Go Forth

L'Oreal Payton is the Director of Communications at OneGoal, a national college access and success organization. She is also a writer, crafting pieces for Hello Giggles, Ebony, and others, as well as her own blog, LT in the City. Elise Metzger is a designer and Founder of pop-up supper club Filigree Suppers as well as interior environments and experiential design firm Forward Fruit. Mallory Ulaszek and Kelsey Gilbert Kreiling are the Founders of Presence Agency, specializing in event and website production.In this episode, recorded live from Ace Hotel Chicago, these women cover everything from raising your rates to keeping your books balanced to understanding the worth of your time and expertise. It's an incredibly candid conversation that you won't want to miss!Note: there are a couple of sound issues on this one, since it was recorded live. Bear with us, it's worth it!

L'Oreal Payton is the Director of Communications at OneGoal, a national college access and success organization. She is also a writer, crafting pieces for Hello Giggles, Ebony, and others, as well as her own blog, LT in the City. Elise Metzger is a designer and Founder of pop-up supper club Filigree Suppers as well as interior environments and experiential design firm Forward Fruit. Mallory Ulaszek and Kelsey Gilbert Kreiling are the Founders of Presence Agency, specializing in event and website production.In this episode, recorded live from Ace Hotel Chicago, these women cover everything from raising your rates to keeping your books balanced to understanding the worth of your time and expertise. It's an incredibly candid conversation that you won't want to miss!Note: there are a couple of sound issues on this one, since it was recorded live. Bear with us, it's worth it!

In this episode, 3 wordsmith women - Betsy Mikel, Julie Schumacher, and Gretchen Kalwinski talk about the ways in which this unique collaborative relationship has strengthened their businesses and ignited their confidence in their own talents and business acumen. They discuss transparency (not just the fun, easy kind) and the many hats that they wear -- business coach, friend, co-worker, and more -- in their collaboration with one another.

In this episode, Lydia Crespo of Argaman+Defiance (@argamandefiance) and Kristin Oldach of KraeO Handmade (@kraeo) come together to discuss how they came to collaborate even when their is often fierce competition between makers who produce similar products. They also chat about tips for successful collaborations and how working together has transformed their businesses and opened new income streams.

To kick off this season, Amelia + Amanda sat down to discuss some changes to the Go Forth format and the conversations around feminist values that inspired these interviews. They also share a preview of the great guests and conversations to come in season three! For more information, follow @forthchicago.

Lisa Guillot is the founder of + branding / life-coach expert behind Step Brightly and Be Bright Lisa. She was also a co-founder of Forth Chicago.

Jennifer Smith Tapp is the Director of Editorial and Brand Strategy for Chicago Woman Magazine.

Christine Cikowski is the Executive Chef and Managing Partner of Honey Butter Fried Chicken, and she co-founded Sunday Dinner Club.

Searah Deysach is the founder of local feminist sex shop Early to Bed. Her work focuses on creating sex-positive and sex-educated communities in Chicago.

Lydia Crespo is the founder and artist behind Argaman&Defiance, a source for handmade tops, scarves, and other apparel dyed with natural dye extracts.

Emily is the founder + creator supreme of Bon Vivant Cakes, Chicago's go-to for artful, fun, fondant-free baked goodies. She's also part of the grime-pop duo Celine Neon.

Crystal Hodges is the founder of the creative studio Luft. Her team builds one-of-a-kind installations for organizations, brands, and companies, often from repurposed and recycled materials.

Kelly Connolly is the founder of Nimble Well, an eclectic rental company for unique wedding and event decor. She is also a co-founder of Forth Chicago and a member of the Chicago Green Wedding Alliance.

The second season of Go Forth is just 2 weeks from launching! This time around, we've got interviews from even more rule breakers, opportunity takers, and movers and shakers. You won't want to miss it. So, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to get each episode as it is released!

Kelly Allison is the founder, photographer and creative force behind Kelly Allison Photography. She and her team are passionate about telling the story of food and making sure that the spirit of the meal in front of the camera and the people behind it shine through. In 2012, she founded Forth Chicago with Lisa Guillot and Julie Schumacher to build a community of creative women entrepreneurs here in the Windy City.

Jenna Blazevich is a intersectional feminist artist who crafts calligraphy that brings together beautiful art and liberatory politics. She is the founder of Vichcraft, a multidisciplinary studio with a focus on visual storytelling. Her work embraces the intimacy, complexity and power of sisterhood in its diverse and various forms.

Shannon Downey is a woman who wears many hats. She’s the founder and CEO of marketing agency Pivotal Production, an adjunct professor at DePaul and Columbia Colleges, a founder of the Seriously Badass Women project, and the fiber artist behind the recently viral Badass Cross Stitch. At the forefront of all of these projects are Shannon’s activist efforts and commitments to social justice.

Jessica Zweig is a personal brand superstar. In 2008, she helped found Cheeky magazine, and now she’s at the helm of the SimplyBe agency, a personal branding agency that focuses on emergent channels and brand amplification. Lately she’s rethinking fear, self-promotion, and what it means to be bold.

Alia Dalal is a personal chef, a clean eating coach, and a cooking class instructor. She also hosts a food and drink web series called Nightcap where she interviews movers and shakers in the Chicago food scene. Her work embraces the abundance and joy of nature while prioritizing health and wellness.

Patrice Perkins is the principal attorney and founder of Creative Genius Law, a boutique law firm that specializes in legal strategy for creative entrepreneurs and innovative businesses. She’s worked closely with the Chicago Artists Coalition, the Chicago Urban League, and a number of local arts organizations, and she helps her clients come to see the law as a tool for building boundaries that protect rather than impede their businesses.

Julie Schumacher is the copywriter and wordsmith at the helm of Well Turned Words. She specializes in writing, editing, and storytelling. In 2012, she founded Forth Chicago with Lisa Guillot and Kelly Allison to build a community of creative women entrepreneurs here in the Windy City. Since then, she’s helped Forth craft its voice and amplify the voices of the women in our community.