spirit and I feel like I'm carrying her everywhere: her bravery, her free spirit, her belief that art is a way of living. One way I honor her is through our special Alzheimer's cactus collection, which gives back to research in her name.

What does the "hush factor" represent in your understanding of collective creative experience?

The hush factor is my absolute favorite thing to witness. It's that magical moment when everyone is so immersed in what they're creating that the room falls completely silent. No phones, no small talk, no distractions, just pure focus and creativity.

In a world where we're constantly overstimulated, those quiet moments feel rare and sacred. It's like everyone collectively exhales and just is. My staff has often told me this is their favorite part of working here because it doesn't feel like a job but feels like therapy. For me, the hush factor represents the heart of what Brush Strokes is about: giving people permission to tune out the noise, embrace the present moment and experience the calm joy that comes with making something with their hands.

How does Brush Strokes embody your philosophy of cultivating the next generation of Austin makers?

As a female-founded and women-run business, supporting women is at the core of everything we do. I'm incredibly proud to employ a talented group of young women who hand-paint and carefully package each cactus. But beyond the art, it's about building confidence and showing them what female entrepreneurship looks like in real life.

Read more from Courtney here

I want Brush Strokes to be a place where they can take on leadership roles, learn to solve problems and push past any limiting beliefs. I lovingly call myself their 'Pottery Mom,' and I love following them as they grow beyond the studio and into their next chapters. Whether we're painting, dancing, filming cactus skits for social media or blasting pop music, we're a little family. Mentoring these women and watching them step into their own power is one of the most rewarding parts of my work.

3 Questions with Lucero Archuleta Valle

How did growing up in your family's photography studio in Mexico influence your artistic vision and worldview?

My dad was the visionary and creative force, always curious about new technology and committed to delivering the best quality he could. My mom had a great eye for detail and treated every client with warmth and care. Growing up, I saw how those values mattered as much as the final image. It's something I carry into my own work and how I show up for my clients.

I'm especially grateful I got to see early on that art can also be a business. There's something really special about that balance of being creative while also serving people well. I always aim to create work that lasts and means something over time.

How did achieving Minority and WomenOwned Business certification through HUB transform your professional opportunities?

Getting certified was part of taking my business seriously and stepping fully into my role as a business owner, not just a creative. It was also a way to create more visibility for people like me.

I've been invited to work with the City of Austin and document cultural projects. I've gained a deeper connection to this city, gotten to know Austin through

the stories, spaces and communities that often go unseen. I feel grateful to witness and preserve that through my lens.

This experience has given me a sense of purpose and belonging. It reminds me that my voice and perspective matter and that my work can contribute to the cultural memory of a place I now call home.

How has operating a cross-cultural, bilingual studio shaped your artistic connections within Austin's diverse communities?

I used to think it was something I had to overcome with having an accent, switching between languages and navigating different cultural expectations. But now I see it as an advantage. I'm fully comfortable working in English, Spanish or both, and I love being able to adapt depending on who I'm working with.

My style is colorful, joyful and full of intention. I love bringing our roots into my visuals, especially when I'm photographing Latinx clients. I'm proud to create visuals that feel authentic, elevated and deeply connected to who we are.

3 Questions with Shannon Davenport

What's one of your earliest memories of self-care as nourishment, not indulgence?

It was actually during a tradeshow at The Wynn in Vegas. I was there for work, totally overstimulated, and the hotel gave me a spa credit. I remember thinking, I don't have time for this, but I went anyway and I was alone in that spa for hours. No phone, no emails, just steam, silence and space. I walked out feeling human again.

That wasn't a vacation moment. It was a reset. And it made me realize how rare and essential those moments are, especially for women who are constantly performing, juggling, giving. That's when the idea of bathing as a necessity, not indulgence, started to take root.

How has building Esker transformed your relationship with beauty?

My definition of beauty has gotten so much wider. It's less about "looking good" and more about being in rhythm with my body. Building Esker deepened that tenfold. I've learned that rituals, even tiny ones, change how we show up in the world. The shower can be sacred. Magnesium can be medicine. And beauty can be a form of regulation, not just transformation.

