Dazey LA sweaterDazey LA
On International Women’s Day, I give you a list of 42 independent businesses founded by women that sell beautiful and useful objects, clothing, and self-care wares.
If I had all the time in the world, this list could be much longer. There is no dearth of female founders nowadays: A 2018 report found a 114 percent increase in women entrepreneurs over the past 20 years (compared to 44% for all businesses).
That’s good news for sure. But overall, women are still half as likely as men to start businesses, and those efforts make up just 4% of all business revenue. In other distressing news, startups founded by women typically receive less than men in investments: 935,000 vs. 2.1 million being the average for women and men respectively.
That same report found that for every dollar of funding, female-founded startups generate 78 cents, compared to 31 cents for startups founded by men. And somehow women still earn 80 cents for every dollar men make.
Bottom line: we have a lot a work to do. Let’s get started by shopping the brands below.
Clothing
Ace & Jig — Cary Vaughan and Jenna Wilson
Christy Dawn — Christy Dawn
Dazey LA — Danielle Nagel
Doen — Margaret and Katherine Kleveland
Freda Salvador (shoes) — Megan Papay and Cristine Palomo-Nelson
Happy French Gang — Sandra Dejanovic
Kamperett — Anna Chiu and Valerie Santillo
Mara Hoffman — Mara Hoffman
Micaela Greg — Marie and Karen Potesta
Osei Duro — Maryanne Mathias and Molly Keogh
Richer Poorer and Pointe Studio — Iva Pawling
Saylor — Jillian Shatken
Valentina Shah — Valentina Shah
Gifts, Accessories and Furniture
Ariel Gordon Jewelry — Ariel Gordon
Ban.do — Jen Gotch
Claire West — Claire West
Dormify — Amanda Zuckerman and Stephanie Kimel
FiatLux — Marie McCarthy
Future Glory — Theresa Lee
High Fashion Home — Dolley Frearson
The Jungalow — Justina Blakeney
Katie Dean Jewelry — Katie Dean
Le Point — Pauline Montupet
Lilian Faraq — Lilian Faraq
Lulu & Georgia — Sara Sugarman
Morningtide — Lisa Fontaine and Lisa Wong Jackson
Of a Kind — Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur
Waant — Jenny Chung Seeger
We Dream in Colour — Jade Gedeon
Yellow Owl Workshop — Christine Schmidt
Kids
Bash + Sass — Irene Lee
Bitte —Maia McDonald Smith and Sara McDonald
Petit Collage — Lorena Siminovich
Ziraffe — Yunyi Zhang
Beauty and Skincare
Indie Lee — Indie Lee
Osmia — Dr. Sarah Villafranco
True Botanicals — Hillary Peterson
Sonya Dakar — Sonya Dakar
Skylar — Cat Chen
Bridal, Party and Floral
Farmgirl Flowers — Christina Stembel
Harlow & Grey — Jeanne Chan and Gloria Wong Tritasavit
LOHO Bride — Christy Baird
Plum Pretty Sugar — Charlotte Hale