Here’s To The Women Who Inspire Us
‘Tis the month to celebrate women!
Here at #theOnceUpon, we always strive to support and empower women and aim to create an inclusive, united community. March 8 is International Women’s Day but we decided to dedicate the entire month to shine the spotlight on some of the women who has continuously been an inspiration to us.
The women who taught us about ‘Slow Fashion’
Marta (left) and Lucia (right) are sisters and co-founders of ‘the cape brand’ Marta Scarampi.
Although terms like ‘sustainable,’ ‘ethical’ and ‘eco-friendly’ have been recent buzz words in the fashion industry, they are in fact the foundation of the Italian ‘cape brand,’ Marta Scarampi. Ever since the sister-duo co-founders — Marta and Lucia — became our clients, we have learned so much about the impact of fast fashion and why it is vital to encourage consumers to support slow fashion brands.
The brand’s garments are handmade in their in-house factory based in Torino, Italy. Their made-on-demand model means two things: there are no unwanted inventory lying around, and every single garment is carefully made with attention-to-detail to last a lifetime. The decision to avoid supplementary inventory is in fact one of the most effective approaches to reduce unnecessary waste and steer clear of burdening our environment. The brand also makes a great effort in maximizing every inch of the fabrics by re-purposing excess material into practical products.
Read on to learn more Marta and Lucia’s source of inspiration.
Who is your role model?
Marta: I can't say there is only one single woman who has inspired me, but some of the women I look up to include Frida Kahlo, Michelle Obama, — as well as characters of the TV show Grace and Frankie!
Frida Kahlo and Michelle Obama are some of women who has been an inspiration to Marta.
Frida Kahlo's ruthlessness and inexorable frankness, with which she approaches life and her art, are admirable and inspiring. Like Kahlo, I am able to convey ideas, feelings, and experiences through fashion — which is a form of art. She once said: "I paint myself because I spend a lot of time alone and because I am the subject I know best." The words stuck with me; the kind of awareness she brings is simple yet powerful. Awareness is what Michelle Obama has. She is a woman of character who does not feel the need to ‘appear.’ You always find her impeccable and ready for anything. She has carved out her own space without overshadowing her husband; meanwhile she is still an extremely supportive wife. Brianna, a character from Grace and Frankie, is sharp, witty and a bit negative at times, but she is hilarious! She says what she thinks and is someone who is both sure of herself and vulnerable at the same time. In my opinion, she’s a real person and an inspiration.
Lucia: Princess Diana. In my opinion, she was a woman of great integrity. Her strength in fighting to be recognized for who she wanted to be against who she was told she had to be was truly inspirational.
Who has played an important role in your career thus far?
Marta: Giulia, our head seamstress! Her non-invasive, unconditional support that I constantly receive from her is admirable. Her patience and calmness have many times helped take down that ‘wall’ that would be blocking my flow of creativity. From laughter, dancing and singing, to watching Korean TV shows during lunch breaks, there is never a dull moment with Giulia at work. In fact, the cheerful work environment has allowed ideas to continuously flow. Creating products together with my vision and her executions have remained a common passion between us.
“Learning new things from the people you spend time with every day is the best thing that can happen to you; it means you are surrounded by constant growth and curiosity.”
Lucia believes staying humble is one of the key ingredients to success.
Lucia: For me, it would be my mom. She has always told me to never stop chasing my dream and to believe in what I do every step of the way. One of the most impactful things she has said to me was to never stop at the very first challenge, and to always be reminded that challenges are always going to happen. Focus on finding solutions and never stop moving forward in life because of obstacles. As for every problem, there always is a solution.
What do you believe will be the greatest challenge for the younger generation of women? What advice do you have for other women trying to follow their dreams?
Marta: The greatest challenge for all women, no matter the age, is to escape stereotypes of any kind. I try to be true to myself — with the awareness of knowing who I am in all aspects of my character, I push myself to believe in that person and to follow her dreams. Even if occasionally assistance is required from what I call the “3F's:” Food, family and friends ;)
Lucia: The younger generations have access to all kinds of information via the Internet. Despite the benefit of that, the risk is resulting them thinking they are “savvy,” and in the process, losing “humbleness” and the eagerness to learn and discover new experiences. I believe they need to mix the advantages of the new digital era with real-life human experience and emotions, so they can maintain a better connection with other human beings. A little advice from me is — to be humble.
“Never assume you know everything. Let yourself be guided by the knowledge of people that have experienced life, versus reading about it on google.”
The woman who taught us about ‘Holistic Wealth’
Angelina Yao, the founder of Heels & Yield.