How do you create boundaries to protect your wellness while running a growing brand?

This is still something I'm actively working on. Old me would pull all-nighters if that's what needed to happen. I wore burnout like a badge, and I know a lot of our customers have done the same. But I'm trying to heal from that. I'm learning that rest is productive. That my nervous system matters just as much as the next to-do list.

So I've started building real boundaries, even just taking a bath or stepping away from the screen without guilt. And the most radical thing I've learned to say is: "That's not happening today, and that's okay."

3 Questions with Sara Mack

When did you realize art was more than a hobby? Was there a moment when you knew it was the direction you wanted to take your career?

In high school, I was lucky enough to have a fantastic art teacher. She was the first one to tell me about art colleges and that changed everything. Fast forward a few years, Topher and I finished art school, escaped the Wisconsin winters and landed in Austin. Just a few weeks into our new apartment, I remember sitting on our bed, job searching, and coming up empty. Every creative role either needed five years of experience, (which I did not have), or paid.. not great. That’s when Topher said, “Why don’t we just start our own thing?” Murals were going up everywhere. We knew how to paint. It felt risky, but somehow also logical. So we did it, and never looked back.

How has your relationship with art evolved over the years? Did it change when you started The Artist Couple with your spouse?

My relationship with art has always been passionate, but like any long-term relationship, it’s also been complicated. Creating purely for yourself is very different than creating for a client, a critique, or even alongside a partner. There are always outside pressures, (expectations, deadlines, fears), that sneak in no matter how experienced you are. Burnout is real, and nothing is more frustrating than feeling stuck in a creative rut. But then you finish a piece you love, and sell out on opening night, and you remember why you fell in love with art in the first place.

Starting Artist Couple with Topher over a decade ago changed everything. It turned us from art school grads into full-time working artists, and with that came growing pains. I definitely experienced imposter syndrome in the beginning, especially as a young woman business owner trying to be taken seriously in my early 20's. I had to learn to speak up, advocate for my work, and trust my instincts in a way I hadn’t needed to as a student. That growth wasn’t always comfortable, and at times it made my relationship with art feel strained. But like most challenges in life, it taught me resilience.

The early days of your business were challenging - moving to a new city, starting a company and trying to get it off the ground—what kept you going?

That’s such an important question, because those early days were pretty tough and came with a lot of uncertainty. Topher and I had just moved to a new city, we didn’t know many people, and we were trying to figure out how to build a business from scratch while also still figuring out who we were as artists. Honestly, part of what kept me going was my stubbornness. I’ve never been very good at giving up. But more than that, I had this deep gut feeling that creating was what I was meant to do. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I was good at it and not to mention I had just gone to school and wracked up some serious student loans to study art for goodness sake! It didn't feel right to get an 'office job' in something that wasn't creative.

Of course, fear of failure was very real. Not because I was afraid to try, but because failing publicly, especially when you’re young and trying to be taken seriously, can feel really heavy and permanent. I didn’t want to let down my partner, my peers, or myself. But I also had an incredible support system—my parents, Topher, close friends. Topher was a huge reason I kept going when times got tough. He would always listen to my complaints, was there to celebrate every win (and win alongside me!), and would remind me why we started when I wanted to give up.

3 Questions with Marlene Holmes

How did an unexpected detour from aquaculture lead you to master the art of whiskey making?

As the owner of a small farm south of Louisville, Kentucky, I was looking for a way to generate revenue. At the time, aquaculture (fish farming) had become popular as an alternative to growing tobacco. I reached out to my local county extension agent to learn more about catfish farming. During our conversation, he mentioned a guy from Jim Beam who was experimenting with using distillers dried grain as fish food. The agent set up a meeting for me with the Jim Beam employee, who turned out to be none other than sixthgeneration master distiller Booker Noe. Booker had purchased 1,000 catfish fingerlings for his experiment and asked if I'd help. The trial ran through the summer of 1990. Each day, I recorded the amount of dried grain fed, the weather and the condition of the fish. Over time, I got to know the employees and became fascinated by the size and scale of the equipment. My curiosity about the process grew as the summer went on.

