Girl Get A Real Job Sara Karpanen

Three inspiring creatives share their journeys and learnings about entrepreneurship in this honest panel talk hosted by Sara Kärpänen, the founder of Women of the Wick media and host of Girl Get A Real Job podcast.

The episode is packed with nuggets of wisdom and personal learnings from the field of art, design, and fashion, recorded at ⁠⁠the London Made Me⁠⁠ pop-up shop on Carnaby Street in December 2023.

⁠The London Made Me⁠ shop is powered by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London as part of his flagship Creative Enterprise Zone programme.



Meet our talented speakers:



Joke Amusan is a German-Nigerian textile artist based in London. Her art practice highlights the experiences and complex beauty of what it means to be a Black woman – through the exploration of identity and heritage.

Asya Ter-Hovakimyan is a womenswear designer and the co-founder of sustainable fashion brand Omniss. The Hackney Wick based brand was set in 2021 and has already been featured in the likes of Forbes and Drapes.

Madelyn Dransfield is an Australian born, London-based award-winning interior designer and the co-founder of Happy Place Design, an elegant furniture design brand. Madelyn is passionate about thoughtful, innovative and accessible design.



The London Made Me project is delivered in partnership Creative United UK, Alice Mayor and media partner Visit London.

Shop design and creative direction by the talented Jo Armitage and business training by the powerhouse known as Laura Mulhern from Plan Make Do. 

Join us for an honest conversation with Dr. Sarah Welsh, the co-founder of HANX, as she unveils the journey behind building a pioneering sex-tech brand from the ground up.

Sarah walks us through the journey how she and her co-founder, Farah Kabir, an ex-investment banker, tackled the unique challenges of raising investment in a predominantly male-dominated industry.

The episode dives into the rollercoaster of emotions as they faced pushback and stigmas associated with their sexual wellness products designed by and for women, insights of the competitive world of retail and assembling a formidable team.

Tune in to this unfiltered discussion and share your thoughts with us. It's a story of resilience, innovation, and the pursuit of empowerment that you won't want to miss!

Pssst. Use code REALJOB20 to get 20% off HANX 3 and 10 Packs of ultra-thin, sensitive Condoms, gentle Lubricant and Libido Lift desire supplement. 

Welcome to Girl Get A Real Job! In this episode, Sara talked with Emma Zeck, an Austin, Texas-based creative whose a singer, songwriter, performance poet and coach empowering women to reclaim their voice. 

In this episode, we cover:


How to develop your authentic voice and confront your fear as a creative
Emma's journey of healing trauma through storytelling and songwriting
Why and how creatives sometimes self-sabotage their work and how to create radical ownership
Claiming new territories as an artist and staying true to yourself

... and much more!



Tune in and follow us more at @womenofthewick to join the next issue launched we talked about during the show and Emma's work at @emma_zeck.



If you liked this episode and found it valuable, please rate or review it, and share it with a friend. As an indie feminist media, your contribution is invaluable to us!

Sara talks about mental health candidly and openly and invites the listener for a grounding meditation in this short solo episode.

How to create a sustainable business brand from scratch and become your own boss?

More women than ever are starting new businesses; however, only 1 in 3 UK entrepreneurs is still female. Women of the Wick and The Trampery bring together a group of East London-based sustainable business owners for a panel discussion.

Whilst celebrating the achievements of the female founders, the discussion draws the focus on the current gender gap and how to change the narrative in the fashion and creative industry.



🎙 Panel host



Sara Kärpänen is a gender equality-focused author, public speaker and the founder of ⁠Women of the Wick⁠ , democratising the media spaces and elevating the voices of women and non-binary creatives locally and globally. Sara is also the host of Girl Get A Real Job podcast and the Editor in Chief of WOWZINE bi-annual print magazine.



✨ Speakers ✨

Genia Mineeva is the Founder of BEEN London, named ‘one of the most innovative fashion companies in the world’ by British VOGUE. A sustainable accessories brand, BEEN London is on a mission to change the way we view waste. All products are handcrafted in London entirely from materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Genia is an assessor for the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and a guest lecturer in sustainable materials innovation.

Lydia Bolton is a slow fashion designer and sustainability creator whose designs are created using entirely deadstock and unwanted textiles. Lydia founded her namesake brand Lydia Bolton in 2019, feeling a responsibility to show how fashion could be enjoyed in a way that didn’t harm the environment. Lydia has since become a lauded sustainably-minded designer and Creator backed by WGSN, British Vogue, The Face, Refinery29 and more.

Piarvé Wetshi is an advocate for reducing textile waste in the fashion industry and a co-founder of the fashion collective and agency Colèchi and fabric resale platform Last Yarn. Her background is in digital marketing across interior design and events. Piarvé also works with local groups and cultural venues to bridge the gap between fashion and education.

Graysha Audren is a textile designer and founder of Weffan, a 3D woven clothing production company. Weffan is focused on redesigning outdated fashion manufacturing models and unsustainable supply chains using 3D woven garment technology to lower waste and the fashion industry’s carbon footprint. Through Weffan, Graysha integrates systems design, zero waste research, and textile innovation to future-proof the fashion industry for the 22nd century.

Chantelle Anonuevo is a social enterpreneur and the founder of RE-US London, a sustainable social fashion platform that curates London's creative voices of the future using a sustainable and ethical foundation - from the fabrics, manufacturing and longevity in fashion to amplify the artistic voice for change, without compromising the environment.

"Techno is black and we should be celebrating and recognising its roots. It's very important to me."

East London-based Heléna Star is one of the most exciting new DJ’s and Radio Presenters in the UK. Helena discovered her passion for music at a young age and started DJing at the age of 16.

Girl Get A Real Job host Sara Kärpänen sat down with the DJ during the Flow Festival 2022 in Helsinki and chatted about the gender inequality in the DJ industry, her entrepreneurial mindset as a musician, the roots of dance and techno music, and more. Tune in and leave a review!