According to Tricia, meeting and learning from Angelina Yao, founder of financial education company Heels & Yield, has been a life-changing experience.
“I would learn about the importance of setting up personal funds or a simple investment trick that is actually suitable for me from having a short 15-minute conversation with Angelina,” Tricia said, “And I’m not that smart when it comes to understanding my finances and how to maximize my income.”
Angelina is a Stanford-graduate with over a decade of experience as a Portfolio Manager & Chief Investment Officer. She created Heels & Yield for women who want to take control of their financial future, and offers women unbiased financial know-how as well as information on investments, budgeting, and other financial education tools that can be applied in everyday life.
Most importantly, Angelina promotes the concept of “Holistic Wealth” — in which refers to the true wealth when your body, mind and finances are all in place and well-balanced. The focus is placed on feeling rich in all aspects of life. You can learn more about what holistic wealth means via this article written by Angelina.
Who is your role model?
Angelina: My mother. She studied computer science in the 1960s in Chicago when very few women were in that discipline. When she had my brother and I, she continued her career overseeing the entire computer systems at a local university. Although we had a nanny looking after us while she worked, my mother still managed to spend quality time with us and also took care of my grandparents when they were ill. She managed it all on her own, gracefully, and took care of herself by attending flower arrangement workshops and aerobics classes. Still, my mother wishes she had made more time for her family and she doesn’t want her children to have the same regret. She encourages me to spend my time and money wisely and to be healthy at all times, including making sure that I eat nutritional foods when I’m feeling stressed. She taught me how to outsource certain housework so that I can pursue my career and eventually entrepreneurship when I got married.
Angelina started Heels & Yield in hopes to help women achieve holistic wealth.
Who has played an important role in your career thus far?
Angelina: When I was in my late 20’s, I started seeing executive coaches and life coaches to help me figure out how to balance my career and my desires. In fact, it was my mother who had encouraged me to seek for professional help as she noticed what I was going through in my era was different from her own experience.
I needed a new approach to balancing my energy, time, and resources, and that decision really helped me. I was assured and motivated to pursue my passions and relationships while climbing the fund manager ladder in the asset management industry, where only 10% of fund managers were women.
What do you believe will be the greatest challenge for the younger generation of women? What advice do you have for other women trying to follow their dreams?
Angelina: For my mom’s generation of baby boomers that started working in the 1970s, they are relatively well balanced in terms of having a career, a family and then retiring. For my generation, it’s possible we can live until 100 years old and the traditional model where you go to school, have a career, and retire at 60 is obsolete.
While we now have more choices and freedom to pursue our careers, we are also aware of more women who experience depression or anxiety because everyone is juggling multiple roles at once. We’re at a point where women wish to have it all — equality at work and at home, starting a family, the ability to achieve dreams and passions outside of work etc. — and I believe this “have it all” idea is itself a source of pressure and stress.
“That’s why I decided to start Heels & Yield. I wanted to help women achieve holistic wealth and start investing early so the stress that stems from money can be removed. Offering women a roadmap allows them to feel less pressured by the confusing messages they receive and more at ease as they navigate the different stages in life.”
I’m really hopeful for women of the younger generation; they are truly inspiring. They are led by the likes of Greta Thurberg who are using their voices to speak up on important issues, such as climate change and promoting a sustainable world model in hopes to make the world a safer and better place. Having said that, however, I worry about how they will achieve holistic wealth growing up in a world of heavy social media, where they have more opportunities to compare themselves with others. I’m also concerned that they are spending too much of their time “online” rather than in social settings and developing in-person relationships.
With the younger generation living an even longer life than my generation, it is important that they learn to take care of their social, psychological, emotional wellbeing and take charge of their finances so that they can live a holistically wealthy 100-year life!
The woman who inspired us to be go-getters
Ashley is a New York-based fashion photographer.
Tricia met New York-based fashion photographer Ashley Gallerani 3 years ago when they both started working full-time as a content creator and a photographer. The first ever photoshoot they did together was a great success and since then, Tricia has worked with Ashley on numerous projects together.
“I love Ashley because she isn’t just professional when it comes to her work but she is also so down-to-earth and really easy to communicate your ideas with,” Tricia told us; “she is so humble, too!”
One of Ashley’s many strengths is being able to understand her client to the best of her ability and creating a photography style that is very on-brand.
Most recently, Ashley was hired by Nylon Magazine to shoot street style during New York Fashion Week and everyone on #TheOnceUpon team was so happy for her.
Who is your role model?