As fall approached, the experiment ended. After one visit, an employee told me they were hiring. I applied and was hired in November 1990. I didn't become a catfish farmer. I became a whiskey distiller.

What drew you to the distillery floor, and how did that hands-on environment shape your approach to the craft?

The distillation equipment was housed in one very large building. At the time, there was very little automation, so the job required a lot of walking and climbing stairs. It was a very handson operation, and I liked the freedom it offered. Learning how to operate the column stills, mash cookers, grain mills and conveyors,

the cooling system and the yeast process was fascinating. I wrote down every step and every detail because there were no SOPs back then. Also, I'm a boots-and-blue-jeans gal. Bourbon making just suited me.

There was one other woman in the still house when I started. She operated the mash floor. I was assigned to train and operate the column stills, which at that time were two separate job assignments. We did start-up on Sunday nights and quickly became efficient at having the distillery fully operational by the end of the shift. That accomplishment alone was a major confidence builder.

What have you discovered about how place and climate shape whiskey character through your work in Kentucky versus Texas?

Milam & Greene just completed a 5½-year experiment on how climate affects aging. No one else in the country has done a climate experiment like this. In fall 2019, we produced a run of whiskey in Kentucky. Once the distillate was barreled, we shipped half to our Texas rickhouse and left the other half in Kentucky. Everything was identical: same mash bill, same yeast, same barrel entry proof. The only difference was location.

We pulled samples over time and saw clear differences. The Kentucky whiskey developed a golden honey color with fresh, fruity notes and a light palate. The Texas whiskey became a deep amber, bolder with sweet oak notes. The proof dropped to 54% in Kentucky, while it increased to 58% in Texas.

3 Questions with Jazmin Lozano

How do your Latina roots and Central Texas upbringing inform your culinary philosophy and business approach?

As a Mexican American born and raised in Austin, Texas, by immigrant parents, my cultural background is at the core of everything I do, especially when it comes to food, presentation and hospitality. I built La Boujee Housewife with the intention of serving the minority community, particularly those who might not be as familiar with the world of charcuterie and elevated hosting experiences.

A lot of people in my community didn't grow up with cheeses like Brie or [or meat like] prosciutto on the table, so I intentionally design boards that are approachable and inclusive. I start with beginner-friendly cheeses and familiar flavors, then gradually introduce more experimental or gourmet options over time. My goal is to make sure people feel welcome, not intimidated. I want them to enjoy the experience without feeling like they need a certain level of knowledge or background to "get it." I also price my offerings reasonably because accessibility matters. I never wanted this business to feel exclusive or out of reach. I wanted it to feel like an invitation to try something new, celebrate culture and embrace a little luxury, no matter where you come from.

What inspired your "Boujee for a Day" program, and what impact has it had on your community?

Giving back has always been a part of who I am. Long before La Boujee Housewife existed, I was volunteering, donating and doing whatever I could to support my community. In high school, I put together hygiene kits for the homeless and helped clean up parks. During college, while studying pre-med, I served as the Medical President of our Global Brigades chapter, leading volunteer trips to Central America to

provide medical, dental and hygiene support to underserved communities. Even today, for every birthday or major life event, even my wedding, I ask for donations to animal shelters or homeless shelters instead of gifts. It's just in my nature to want to help.

That same spirit is what inspired the Boujee for a Day program. I wanted to use my business as a way to continue that mission, giving people who might be going through tough times a chance to feel seen, celebrated and loved. Whether it's a beautifully curated box or a full grazing table, it's about creating joy, if only for a moment.

What's one dream collaboration you'd love to bring to life?

I've been incredibly blessed to collaborate with so many amazing companies, celebrities, government officials and professional athletes, so I never take any of it for granted. But if I could choose one dream collaboration, it would be with my late father.

Before he passed, I had the honor of helping him open a branch under my business. He had just started his journey, and after working fewer than five events, he passed unexpectedly. To have him back for just one special collaboration would mean the world to me, not just as a business owner, but as his daughter.

