Episode 228: Burned Out in LA, She Rebuilt Her Life in Peru | Hannah Jenkinson | Founder, HJK Studio
What happens when you stop trying to make a broken system work and start building the life and business you really want? Hannah Jenkinson did just that. After years in the U.S. fashion world, she moved to Cusco, Peru, to create a sustainable knitwear brand on her own terms. In this episode, she shares what it’s really like to move abroad, build a purpose-driven fashion business from scratch, and partner with local women artisans to bring her designs to life. We talk about entrepreneurship, personal development for women, creative courage, mindset, and the power of redefining success on your own terms. Whether you're a designer, a change maker, or just someone dreaming of starting over, this conversation is full of inspiration and motivation.
“I strive to live in a way that feels really aligned to me. Moving to Peru I didn’t have to sacrifice any part of my vision for my business or my life.”
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Follow along using the Transcript
Chapters:
00:00 Three missions: sustainability, community, craftsmanship
01:20 How a chance encounter led Hannah to Cusco
03:15 From Los Angeles burnout to Peruvian purpose
05:00 Starting a business abroad without speaking the language
07:00 The richness of Peru’s artisan culture
10:15 From Parsons to launching her own brand
13:00 The high of a first sale-and the rollercoaster that follows
14:20 The challenge of visibility for small fashion brands
16:00 What sustainability actually looks like in practice
18:40 Made-to-order vs. fast fashion
20:15 What’s broken in the global fashion industry
21:45 Could 8-year-old Hannah have imagined this life?
23:10 The cost of being far from family
25:00 Building community and self-care as an expat entrepreneur
27:00 What does powerful really mean?
28:45 Surprising herself with her own tenacity
30:00 Why there's no perfect movie about this kind of leap
34:00 What balance really looks like in Cusco
35:30 Letting go of the life others expected
40:30 What she needs now: partnership, funding, and next steps
I have three missions that I make sure everything is. Based around that, which is a hundred percent biodegradable materials, bringing work to local women in our stands and making really special things. We have a made to order service too, so people can get exactly what they want.
That's Hannah Jenkinson.
I'm Kara Duffy, and this is The Powerful Ladies Podcast.
So I, we find a lot of people through Instagram doing very interesting and cool things is how we found you. And actually my friend Mike reposted your story, which is what I found. So my first question is, do you even know who Mike is or is it a random person sharing you that lets another random person.
I think I know who he is.
I think he came to Costco and we had a chat around the fire at a beautiful hotel. Yes, I think that's who it is.
I think it is too. I know he's been there. Yeah. Do you, are you based in Cusco? Yeah.
Yeah, I've been here for three years, so yeah, I'm full time here in sco. Yeah,
that's great. I was there years ago now with a skate tour.
We did Argentina, Chile, and Peru, but we did Lima Cusco and Machu Picchu, and we were lucky enough to be in Cusco the day of the like foam. Party festival thing. Oh. Which was unexpected. A little bit crazy, but it was a really fun afternoon. Very, there are eight year olds and eight year olds running around, so it was fun.
Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. That's great. Nice. Before we go any farther, let's tell everyone your name there. We already know where you are in the world and then what you're up to.
Yeah. So my name's Hannah Jenkinson. Yeah. Currently in Costco, Peru. And I have a brand called HJK Hannah Jenson Network. Which, yeah, we have a physical store here in Cusco, like a kind of.
Store workshop space and yeah, selling online. So we do handmade products, working with the local ladies and local artisans. Mostly sweaters, like that's my background. Mostly fashion, but we've just started doing shoes and yarn and we're expanding 'cause we can make lots of beautiful things here.
Yeah.
And how did you end up in Cusco?
Yeah. A series of serendipitous events. I got a free trip to come here sponsored by the Peruvian government to go to Per Moda, which is like a fashion trade show here. So yeah, I just came, I was living in la like fed up with. Living in the system.
And I was like, okay, fine. I'll go and have this free trip, whatever. And then met loads of amazing groups of women who made handmade products and also met one of someone who's one of my best friends now, just, we happen to be in the same Airbnb and she lives here. She's from Ireland. She told me about life here.
She was like, oh yeah, you should just set up a store in Cusco. Like you should just do it from here. Like you have the beautiful materials like the baby alpaca, all the women know how to knit. And she put this little idea in my head of oh, okay, like maybe I could really live life in a totally different way and do.
Something that I've wanted to do for so long, which is run my own business and do my own designs. So yeah, I traveled for a little bit at the end of 2019 and then came back again at the beginning of 2020 for what I thought would be three months, and it was 10 days before the lockdown and I just decided to stay and like I didn't wanna go back to Los Angeles.
