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3 WAYS TO KNOW IF YOU’RE WORKING HARD ENOUGH
You are a new entrepreneur and loving the flexibility, answering to yourself and being able to work at 2 a.m., which happens to be your peak productivity time. Really, you’d be hard pressed to find these perks in a corporate office. But corporate does have its own set of perks, including knowing the exact amount that will be deposited into your checking account on Friday and having a good sense of if you are working hard enough. When I first left my corporate job and started my own business there was a ton to do and even though I worked (work!) almost every day, I had this nagging feeling that I wasn’t working hard enough. After more than two decades of working in corporate and delivering on management’s objectives, working with tight deadlines and looming performance reviews, I had a good...
WOMEN THAT ROCK + HARNESS: MAY FEMALE ARTISTS
This month’s recommended artists are brought to you by Women That Rock, a platform created by women, for women. Dedicated to supporting and promoting up-and-coming female musicians and female-fronted bands, Women That Rock is cultivating a community of badass ladies who are creating amazing music and connecting with one another through their art. Visit Women That Rock’s new website, https://www.womenthatrock.co and follow WTR on Instagram at @womenthatrock to stay in the loop on amazing lady artists, news & upcoming events. If you know an amazing female musician or girl-fronted band that needs to be heard, email their information to thewomenthatrock@gmail.com! Hollie Col Hollie Col is an Australian singer/songwriter officially on the rise. With finger-picked melodies, palm-muted groove...
ISOSCELES
From girlhood I did my best to cover up what felt like the betrayal of my breasts. Trying to erase the hourglass of my silhouette; I drowned my shape into a sea of cotton with oversized clothing I stole from my older brother. But both sexualized attention, harassment and aggression from everywhere seemed to reach past it all right into me. All tangled up, I began to tell myself that boys were at once a game I was playing and also the only answer to all my confusion about what pretty, skinny, smart and worthwhile was. By junior year of high school I had learned how to live outside my own body’s orbit – how it could be abused by me or anyone else without my ever knowing. I drifted somewhere detached in the atmosphere, drugs and alcohol keeping me afloat almost all the time. Mr. Short, ...
MIDWEST CRAFT CONFERENCE 2018: CRAFTERS, MAKERS AND SHAKERS
The Midwest Craft Conference was a three day event filled with knowledge, crafting and fun. Women and men from all over the midwest traveled to learn how to refine their craft. We had the pleasure of sitting in on workshops such as “Work Your Way to a Book Deal” by Lesley Ware from Creative Cookie, and “PR Basics” by Daniella Cortez of Rebel Marie. Both were informative and provided insight into different ways to market your craft. Some of the other workshops included: Expanding Your Product Line, Deductions for Crafters, Alternate Revenue Streams and Self-care for Creatives. We walked right into a crafter’s heaven; Craftaway Camp was decorated in lights, a table full of fabric sat for the taking and con-goers sat happily creating everywhere. Perhaps the most ...
LOVE IS COMPLICATED AND MARRIAGE IS MESSY
Love is complicated. I never pictured myself with someone- I was used to going solo. I imagined myself a female Jack Kerouac as a grown-up, minus the alcoholism. Yet I loved love stories- “True Romance” and Amelie” are still favourites. In low lonely moments as a young adult, I would imagine the loveliest romantic parts of those movies happening to me and long for partnership- even after heartbreak, even after ugly encounters in relationships. But always, for the long-term future, I imagined myself alone. Sometimes life surprises you. Sometimes the stuff you were sure you were better off doing alone can be done best with support. I was pushed suddenly into that strange realization when I met my husband. It was 2007 and dating apps were just starting to become a thing. I d...
THIS IS YOGA
I looked to my left and see a diamond, can’t be more than 14 years old. Her thick black hair tossed up at the top of her head as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was small, but strong and was contorting her body in ways I could only imagine to do with my own. I felt wrong watching her. As if I were invading a sacred space. I was in awe of the strength and immense power that vibrated through her mat onto the hardwood. I could feel it seep into my own. I could feel it bleed into my veins. I was imagining what would happen if she utilized every speck of matter that radiated throughout her body. 14 years old, She couldn’t be more than just 14, and as I remembered myself at 14, I remembered life was always too serious to be played with, I remember holding hands under picnic...