My father was the original entrepreneur in my life. He had a brilliant, thoughtful mind and the biggest heart. Sometimes he cared too much, but it taught me how to lead with empathy and integrity. I remember being a kid selling candy at school, and he'd be right there with me, driving to the store late at night to buy inventory. In college, when I started selling handmade soap and bath bombs to fund mission trips, he never hesitated. He'd take me to the craft store, encourage my ideas and remind me to dream big.

He gave me the freedom to express myself, to try things, to fail and try again, without fear or limits. As an artist and entrepreneur, so much of who I am comes from him. That one last collaboration would be the most meaningful of them all. Read more from Jazmin here

Bold Starts, Seasoned Hands

Women Who Followed Their Creativity Later in Life

There’s no perfect moment, no fixed path, no deadline for building something meaningful with your own two hands.

Take Vera Wang, who entered fashion at 40; Julia Child, who published her first cookbook at 49; Lynda Weinman, who launched an online learning empire in her 40s or Toni Morrison, whose first novel came out when she was 39, and whose legacy grew more powerful with time.

Each of these women built something extraordinary not by rushing, but by being in rhythm with their lives, letting their creativity evolve.

Jen Rodriguez and Tara Godby are two Austin women who stepped into their most creative, self-directed work later in life. Rodriguez built a globally-inspired catering business. Godby reimagined the tea experience as a practice of culture and connection.

Their paths are different, but their message is the same: no one is behind. Everyone is right on time.

"Nothing meaningful happens overnight. Passion may spark the journey, but it’s your deep love for the work that keeps you going."

Catering to Her Calling

Jen Rodriguez, 49

Jen Rodriguez always had the spark for entrepreneurship. As a young kid, it was lemonade stands, as a teen, macramé and illustrations. But for much of her adult life, she worked in traditional roles from managing corporate nurseries to serving in the Department of Defense.

Her creativity, however, never went away. It simmered quietly under the surface.

Years living abroad in Spain deepened her love of global flavors and planted the early seeds of what would become 3 Small Plates Catering, a boutique culinary business rooted in culture, community and intention. At 49, she stepped into the role she had imagined for years, finally giving herself permission to lead with creativity.

“Starting a business at midlife wasn’t easy,” she says. “There were logistical hurdles, financial questions and emotional doubts. But I built it one step at a time.”

Her path didn’t come with instant validation or viral success. It unfolded on her own terms, paced by purpose, not pressure. “Be patient with yourself,” Rodriguez says. “Nothing meaningful happens overnight. Passion may spark the journey, but it’s your deep love for the work that keeps you going through the setbacks, disappointments and dry spells.”

A Fresh Pour at 54

Tara Godby and the Ritual of Teakeasy

After decades in corporate America, Tara Godby and her partner decided to bet on themselves. Fueled by a shared love of tea, music and culture, they envisioned their teas transporting people the way music does.

That vision became Teakeasy Tea.

Tara was 54 when she launched the company, with no formal background in the tea industry and plenty of doubts about whether her idea, story and style would resonate. “The tea world can feel steeped in tradition and kind of intimidating,” she says. “We wanted to create something that felt bold and joyful and culturally grounded.”

Starting later in life gave her experience which helped her cultivate clarity and rather than chasing trends, she strove to build something grounded in her passions.

“Start messy but start,” she says. This ethos carried her through moments of doubt. “You don’t need all the answers. You just need to follow your heart, your gut and your big audacious goals anddreams.”

She leaned into mentorship, surrounded herself with believers and gave herself room to experiment and evolve. “Stay curious,” she says. “And give yourself permission to grow, fail, learn, and grow again.”

What Seasoned Hands Teach Us

Each of these women carries the quiet but powerful truth that it’s never too late to begin again.

They remind us that confidence grows from knowing everything but showing up anyway, prepared to fail and to succeed.

