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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2021
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CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Today is International Women’s Day. As a female owned company, this is a specifically important day to all of us here at Creative Retail Packaging.

 
“International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.”
— internationalwomensday.com
 

Pandemic aside, it takes a lot to start a business, much less see it thrive…and even more so as a female business owner. In honor of today, we want to recognize four female founders within the retail, e-commerce and restaurant space who pivoted to create incredible businesses.

Laura Jennings, Knack

 
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Laura Jennings pivoted from a career in technology and venture capital to pioneering the online retail, custom gift-giving model that we know and love today. When she founded Knack in 2015, she was “convinced that the future of e-commerce resided in putting the customer front and center.” She used her technological know-how in order to be a disruptor in the gift-giving industry, via her online platform. With that, Knack was born.

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Knack is an online, custom gift-building platform that allows the customer to create custom gifts, exactly how they like them. Gifts can either be built within a theme or selected by recipient, interest, occasion, or ethos. Within the gift-building category, customized gift boxes under themes like Mindfulness, BIPOC-owned, Made in the USA, and College Care can be selected and personalized for the recipient. Within selected gifts, the categories are truly endless, from Caregivers, to Home Entertainment, to Holidays.

To check out Laura’s amazing business and to get a custom gift for someone you love, check out the Knack Website.

Images courtesy of Knack and CRP.

Chaz Easterly, Linen and Flax

 
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Chaz Easterly was able to pivot her passion into her career. As a lifelong lover of design and details, Chaz never thought that she would create more than a beautifully-designed home for herself and her family. With the hit of the recession, she, like many others, started to work hard to make her passion into a profession. She landed at Pottery Barn, where she was able to launch their in-home design program. This was the confidence boost she needed to eventually launch Linen & Flax in 2015.

Linen & Flax now operates as “full-service lifestyle brand dedicated to providing customers and clients with the best design services, home products, clothing, accessories, and more.” Linen & Flax currently offers three main services. The first of which is Linen and Flax Full-Service Design, which focuses on room design, renovations, and new home construction. The next is Linen and Flax Design Refresh, which offers a team who puts together a detailed accessory plan to update a dated space. Finally, Linen & Flax offers in-store complimentary design, allowing clients to schedule an appointment with one of their sales associates to assist with smaller projects such as lighting updates.

To learn more about Chaz and her beautifully-designed business, check out the Linen & Flax website.

 Images care of Linen & Flax.

Caroline Gaston and Whitney Abblitt, Greenery Co.

 
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Gaston and Abblitt are Vanderbilt graduates that pivoted their love for healthy and tasty food options from passion to career. As they studied in Nashville, they found themselves looking for healthy options that matched their “fast-paced” lifestyle. Longing for more, they brought their passion for wholesome eating to the city that they loved, launching their first location in Nashville on January 4th, 2021.

 
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Greenery’s mission is to “make thoughtful choices simple.” The goal in this is to inspire healthy habits that will in turn positively affect how we treat ourselves. At Greenery, all food is created from scratch daily with fresh ingredients. Their bright flavorful dishes include shareable snacks, warm bowls, salads, and custom bowls with all kinds of options. The Greenery offers free delivery to designated areas within Vanderbilt University Medical Center for medical professionals, which is an amazing addition as the country still is battling the pandemic, and the perfect example of the innovative ideas we will continue to highlight this month.  

To learn more about Caroline and Whitney and to take a peek at their delicious menu, check out the Greenery website.

Images care of Greenery and Wildforth Creative.

Julie Roberts, Elizabeth Anthony

 
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Julie Roberts pivoted her passion for pageantry into a fashion brand. In 1982, Roberts represented Missouri in the Miss America Pageant as the youngest contestant. After a year of public appearances following, Julie set up her shop with only five evening gowns and $500 in seed money to her name. During the next five years, she built up a reputation in coaching state and national contestants on both wardrobe and image. In 1996, Julie opened her first brick-and-mortar store, and in 2003, she finally purchased the Houston ladies store in Esther Wolf, which as sense marked her business as a “revered Houston luxury destination.”

 
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Elizabeth Anthony is named for Julie’s children, Jennifer Elizabeth and Justin Anthony. The business is now going on 30 years of expertly outfitting women from their teens well into their later years. Julie’s goal in this has always been to make every woman that walks through her door feel “valued and beautiful.” Several thousands of clients-turned-friends later, this vision remains the same.

To learn more about Julie Roberts and her elegant fashion brand, check out the Elizabeth Anthony website.

Images care of Elizabeth Anthony & CRP.


Creative Retail Packaging elevates powerful female founders like these today and everyday. We believe that packaging plays a role in progressing their stories further.

IF YOU’RE A WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS AND IN NEED OF PACKAGING HELP, WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.

 

Primary image courtesy of Vecteezy.