Ladies on Ludlow

as i am deepening my spiritual journey and experimenting with different methods to heal and grow while living the new-york-hustle i have decided to share stories of how i incorporate my spiritual practice into my day-to-day life.  this episode is about how my spiritual lessons helped me survive a stressful layover.

Ruoyi Jiang is the founder and owner of Chop Suey Club in Lower East side, a boutique with a unique curation of contemporary chinese designs. she talks about how culture is something that needs to be experienced and is no longer "inherited", but a choice.

#23 Vivien Ong is a model from singapore. i met her as a cheerful and warm yogi and was surprised to hear that she was diagnosed with depression at age 13. a traumatic experience while hospitalized made her consciously want to start her healing journey. she talks about how she healed form self-mutilation, anorexia, and taking anti-depressants for 5 years... and how she keeps her healthy self-esteem being a model, in the tough fashion industry. 

Hope Alcocer is a women’s empowerment advocate and an award-winning entrepreneur. she simultaneously launched her consulting business and a women’s empowerment online magazine at age 22 after suffering a traumatic brain injury and was unable to hold down a typical 9-to-5 at the time. Hope tells us how two broken engagements, her brother's tragic accident, and battling an eating disorder fuel her success. Hope published 2 books in 2 years and last year rebranded + relaunched her company as wonder woman media.

episode #21 Romana Soutus is a queer, playwright and performer. i met them when i overheard them talking about how they became a playwright to wright roles for strong, queer and fem individuals. they share their story of growing up in three cultures and how it affects how they think and express themselves.they also share how their priest father is processing their gender queerness and gynosexuality. the best part is the "queer 101" they give me at the end of this episode. we'll also clarify the whole "pronoun-thing", gender identity, what the hell "sis" is, and what all of that has to do with ingrown hairs.

episode #20 Daniel Silverstein is the Founder of zero waste daniel... a uni-sex, zero-waste, athleisure fashion brand. the collections are fabricated completely from pre-consumer waste from new york’s garment industry in a transparent brooklyn storefront factory. in this episode you will hear: why and how Daniel went form designing cocktail and red carpet dresses for celebrities, to creating zero waste daniel what sustainability and zero-waste mean to him... in business and personal life his thoughts about the current state of the fashion industry his 3 best business tips about his collaborations... and how thinking outside the boxand staying true to your valuesalways pays off “i can’t need to make work that hurts people, or oppresses people, that makes someone hate their body or their face, or that polluted someones water. i’m willing to work with what we’ve got, i don’t care how long it takes, i care that you look good. i care that its made here, that it’s made fair.” - Daniel Silverstein  

Non Kuramoto is a japanese actor, comedian, writer, and feminist-art-slut. she uses laughter and absurdity as tools to elevate voices of asian women, experimenting with various art forms to find the funny. Non made her off-broadway debut in the sex myth: a devised play. her play, the fart play (i'm sad): a dance, was produced at nasty women unite festival. she is currently producing “nonsense” a comedy show at new women space. Non speaks very openly about growing up in the us and japan and how it influenced her artistic side, about the hustle of being an asian female comedian / actress, especially when theatre is still very much a “white man’s club”,  and about her open marriage!

Jessica Kelly is the founder of Thr3efold. Jessica worked in the fashion industry for companies like Alexander Wang, Oscar de la Renta, to name a few, but after a trip to Zimbabwe, where she visited factories, she saw that there is a problem that she just had to find a way to fix. the problem is not the lack of ethical factories, but rather that there is just no way to find them online. she created Thr3fold, which is currently working on creating a platform to search ethical and sustainable factories, around the world and manage the production. Jessica shares her story, what sustainability means to her, gives us really great business advice, for anyone who is looking to start their own business, including her favorite marketing book and apps, that help her run her business.

have you ever wondered what a "digital nomad" is, what they do, or maybe how to be one? Cat will answer all those questions and tell her story: why and how she grew her successful business, as an artist and educator, while being location-independent. 

have you ever asked yourself how one actually go about producing and releasing an album? Sarah is doing just that. she just moved to new york 4 months ago and will be realizing her first album, that she produced in nashvill, in january 2019. she openly answers all my questions and talks about navigating her new life in the city and while (trying) to stay in the NOW.

Elisa is an animator at ted, a yoga instructor, a hula-hoop goddess, a spiritual nerd, and a whole lot more. she always finds something good, or a lesson in any situation and her jamaican-italian roots and having lived all over the world, made her love all cultures. Elsia also talks really openly about her brother's psychotic episode. it somewhat opened her eyes about race in america and that mental health is still too much of a tabu.

episode #14 Ursula came to new york 30 years ago… originally to dance and choreograph, but her art has since evolved to photography, video performances, mixed media installations and performance art. she has shown at international art festivals, galleries and museums. for many years Ursula explored different styles of yoga for her own spiritual and physical well being before she did her first teacher training in 2002. we explore the importance of art and nature and how her move from conservative switzerland and strict dance teachers to creative and energizing new york gave her a whole new language.