In a world that often celebrates speed and youth, these women are proof that the richest, boldest, most fearless work often comes from seasoned hands and a new journey that starts right on time. ◆

From Imperfect Heart to Impact Brand

How House of Shan Builds Community Through Purpose-Driven Style

"This all started as a love letter to my mom after she passed away. It's easier to deal with grief with the support of friends and family who want to be there for you."

Shannon Buth was raising two young kids when her mom, someone she called "her person," and talked to several times a day, was diagnosed with cancer. As the cancer progressed, a close friend gave Buth and her mother matching bracelets with the words, “Live What You Love." Her mother died shortly after, and Buth was inspired by the mantra even as she grieved the loss of her mother.

For years, Buth had hosted a mom group called 24/7, creating community and solidarity for mothers. Through that group, Buth began holding a holiday market as an outlet for the members to come together and support each other and their small businesses. In 2019, she set up her own table with 30 "Live What You Love" sweatshirts emblazoned with a hand-drawn heart in memory of her mother, giving all of the proceeds to a local women's shelter. She sold out that night and had to start a waitlist.

Today, House of Shan is a thriving lifestyle brand that stands for community and people coming together to help each other.

"This all started as a love letter to my mom after she passed away, Buth said. "It's easier to deal with grief with the support of friends and family who want to be there for you."

Vulnerability has always been part of Shannon Buth’s voice. She speaks candidly about grief, motherhood and the challenges of entrepreneurship. That honesty resonates with her audience and makes the brand feel less like a business and more like a community. She is honored to make a difference in the world through donating, and she also sees the company making a difference on a deeper emotional level through connection, grief, and love. "That's the beauty of this heart, it's simple but impactful."

“Running a small business is hard,” she says. “Especially when you are giving a portion of all profits to charity, but we know part of the reason people shop with us is because it makes them feel good,

so we have always kept that at the center of our business model."

In the early days of COVID, when uncertainty loomed and normal life ground to a halt, House of Shan made masks to keep their local embroidery shop afloat and raise money for frontline workers. Since 2020, House of Shan has donated nearly $150,000 to women’s and children’s charities, with $5 from every item sold going directly to organizations making an impact. When the devastating floods hit Hunt, Texas earlier this month, Buth led with action. A single hat design, created in response to the tragedy at Camp Mystic, raised $100,000 in just four days.

This giving-back mission shows up in every part of the business. Five dollars from every sale is donated each month to a charitable partner, and the product itself serves as a wearable reminder of resilience, love, and impact. Even the simplest designs carry meaning, like the "I LOVE LA" hat that raised nearly $13,000 for the LAFD.

For the first four years, it was just Buth and her husband, Greg, doing everything. As they’ve grown, they’ve added a small, allwomen team who help bring the brand’s mission to life, but the core remains unchanged.

Looking ahead, House of Shan is hoping to launch new, original designs just in time for the holidays. The goal is to improve on classics like their original sweatshirt and introduce new collaborations with makers and mission-aligned partners.

Still, at the end of the day, Buth says her hope is to help people feel good and, "know that their purchase has made a difference for somebody who really needed it!"

In a world that often rewards perfection and polish, House of Shan stands for something else entirely: realness, generosity and the quiet power of showing up with your whole, imperfect heart. ◆

If you ever wonder about the real impact of Austin PBS, look no further than the education team.

They embody the spirit of community every single day through initiatives, classes, and outreach programs that have served over 10,000 individuals annually with 90+ events across Central Texas. This small yet mighty team is composed of 6 of the most passionate and caring individuals you’ll ever meet, 5 of whom are women.

Gricelda Silva, Melissa Holloway, Patricia Alonso, and Cyndy Karras, under the leadership of Dr. Benjamin Kramer, spend their days doing more for their neighborhood than most of us accomplish in a year. They bring families and educators to Austin PBS as well as go out across the Central Texas community to ensure resources and information can be allocated to students, teachers, and caretakers who need it most. Initiatives like the Child Care Partnership Program, which enhances early childhood education by

providing bilingual mentoring and coaching for educators, go beyond the classroom to enrich learning experiences for children while setting teachers up for success. Specialists come in to help teachers implement developmentally appropriate practices and integrate Smart Screen Time® practices using PBS KIDS resources that can be tailored to their class’s needs. Even when school isn’t in session, the team works with afterschool programs and summer camps so that kids can keep their momentum and love of learning going.

