International Women’s Day
I love this day and week leading up. My news feed is full of inspirational women celebrating successes and shouting about outstanding achievements. I feel inspired and full of drive and determination. The day resonates with me.
With all that is currently happening in the world, I pondered whether I should write this? I wonder if I write, what do we say? Does this take away from the awfulness happening? The atrocities happening to our neighbours, our sisters, and fellow human beings made me remember that this day is not just about women; it's about us all—human beings.
I didn’t want to write an angry rant about the gender bias we as women in business face daily; I wanted to share and celebrate with you what we have achieved. We get asked to share our story with others embarking on businesses and projects. So here goes.
Still Sisters was born in 2019, my sister and I wanted something we could truly call ours. With our business acumen and lessons learned from working in the alcohol industry for over ten years, we thought, if not now, then when?
Still Sisters is about collaboration, partnership and working together. My sister and I are very much yin and yang (although people tell us we are more alike than we’d like to hear!) One doesn’t work without the other. Life, work and living are all about balance: the good and the bad. We need rain and sun, storm and rainbows (I like a weather analogy). We don’t appreciate the good times unless we have suffered/learned from the bad. It’s been an arduous journey that started as two women with a vision and a story.
Our Still was appropriately called Storm, as, without the storm and chaos, we don’t appreciate the still and calm when it arrives. We also like to think we are Somerset Sisters causing a Storm! Still Sisters is in her 3rd year of trading, and it hasn’t been smooth sailing. This bumpy journey we all go through, we can’t do it alone.
Since 2019 we have launched five award-winning Gins sourcing locally grown signature botanicals, collaborating with small independents in Somerset. We have built a distillery shop, set up a Gin School and created a mobile horsebox/bar. All during a pandemic, this is a testament to the team of 11 (9 of which are women).
Still Sisters is about finding your ‘sister’ or ‘sisters’ and coming together to achieve some great stuff! We can’t do it alone. We have a fantastic team who help drive and shape our business daily. We work with some incredible Frome/Somerset women-led businesses too!
Each of us adds a different dimension, and we celebrate this! We wouldn’t be the business we are today without everyone involved. Collaboration and partnership are essential. Our success is down to inviting everyone to the table.
We invite everyone to find their Still Sister, no matter their differences. We all bring something that is uniquely us. This post isn’t a call to action; it’s a call for compassion—a call to listen. Celebrate differences embrace differences because when sisters come together, great things can happen.
To all the ‘sisters’ start the conversation, start the business, develop the idea, and do it together. Support, inspire and help each other because life is tough and the journey is not smooth or easy. Lift each other and listen compassionately. Now more than ever, we need each other.
Happy International Women’s Day.
This blog post is dedicated to our incredible team, Carolyn, Derek, Laura, Siouxsie, Sasha, Sara, Natalie, Wendy and Kevin.