GAL GADOT PLAYS WONDER WOMAN IN REAL LIFE
Gal Gadot Plays Wonder Woman in Real Life If you pay any attention at all to Hollywood and the broader entertainment industry, you no doubt noticed that a new Wonder Woman film came out this past summer. It was part of DC’s expanding “cinematic universe,” meant to rival the films of Marvel Studios, and it was by almost all accounts the company’s best effort yet. With up-and-coming actress Gal Gadot playing the title role, the film earned accolades across the board. As one review put it, Wonder Woman was “alive and in command in a way the other DCEU films can only dream about,” the term “DCEU” referring to the DC Extended Universe. If you’ve been paying attention to these films, you likely agree. What makes this movie one of the stories of the year in entertainment and pop culture, however,...
#SUPERWOMAN BEGINNING IN THE MIDDLE | CO-FOUNDER CATHERINE WILLIAMSON TALKS TO HARNESS
On renovating homes, working with her husband and quitting her job The before and after pictures are truly spectacular — from broken walls, floral wallpaper and old tiles, Catherine Williamson and her husband, Bryan Williamson, transform lifeless spaces into bright, welcoming homes. The images speak for themselves as Catherine and Bryan build an empire. With reality television show offers, 50K followers on Instagram and features on sites like Oprah.com –we wanted to learn more about the co-founder of Beginning in the Middle, a former accountant from New Jersey. Catherine is the oldest of five siblings. Growing up, their mom did not want them to have cable, so they played with each other and made crafts. “That fostered a lot of creativity in all of us,” Catherine said. “I just r...
BITTERNESS IS A FLAVOR
I have become bitter about marriage. I know a couple where the woman is an animal communicator and the boyfriend is a chef. They recently became engaged. He thinks it is perfectly acceptable that she can tell him what the cat or the turtle are thinking and she coo’s about his cooking because she “can’t cook a thing.” In my cynicism, I can forecast with confidence that within five years of being married he will scoff at her ability to talk with animals and she will tell him if he makes enchiladas for dinner one more time she will drive his prized knife through his heart. When I see beautiful homes for sale on the country road that connects my town to Ft. Collins, I inevitably think: “Divorce.” Because nobody would sell such a precious house on a lake unless they were divorcing and needed to...
MURPHY’S LAW
Murphy’s Law states, “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” My life as of late has been a living example of Murphy’s Law. Ever feel like that? This article could be of use to you. I’ll start with saying that I’m lucky. I’m genuinely lucky because I’ve had grandparents and parents who have pushed me (although kicking and screaming at times) to get a college education. They pushed me to work when I turned 16 and pushed me to “never quit” and “stick the team out until the end of the season”. They even pushed me to shoot for my dreams of pursuing the production industry even though I know they winced at the thought of “freelance”. Aside from all that luck, education and pushing from loved ones, I’m still finding myself stuck in Murphy’s Law. I’m so stuck that I’ve been without a steady j...
#SUPERWOMAN TEENEAR | UP-AND-COMING URBAN POP SINGER TALKS TO HARNESS
Teenear discusses the biggest risk she’s taken, why she wants to be a good role model to young girls and positivity. Women from all different walks of life contribute to Harness Magazine. On rare occasions, we come across women who are pursuing a dream that is quite extraordinary. Take Teenear, for instance: a young urban pop singer from Miami. When she was 15-years-old, her parents encouraged her to upload her cover of “Stay” by Rihanna to YouTube. Soon after, she signed on to Slip-n-Slide Records (the label worked with the likes of Rick Ross, Trina and Plies) and released singles with accompanying music videos. One of them, “Friday Night,” even featured Sage the Gemini. The song, an empowered anthem (peep the lyric: “Tonight I’m doin’ me”) is about a girl who doesn’t need a man o...
4 DATING BEHAVIORS YOU SHOULD NEVER ACCEPT: THIS IS NOT A DRILL
I need you to know that even in the murky area of dating that there are “right” and “wrong” ways of treating people – and some dating behaviours you should never accept. Sometimes there are no excuses and no justifications; sometimes your heart needs to hear a strong message: get out, stay safe and avoid anyone who shows up in your life and treats you in this way. Some days I wish I could walk back to my old classroom, take the slinky or pogs out of my 9-year-old hands, look myself in the eyes and tell myself everything I know now about what behaviour is OKAY and what is DEFINITELY NOT OKAY. I think as young women we are often given useless and intangible messages around love. From a strange osmosis of Disney, pop songs and phrases we hear other people saying it is ...