Each year, the education team hosts incredible events at the Austin PBS station that bring hundreds of kids and families together. Over the summer, the education team hosted screenings of programs like Walking with Dinosaurs, several back-to-school events across Central Texas, and the 2nd annual Austin PBS KIDS Family Fest. Family Fest is a free day of fun with musical performances, special studio screenings, and appearances from some favorite PBS KIDS characters. It brings families from across Central Texas to celebrate learning as a team. To keep that love of learning and creating alive, Austin PBS has hosted an annual Writers Showcase for nearly 25 years. It’s an open call for stories written and illustrated by students from a range of grade levels in English or Spanish. From the hundreds of wildly creative submissions, finalists from each grade level are invited to a special awards ceremony to read their story on stage and receive a special certificate. Additionally, every entry is published on the Austin PBS KIDS website so that all participants can feel the joy of seeing their work shared with the world! These events are not just big days for us, but also for the families they serve. They remind kids of the joy of learning and help teach them to be proud of their accomplishments and skills.

While events like these may be more visible to our community, much of the staff’s work behind the scenes has the biggest impact. Members of the education team partner with schools to distribute supplies and inform educators and parents about free resources and workshops available to them. One of those free programs, Play to Learn, has the biggest impact. The 10 week research-based program invites parents and caregivers with children 2-4 years old who are not in school to join 90 minute classes that prepare everyone for the transition into school. First day jitters can be as real for parents as they are for kids, but these classes help get families excited for school and show how learning can be brought home as well.

While the reach of the education team goes far beyond what can be shared in one article, let this serve as a testament to the hard work and dedication they provide around Austin each day. Even with funding cuts, they continue to show up for their community and find new and creative ways to make a real difference in the lives of kids, teachers, and parents. Educators everywhere are often some of the most selfless and dedicated people in any organization, but at Austin PBS, we’re well aware that they’re as close as it gets to real-life superheroes. If you’d like to get involved or support this amazing team, reach out to education@klru.org. ◆

The Homemakers

Erika Barczak Spruce @spruceathome

Aileen Chen Revision Goods @revisiongoods

Shelly Moon Clover+Maven @cloverandmaven

Andrea Meyer Amano Pottery Studio @amanoatx

Isabel Glatthorn Soul Matter Studio @soul.matter.studio

Ellen Bruxvoort Fibrous @fibrous.co

GAllison Launius Stampworthy Goods @stampworthygoods

Leila Korham-Work Azadi Mercantile @azadimercantile

Katie Plunkard Ghostpepper Glass @ghostpepperglass

Homegrown Style

Decor, Ceramics, & Housewares by Local Makers

ood design doesn’t need a showroom. Sometimes it begins on a pottery wheel tucked behind a backyard shed, at a sewing machine balanced on a kitchen table, or in a corner studio carved out between daily life and laundry cycles.

Across Austin, women makers are turning everyday objects into intentional, artful pieces—without sacrificing function. They’re glazing mugs that become part of morning rituals, stitching linens meant to be stained with memory, and crafting goods that are made to last, not just look good. Their pieces don’t just fill a space. They shape how we live in it.

You’ll spot their work at design-forward markets, tucked into curated shops, and inside restaurants or rentals that believe style starts close to home. Some are trained designers, others are self-taught, but all of them are driven by a deep respect for form, craft, and utility.

These are the women whose pieces live on your shelves, not just your feed. Their work doesn’t follow trends. It sets a tone, creates a feeling, and becomes part of the atmosphere. Whether you’re outfitting a whole home or just looking for that one item that feels like you, these makers prove that the best pieces always come with a story.

“When an environment shifts your mood— calms, excites, inspires focus & big thinking— that is art.”