Ashley: My mom has always inspired me. She is super independent and one of the most positive and energetic people I know, no matter what the situation is. She never second guessed any major decision I've made; instead, she always told me that I was capable of accomplishing any of my goals and that things would work out. Having the ability to see the best side of any situation and seeing the best in others instead of the negatives is why she is so inspiring.
Who has played an important role in your career thus far?
Ashley: The biggest thing that the women in my life have given me to help me get to where I am now is support. I am super lucky for everyone who listened to my ideas and things I needed help with; they’ve given me advice, and believed that I could accomplish any goals that I set for myself and my work.
What do you believe will be the greatest challenge for the younger generation of women? What advice do you have for other women trying to follow their dreams?
Ashley: I think the greatest challenge for the younger generation of women is to not get caught up in what other people are doing and comparing themselves to others. Especially since the younger generation is addicted to social media at such a young age, I think it's going to be hard for them to just focus on themselves, focus on what they can do versus what others are doing.
“The advice I would give to women trying to follow their dreams is to stay in their lane, listen to themselves and do what they actually want to do.”
I never worried about people who told me I couldn't do something because it was too difficult or that the odds were against me — from studying fashion to moving to New York without a job or a place to live to eventually quitting my 9-5 job to work for myself as a photographer. You have to do what you know you're meant to do and what is going to make you happy. After all, it is your life and no one else's so all of those major decisions are yours to make.
The woman who reminded us the importance of a community
Wini Lao, a New York City-based lifestyle photographer has worked with #TheOnceUpon team on several occasions. To us, Wini is the queen of capturing well-curated photographs at events!
Wini has a background in engineering and is a self-taught photographer.
“Most event photos I’ve come across in the past are done in a very ‘documentary style,’ which aren’t always great for the ‘gram, and when it comes to influencer events, we certainly want images to meet the standards of content creators so the event and the brand can get maximum exposure,” Tricia said. “And Wini is so good at getting it right — she keeps in mind what the brand needs as well as what influencers like, and combined with her skills, that’s what makes her photos great!”
Wini had an engineering background and is a self-taught photographer. Her passion for photography gave her the strength to leave her old job and dive into the creative industry. What we really admire about Wini is her ability to connect with fellow creatives and build a friendly collaborative community. Like us at #TheOnceUpon family, Wini values collaboration over competition and she actively takes action to expand her network, which is something that is sometimes more challenging than it sounds.
Who is your role model?
Wini: This question is difficult for me as I didn’t have a specific female role model growing up. My father is my role model — his kindness and perseverance set my morals for who I am today. His actions are everything. I vividly recall a moment when I was young. We were walking through Chinatown when a lady’s bag of oranges broke and the oranges flew everywhere. My dad stopped and helped the lady. It was a simple gesture but as a young girl, that was impactful. Kind moments like that set the tone of my childhood and my future as well. I stand my career based out of kindness and community.
Who has played an important role in your career thus far?
Wini: I've had two careers in my life so far — one as a civil engineer and one currently as a photographer. I had no background in business and knew no one when I started my photographer career. I am lucky that two ladies gave me a chance and played very important roles in my new found job. These ladies are my clients and now friends, Carmen Sognonvi and Mel Phillips.
Carmen owns an established 11-year-old martial arts school with her husband and is currently working on her popular family blog, "Top Flight Family," which features luxury family travel content. We met when I was a baby photographer — with just two photo sessions on my portfolio. Not only was she the first client to keep me on a retainer, she’s also given me amazing business advice and resources to help further my business. Her advice stemmed from being a successful business women herself — beyond the scope of relying on Instagram and Internet trends.
Mel is a lifestyle blogger in the fitness and yoga space under the name of Headstands and Heels. When she switched to blogging full time, she took me on-board as her main photographer. We work together a couple times a month and she’d always connect me with her friends in her network. Mel opened doors for me to opportunities that I could not have possibly imagined when I first started as a photographer, including introducing me to amazing brands such as Adidas.
What do you believe will be the greatest challenge for the younger generation of women? What advice do you have for other women trying to follow their dreams?
Wini: We’re living in the generation of the ‘Me Too’ movement and in the space of women trailblazers. My hope is that the younger female generation won’t need to fight anymore because their path is easier. However, I think it’ll take multiple generations to see impact at the top. My advice for women trying to follow their dream is: “You don’t need to be great to start, but you have to start to be great”.
“You don’t need to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”
We hope those who have inspired us can be an inspiration to you, too. Thank you for reading!
Follow us on @theonceupon or email us info@theonceupon.com.
xoxo,
The Once Upon Team