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On Realism and Healthy Roots: Yelitsa Jean-Charles

I love people who cut to the chase: This is who I am; take it or leave it. Yelitsa Jean-Charles is one such woman. In the few months I’ve known her, I’ve grown to love our short-and-sweet exchanges at Union Hall: two tired-but-happy entrepreneurs with big dreams, high expectations, and serious sweet tooths. We finally got a chance to sit down for an interview, and the artist-turned-entrepreneur was everything I knew she’d be: snarky (her words), unapologetic, honest. Read on to meet the founder of Healthy Roots Dolls, a budding company dedicated to bringing diversity and empowerment straight to the toy aisles of America.

Scenes from the City: Janice Hisle

I am early again, biting my nails and washing my nerves down with iced coffee. There is a fly circling my table and pausing on the window after each lap. As I watch it scurry across the glass, I wonder if this fly on the wall really holds secrets.

Scenes from the City, Arts + Culture, August 2018, Around TownAbby McGuireAugust 3, 2018Community Mix

8 Female Filmmakers: Laura VonHolle on Balance and Barrel Rollers

Bright and early on a warm, Saturday morning, I walked across the uneven, cobblestone parking lot at Longworth Hall, just past downtown Cincinnati. As the impressive brick building towered in front of me, I entered the bright lobby to meet an impeccably dressed, beaming Laura VonHolle, director of operations for Heyman Talent.

Arts + Culture, Female FilmmakersJackie MulayAugust 3, 2018Community Mix

8 Female Filmmakers: Lana Read on Heroes and Villains

Lana Read was the name… As we let the conversation roll, she shared her lens on topics ranging from the perfect story arc to the community building potential of local film to balancing leadership and femininity.

Arts + Culture, Female FilmmakersBecca CochranJuly 27, 2018Community Mix

#SerendipityScrapbook Challenge

Hello! My name is Kate Ducey and I am the current editorial resident here at Women of Cincy.

Part of being a resident is completing a capstone, so for my capstone, I've decided to reach out to Women of Cincy readers!

My capstone is titled "The Serendipity Scrapbook" and it is all about getting people to look at their everyday lives differently through a series of small challenges.

Arts + Culture, Health + Wellness, From the ResidentsKate DuceyJuly 23, 2018

bombASSbabes Session 3

BombASSbabes is a mini-series celebrating the tenacious broads of Cincinnati. The short films explore a sundry of hobbies, skills, and enthusiasms women choose to pour their creative energy into. Session 3 features Jaclin Hastings, a tattoo artist in Cincinnati.

bombASSbabes, Arts + Culture, July 2018Biz YoungJuly 21, 2018Community Mix

Reported By Women: July 20

The past couple of weeks have been filled with events led by and created for all boss babes in the tristate area. We lived it up with Details2Decor and national recording artist Vivian Green, and then weaved through numerous displays of gorgeous inventive products at Girl Boss Events's first pop-up for female vendors.

8 Female Filmmakers: Hannah Blair on Making Your Work

On a sunny spring evening, I walked through aisles of brightly colored international candies, hundreds of varieties of wine, and an array of flower-shaped cheeses to find Hannah Blair sitting at a table near the coffee shop inside Jungle Jim’s International Market. After swapping stories of the peculiar displays we’d each passed on the way in, we grabbed a seat and chatted about small town life, filmmaking, and what it means to “make your work.”

Female Filmmakers, Arts + CultureKelsey JohnsonJuly 20, 2018Community Mix

KellyAnn Nelson: Music Is a Superpower

KellyAnn Nelson believes in empowering people and helping them to access their superpowers through music. She is the founder and artistic director of Young Professionals’ Choral Collective of Cincinnati (YPCC), an open access nonprofit choir. YPCC has a roster of 1,100 young professionals (YPs) who sign up to sing in any or all of the organization’s three arms: 1. Non-auditioned cycles which run 6-8 weeks each; 2. Community singing, which takes place around town upon request, whether at breweries or on the steps of Music Hall; and 3. The auditioned chamber choir. KellyAnn is also the managing artistic director of the Cincinnati Boychoir. Through these dual roles, she is helping to create a community of inclusion in Cincinnati.