Carla describes herself as “a wee bit of Kanye attitude with some Drake feelings” but would personally describe her as "Spiritual Wonder Woman"... because how else would you describe a radiographer, turns cop, turns personal trainer, and now newly certified yoga teacher, who knows all about essential oils and meditation? Carla shares what it was like joining the police force as an irish, catholic, lesbian and how she compensates being set on fire during riots. her spirituality helped her not only through that, but losing her best friend of only 29 to cancer. we talk about grief - a subject that is definitely not talked about enough, and just why exactly she seems so wise.

Clara in the co-founder of chapter 2 agency and opened just days before her 27th birthday! she shares how she got there, without falling out of love with the fashion industry, how she is always the calmest in the room, and how she deals with sexism... while also practicing self-care. yes! all of that and more in this episode!

Meghan is a model, student, podcaster and runs an farm-to-table underground restaurant, but most of all she sees herself as a "connector". she talks about how what her grandparents have been trough and how that makes her want to life a healthy, full life, in order to honor her roots. you will also hear some tips on how to start your own podcast, how to juggle multiple projects and why there are no cell-phones allowed at her restaurant.  

episode #10 Rolf is the founder and editor in chief of quoted magazine... a love letter to new york, by the people that live here.  listen to episode #9 here or subscribe and listen on iTunes, or in youriPhone podcastapp, and Spotify connect with Caitlin... @quoted_magazine... www.quotedmagazine.com follow @ladiesonludlow_podcast on instagram

Cailtin is a freelance make-up artist who has worked her way from being the #1 seller in the bobbi brown macy’s stores country wide, to assisting big makeup artists like isamaya ffrench, or diane kendalat vogue and for fashion week. today she is an in demand make-up artist in her own right. how did she do it? and what life and career lessons has she learned along the way? ...not only freelance creatives can benefit from her advice! - the importance of following your true passion - how you can work on always getting better - setting goals and how to reach them - what assisting can teach you - know that you can't aaaalways be happy and last but not least... - check yourself, be nice, know your worth, and don't get cocky

episode #8 Jo is a fitness professional and senior trainer at soul cycle. in this episode she shares her journey and her personal struggles she has overcome. She believes that in order to be successful, no matter what your job is, you need to be able to connect. if you sell bagels, give manicures, or are a fitness instructor - connection is key! the reason why i stated this podcast, is because i wanted to give all my listeners a sense of community. Jo also talks about how being part of a community helped her with changing her lifestyle from eating fries and pizza, to now being vegan and staying fit. also when she decided to let her hair grow naturally, all she needed was a community to walk her through it and cheer her on.   

have you ever heard of a "mental worker"? - well, you are in for a treat, because this episode's guest, Lindsey will tell us all about how she became a metal worker. after dabbing into multiple creative outlets, Lindsey started her jewelry brand, LMWhite and hand-makes all her jewelry in her studio in brooklyn. she shares many tips on growing your own brand, while balancing other freelance jobs and building an sustainable business.  go to www.madeau.com/lindsey for the show notes 

Sarah owns her own acupuncture studio in midtown, manhattan and will share with us how she got there and what she has learned along the way. she was always interested in the healing powers of mother-nature and now uses traditional chinese medicine, to not only treat patients who are suffering from migraine, or other physical pain, but she is also the founded and originator of beauty acupuncture™. she uses holistic methods for non surgical, natural, and organic beauty solutions. listen to her thought about botox, smoking, her personal beauty routine, this little app instagram, and what "beauty" means to her and why being honest to yourself is so important.

Nina knew early on that life in country side in denmark is just not big enough for her, so she moved to singapore when she was only 16. she shares her experiences of building an intercultural network and gives tips on how to build a carrier... that does good. she now designs solutions for the next generation of education, for a company that provides e-learning for today's fast moving world... focusing on soft skills and topics like sustainability.  @madeau www.madeau.com

Afaf does not see herself as a "muslim poster-child", but she certainly is a poster-child for knowing yourself and your values... and applying them to a new york city lifestyle. in her work as creative director of a faux fur brand, she understands that a sustainable approach needs flexibility and research while staying relevant to today's culture. she also stays true to her arab culture and balances it with her "western" views. only by being honest and open with herself, could she be honest and open with her fiancé... who converted to islam for her.

episode #3 are you on the SUSTAINABILITY-train? - well, hop right on! Reza is the editor in chief of SUSTAIN, a magazine that is disrupting complacency and refusing the old habits of our over-consuming, throw-away society. Reza shares her journey to a more sustainable lifestyle and how that developed into a magazine, while making sure to stay approachable and inclusive. @madeau www.madeau.com  

episode #2 "what is my purpose?" and "what is the purpose of me doing this?" these are the questions Klodiana continuously asks herself. yoga (not only asanas, but the philosophy of it - dharma) combined with a lot of discipline have helped Klodiana go on that self-care journey and quit her anti-depression meds... that she had been taking for 5 years! everything she has been trough has lead her to this point... teaching yoga! by sharing her personal stories, including poetry, and continuously learning make her so much more than that.  instagram: @madeau homepage: www.madeau.com   

the first episode! hardeep speaks the truth about how she has come to love herself... her tough road to doing what she loves - being a freelance writer, her indian heritage, her figure, and being in a relationship her father does not approve of. she is another good example of listening to your body, when it is giving you signals that something is not quite right and taking the necessary / scary step to fix it.  website www.madeau.com instagram @madeau