The Brand is Female

Brooke G., (known as @everydayexpert on Instagram) runs the Heal Hive, a platform for wellness and health advocacy which focuses on evidence-based holistic healing. Based in California, Brooke is a survivor of Lyme disease; an illness which almost claimed her life and which she cured using bee venom therapy. Today Brooke runs Heal Hive retreats to help individuals suffering from Lyme disease and other chronic illness. Brooke’s mantra? “Test, don’t guess”.Brooke now also uses bee venom as a fertility treatment, after research has proven how effective the protocol is to increase fertility and reverse hormone depletion. In her own words, “bees may be small but they sure are mighty”.

Stephanie Kersta and Carolyn Plater founded Hoame, a meditation and mindfulness space in downtown Toronto that offers dark and light rooms (where meditation workshops take place), a salt cave, an infrared sauna and more. Both founders are psychotherapists who specialize in treating addiction; they dreamed the concept for Hoame after recognizing that our modern stress-filled lifestyle was to blame for the mental health crisis our society faced today and wanted to create a space where taking care of yourself is accepted and celebrated.Stephanie and Carolyn spoke to host Eva Hartling about their experience as clinical psychologists, their path to turning their dream for Hoame into a reality and shared their tips for mindful living.The Brand is Female can enjoy a free 30 or 60-minute class at Hoame using code FEMALELEADS100.

Michelle Bilodeau is a Canadian journalist and Green Beauty Expert. She honed her editorial skills working at some of Canada’s leading lifestyle magazines including Flare and Fashion. Today she makes regular appearances on CTV and CBC, and she collaborates with different publications to provide her expertise on all things green. You can also follow her blog, The-Eco-Edit.com. Michelle realized early on that what we put on our skin can have an effect on our health. She became very aware of this when her father was diagnosed with Leukaemia, an environmental disease, in 2010.In this episode, Michelle shared some of her incredible knowledge in the field of green beauty as well as giving advice on brands she swears by. Visit us on Instagram to see a list of products recommended by Michelle.

Tiffany Sorya is the founder and CEO of Novel Education Group, a homeschooling and tutoring organization based in Los Angeles. Tiffany’s innovative business model has attracted a number of celebrities including Kris Jenner and Dr. Dre thanks to her focus on exploring youth’s creative side while balancing demanding, non-traditional schedules and academic work. She’s had quite the star-studded clientele with Kylie and Kendall Jenner as well as Hailey Baldwin among her past students.Tiffany sees her role as helping the younger generation find value and meaning in an education system that can seem bland and standardized. She aims to enrich the lives of the new generation with the true value of knowledge.She spoke to Eva Hartling about her approach to “making smart stylish again”; the powerful role that teachers have; and how she thinks the new generation of young women is growing up believing that anything is achievable when they put their mind to it.

Our guest this week is Michèle Maheux, outgoing Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Known as the “unsung hero” of what has become one of the global film circuit’s most important festivals, TIFF’s “number two” spent 30 years in leadership roles within the organization and was instrumental in its development, often working behind the scenes. Michèle championed women, both within and outside TIFF, putting a spotlight on women filmmakers and mentoring the next generation of film industry leaders. Listen to her interview where she tells Eva Hartling about her journey in the film industry, the changes she’s seen happen for women over the years — including those brought on by #MeToo; the importance of doing ‘what makes you happy’ and how you learn as much from the bad bosses as you do from the good ones.

Our guest on this 8th episode of The Brand is Female is Cheryl Hickey, Host of Entertainment Tonight Canada where she has been greeting more than half a million viewers every night since 2005. Cheryl has had an amazing track record on Canadian television; she is also an entrepreneur and was just named ambassador for John Frieda Hair Products.Cheryl spoke to Eva Hartling about her journey to making it to the top, never taking ‘no’ for an answer; dealing with obstacles and challenges along the way and finding her self-confidence and balance with the support of family and loved ones.

Our guest on this 7th episode of The Brand is Female is Victoria Radford, Celebrity Makeup Artist and founder of Radford, a beauty and skincare brand. She is also co-owner of Radford Studio, a beauty studio in the heart of Yorkville in Toronto, Canada.Victoria spoke to Eva Hartling about her accidental start in the world of beauty; one of her first big breaks as Fergie’s makeup artist; her distaste for social media and her philosophy on beauty today — “the dish will never be as good as the ingredients” which sums up Radford’s new motto “Beauty is within” perfectly.

Our guest on this 6th episode of The Brand is Female is Canadian style powerhouse Erica Wark, Celebrity Stylist, Fashion Expert and TV Personality. Erica makes frequent appearances on Canadian television including CTV’s The Social and Your Morning; she’s dressed an impressive roster of Canadian and American actors and actresses and is highly regarded as a subject matter expert on all things fashion.Erica spoke to Eva Hartling about carving her own path in the highly competitive world of fashion and styling; what she feels is missing in the industry to make fashion more accessible to all (including diversity when it comes to models and clothes that can fit every size); and the boost of self-confidence that can come from choosing the right clothes and accessories.

Our guest on this 5th episode of The Brand is Female is fierce female entrepreneur Sophie Boulanger, CEO and founder of BonLook, the Canadian answer to Warby Parker launched in 2010 with a disruptive direct-to-consumer business model for prescription eyewear frames and lenses. BonLook now operates more than 30 stores across Canada (their goal is to get to 50 by 2020) and has caught the attention of investors who have rewarded the Montreal-based company with substantial capital support.Sophie speaks to Host Eva Hartling about her journey as an entrepreneur, the BonLook story, the obstacles she encountered on her entrepreneurial journey and shares what she thinks of being a leader. If you’re passionate about consumer goods and stories of business growth, you’ll love this show.

Our fourth episode of The Brand is Female features global (and self-made) restaurateur Janet Zuccarini, who started with one restaurant in Toronto and grew her business to include 8 companies today.Janet owns the Gusto 54 Global Restaurant Group and is the mastermind behind Toronto’s well-known eateries Trattoria Nervosa (her first restaurant), Gusto 101, Kiin, Pai and Chubby’s; she also opened Italian restaurant Felix in LA in 2017 which Esquire Magazine deemed "America's Best New Restaurant” — no small feat for a restaurant owner from Toronto. She speaks to Host Eva Hartling about the challenges she has faced throughout her career, what has kept her motivated to continue building her empire and how she stays grounded and balanced despite her demanding schedule (hint: it includes daily meditation and a hot meal!).