Education, Arts + Culture, Features, MusicKyle SchottJuly 16, 2018Features

8 Female Filmmakers: Stumbling onto Set with Jen Day

With glasses, long dark hair with bangs, and a red lip, filmmaker Jen Day was serving up some serious “New Girl” vibes when we met her at Nation Kitchen & Bar earlier this summer. We found a corner near the front windows, and with our photographer Heather’s encouragement, I tried a whiskey Moscow Mule for the first time – it was love at first sip. We nestled in with our drinks, took in Nation’s inviting atmosphere, and got right down to the nitty-gritty of being a woman in the city and what it means to tell unique stories through film.

Female Filmmakers, Arts + CultureKristyn BridgesJuly 13, 2018Community Mix

Scenes from the City: Rachel Miller

Rachel Miller walks in the door and the room brightens. She spends time with the barista, thinking about what she wants and cracking jokes, and I smile knowing we’re about to have a great conversation.

Scenes from the City, Arts + Culture, July 2018, Around TownAbby McGuireJuly 7, 2018Community Mix

8 Female Filmmakers: Allyson West on Creating the Cindependent Film Festival

“So the who, what, where, when, why is it’s a three-day film festival at the Woodward Theater, August 23, 24, 25. It’s being designed to attract filmmakers, as well as community members. It’s really important to connect storytellers in and outside of the industry. It’s no different than sitting next to somebody watching a movie and then turning to them and being like, ‘Oh my god. Did you just see that, too?’ You get to talk to storytellers, and that’s all connected through the human experience and the human perspective.”

Female Filmmakers, Arts + CultureKiersten WonesJuly 6, 2018Community Mix

8 Female Filmmakers: Meet Allyson West

On an oddly warm day in March, we ventured out to a little corner pub in Madisonville to meet Allyson West. Little did I know that she’d immediately become one of my favorite people: an unapologetic, authentic, instant friend who makes you feel like you could walk up to her on the street and pour out your heart and soul. We met the fiery filmmaker, actress, and founder of the brand new Cindependent Film Festival at her favorite neighborhood haunt, The Bramble Patch.

Female Filmmakers, Arts + CultureKiersten WonesJuly 6, 2018Community Mix

Celebrating Cindependence Day

The organizers of the inaugural Cindependent Film Festival joined forces with Women of Cincy on July 4 at Washington Park to celebrate the rad party that will be the event's inaugural edition, August 23-25 at the Woodward Theater.

Reported By Women: June 22

From bikes to art, there was no shortage of empowering for our city this week. Check out what our incredible team has to say about this past week’s happenings.

Stories Behind the Booze: Commonwealth Bistro’s Tess Burns

Commonwealth Bistro, tucked away in a gorgeous historical building, is bringing that feeling back. Built on the community of Covington and the rich history of Kentucky, Commonwealth Bistro encourages you to pull up a seat, dig into some Kentucky Fried Rabbit, and make new connections. We met up with co-owner Tess Burns to hear about the origins of Commonwealth Bistro, how to make new girlfriends, and reconnecting with nature.

Behind the Booze, Entrepreneurship, Arts + Culture, June 2018Liz RosevearJune 19, 2018

bombASSbabes Session 2

BombASSbabes is a mini-series celebrating the tenacious broads of Cincinnati. The short films explore a sundry of hobbies, skills, and enthusiasms women choose to pour their creative energy into. Session 2 features Siri Imani, a performer and member of Triiibe LLC.

bombASSbabes, Arts + Culture, June 2018Biz YoungJune 16, 2018Celebrate Black Stories, Community Mix

Lily Turner & Anh Tran: Shaking Cincy up Together

We meet at Liberty’s Bar & Bottle, home to many of Lily and Anh’s best ideas. It’s an innocent enough starting point for a simple after-work get-together. But with Lily and Anh, a simple get-together can just as often turn into an unplanned meeting of top-tier movers and shakers planning out the next great idea for the city. I’ve been there, and it happens.

Features, Arts + Culture, Entrepreneurship, Health + WellnessTeri HeistJune 11, 2018Features

Scenes from the City: Homeadow Song Farm’s Vicki Mansoor

As soon as I pull up to Homeadow Song Farm, I know the homestead is no stranger to me; the energy is too welcoming and sweet. I step out of my pollen-covered Corolla, trip on a rock, look around with my mouth agape, and see Vicki Mansoor looking at me as she walks down the stairs.

Vicki is the natural beauty of the land, disguised as a human being. I feel unnatural with a camera hanging from my neck: There is just no way to capture that kind of beauty. Not even words can, but I will try to explain.

Reported By Women: June 1

We've been hitting up the hottest spots in the city and this week was no different. Our team ventured to various places around Cincinnati for events that enlightened, celebrated, and encouraged.