accessories

At Aruku, our mission is to make women’s lives beautifully practical, by combining style and functionality to create bags that suit the needs of women today. We’ve recently launched our leather backpack which is beautifully designed both inside and out, with style, comfort and practicality in mind. With padded laptop and tablet sleeves, an easy access phone pocket and a spacious interior, as well as a key holder and comfortable padded straps, our backpacks are the one bag you need to see you through your day.

Our bags are designed in London and handmade in the same factory as one of the world's most well-known luxury brands, but we only sell direct to our customers so we can provide a more affordable approach to luxury.

Describe the moment when you decided to start your business?
I was trying to find a bag that was both beautiful and practical, allowing me to carry everything I needed for my day, but that was also affordable. The products already on the market only seemed to deliver on one of these benefits. So I decided to create a company where style and beauty combines with practicality to make women’s lives a little easier. We believe in creating beautiful, luxury products that meet the needs of our consumers every day.

feminist speakeasy

Feminist Speakeasy is... an intersectional gift shop, pop-up shop, and hideaway for people in desperate need of a hideaway from the patriarchy. It was founded on International Women's Day (March 8, 2018) as a way to channel outrage at sexism, Trump’s America, and Britain’s Brexit into something positive.

What do you do differently at your company?
I run one of many feminist gift shops, but this one globally helps bridge the wage gap and it's intersectional. Every purchase supports multiple woman-owned businesses. At Feminist Speakeasy we believe that real change can only happen when we all come together to dismantle racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, transphobia, ableism, and classism. The products we offer, the events we host, and the conversations we lead online are indicative of the spirit of inclusion and people want to be part of that resisterhood.

LESH is... a line of hand-woven jewelry created by photographer turned fiber-artist Summer Moore. Combining unique color palettes and patterns, each piece is handwoven in Brooklyn using cotton fibers, recycled thread, and hand-dyed cord.

When did I decide to start my business:
I knew I wanted to start a small business since I was young, I just wasn't sure what it'd be. I started weaving after an inspiring trip to Peru in 2010, and a few years later I took part in an artist residency in Cappadocia, Turkey where I focused on the woven jewelry ideas I'd had. Having that dedicated creative time in the studio made me want to create that back home in Brooklyn, and once I found my studio there, the business soon followed.

clay & brass

Clay & Brass is... a ceramic jewelry company that aims to create modern accent pieces using traditional materials.

Describe the moment when you decided to start your business.
Although much of the idea to make jewelry has been evolving over the past four years, I can pinpoint one moment things were coming together and I needed to start a shop. About a year ago I spent some time in meditation at a retreat. I can remember at the end of a couple hours of meditating, I had this strong conviction to create an Etsy shop. It was strange because I hadn't gone on the retreat with any goals to think about my work: if anything it was to take a break from producing. Although I was surprised by what felt like a thought that came out of nowhere, I began to see this was forming much longer than I realized. After trusting my instinct and creating a shop it's been exciting to see a steady and natural growth of the business.

MILLENNY is... Created for the female force that’s driving us forward and changing what it means to be a woman in the 21st century, MILLENNY supports the female go-getter, the entrepreneur and the bold and brave woman worldwide.

Founders and fearless friends Yulia and Olya are the driving force behind MILLENNY. Setting out to create a brand that empowers women and supports their busy modern day lifestyle, the pair launched MILLENNY with their much-anticipated debut 3-in-1 BRERA Work Tote.

What power did you discover you had as an entrepreneur that you didn't know you had before?
At the beginning of our entrepreneurial journey, like any startup, we had little knowledge of what kind of obstacles and troubles we would have to face on our way. And now we can say that the experience of getting through them and learning how to avoid them in the future is priceless.

The power that we discovered, even though our journey just started, is that we have the ability to share our knowledge, our experiences with so many other female entrepreneurs. Help them get through their obstacles.

Each journey is different, but our actions can inspire, our stories can empower and the most important - support can help us overcome any fears.