— Soul Matter Studio

Little Goods Big Impact

Makers Creating for Kids & Families

Modern parents don’t want more stuff—they want stuff that matters. That holds up. That sparks imagination without flashing lights or filling landfills.

Across Austin, a new wave of women makers are designing for families with intention and style. They’re creating goods that are as durable as they are beautiful. Handmade dolls, wooden toys, quilted blankets, sensory play kits, even toddler-friendly ceramics. These aren’t just kid products. They’re memory-makers in miniature.

Most of these businesses started the same way: out of necessity. A gift that didn’t exist. A need for safer, more sustainable materials. A creative outlet during nap time. Now they’re building something bigger, one small batch at a time.

You’ll find this stuff not in big-box aisles, but at maker markets, school pop-ups, and tucked inside the kind of boutiques that care more about quality than clicks.

These women are raising businesses while raising families—and proving that “for kids” can still mean design-forward, story-rich, and built to last.

“I know how difficult it can be to keep toddlers entertained, so I knew this was something that I wanted to share with the world.”

— Meagan Dillard

Meagan Dillard Art of Dough @artofdough

Julie Hildebrand Busy Bebes @busybebesatx

Shary Zampert Knotty Kid @wearknottykid

Kayo Master Micielo Micielo @micielomicielo

Claire Wilson Lovely Little Things @shoplovelylittlethings

Kelly Buller

Austin Baby Collection @austinbabyco

April Foster Camp Castle @campcastleco

The Musicians

Kelsey Wilson @sirwomanmusic

Vanessa Lively @vanessalively

The Tiarras @thetiarrasofficial

DJ KICKIT @djkickit17

Gina Chavez @ginachavez

SuperWoman Records @superwomanrecords

Audrey Price @audreypricemusic

Sisi Berry @_ohsisi

Scarlet Parke @dreamgirlscarlet

Mariachi Las Alteñas @mariachilasaltenas

DJ Helios @thedjhelios

Gold Rush Vinyl @goldrushvinyl

Qi Dada @qidadalife

DJ Cassandra @djcassandra_

Mira Mira @xochisolis

Sonic Sirens

The Women Redefining Austin's Sound

In a city that hums with rhythm and reverberates with soul, the women of Austin’s music scene are turning up the volume—and turning heads. From smoky blues riffs in East Side lounges to synth-laced pop pulsing through downtown rooftops, these fierce femmes are rewriting the soundtrack of the Live Music Capital. They’re not just playing gigs—they’re commanding stages, producing tracks, launching festivals, and building empires note by note. Dripping in talent and unapologetic swagger, Austin’s women in music are more than muses—they’re the makers, the muscled heartbeats, the magnetic forces behind the city’s most unforgettable sounds.

Through the Lens

Photographers Framing Austin Their Way

Whether shooting portraits that honor identity, creating content for women-owned brands, capturing business headshots that boost confidence, these photographers are doing more than just taking pictures. They’re building platforms, amplifying stories, and making sure women are seen in ways that feel both powerful and true.

You’ll find them mentoring younger artists, collaborating with small businesses, organizing pop-up shows, and even capturing the moments sprinkled throughout our own magazine. They’re not waiting for permission or perfect studio setups. They’re building platforms, amplifying stories, and making sure women are seen in ways that feel both powerful and true.

Learn more

“If I've captured my client's presence—their joy, their edge, their electricity—and the image feels alive, then I feel like I've done my job .”

— Joi Conti

Photographers

Brio Photography

Elyse Theriac Elyse Marie Photography @elysemariephoto

Brio Cooney

Brio Photography @briophoto

Joi Conti

Joi Conti Photography @joi.conti

Romina Olson

Romina Olson @romina_robbiejo_olson

Annie Ray Annie Ray @annieraydotnet

Kelsey Harrison Oh Happy Days

Photobooth @ohhappydaybooth

Lucero Archuleta

Valle

Lucero Creative @lucero.studio

Stella Lunmina

Stella Ahyeon Cho @stellaluminallc

Beverly Demafiles Schulze

Beverly Demafiles

Photography @bdemafilesphoto