I hadn't lived in the UK for years, so I just decided to. Throw myself in at the deep end and just be in Peru.
Yeah. Moving abroad is not easy. Yeah. It's not easy to go from the UK to la It's not easy to go from LA to Peru, how, what hoops have you had to jump through to set up a business in a foreign country and then to actually get to stay and live there?
Yeah, totally. Here, it's quite easy. So I actually was in New York before LA so it was very like step by step, it never felt oh, I'm gonna go to Prune and set for business. It was very like Cam and Prune and it's the middle of the pandemic. Oh my God, what am I gonna do?
And then, a store became available and it was like, oh, okay. Like I think I can try it. And it was all very. One step at a time. It was never like, I'm gonna do this and do this business in Peru. But yeah, I had to set up the business legally. And then the business can sponsor my work visa.
So yeah, I had to do all that. I. After nine years of doing visas in the states. Then it felt like a breeze. If you tick the boxes, they're not gonna say no. So yeah compared to the states, it felt pretty smooth. But yeah, there's still like legalities and stuff and yeah, getting friends to help me translate and, I didn't have any Spanish when I arrived here, so it has improved a lot, but I still struggle with just yeah, with some things, but.
Yeah, it's all figureoutable.
It so is have I Mo lived in Germany for four years and I moved there knowing no German. Yeah. And even at the end, like I was proud that I could order, take takeaway on the phone or in person, but when it came to medical questions, internet, anything legal, it's no.
Like those are the words you learned last. I'm never gonna. If I ever know how to do any of those conversations in German, I would be amazed with myself. But can I function on an everyday basis and get what I Yeah, we're surviving.
Yeah. Totally. No, if someone calls me and I feel confident to pick up the phone and listen to what they're saying, then it's a big achievement.
Yeah.
And there's so much to be said about the economy of Peru and the artisans. So for people who don't know, let's tell them a little bit of about that.
Yeah. Yeah, Peru is still so rich in like traditional handmade things, especially the textiles and yeah the people here are so proud of it.
If they've made something then they're so proud to show and share and yeah, there's all sorts of stuff. The weaving, I mean there's really like the whole span of. Like they own the alpacas or some communities, a lot of the communities that I work with, they own the alpacas. They care for them.
They shear them every year. It's a big community thing. They spin the yarn, they dye the yarn with the local plants. They weave them into these amazing, like mans, which are like all purpose, like blankets and ponchos and and then there's all sorts of other crafts too. Knitting is very popular.
You'll see women they just walk and knit at the same time or walk and spin this yarn at the same time. And it's just but they're so skilled and it's still very much part of the culture. Which is handmade things. If you see someone knitting, like on the subway in New York, it's oh my God.
What are they doing? But you don't see it. But here you just, people are making things with their hands everywhere, and it's amazing. There's so many other, yeah, like dying and carving and all sorts of amazing things from here. Yeah.
And is this the first business that you've created?
Yes it is.
Which
adds another level of like pride I have for you. Because to start a business is a big deal in general. And then to start it in a country where you're not speaking the language and have to figure out all the things, you know there is, do you ever listen to how I built this, that podcast?
Yes. I love that.
Yeah.
One of my favorite episodes is about Jenny's ice cream. And she talks about how she had no idea how to make ice cream. Like she, if I remember correctly, she like couldn't even cook when she started. And the fact that she had no idea what she didn't know and she didn't have any concept of the right way to do it, it actually made, allowed her to be so much more successful 'cause she just kept figuring it out.
How has the journey been for you to create this business in a foreign country and to. Do all the things you know, you're, you should or could do. And how are you choosing? Because there's so many things, like every day to decide.
Yeah. There's so many things. I guess to go back a bit further I mean I went to I went to Parsons to study design and pretty much since I graduated, like what, 10 or 12 years ago, I really just wanted to do my own business and I worked for other people.
I worked for some really amazing designers and businesses. I just. I didn't love working on a schedule, doing things in the way that the business prescribed me to. And so it was yeah, it's been a balance of me doing this for a long time. Like I've been a designer for a long time and then yeah, being thrown into this.
Like totally foreign world of yeah. I've never had a sharp, like figuring out how to pay people, like what's fair yeah, finding like negotiating contracts and stuff has all been, yeah, really like having to take it a step at a time. And the pandemic was this beautiful like incubator of having the time to just.
See what unfolded and, yeah, it was, the pandemic was a really special time for me. It was really, it. Everything really came together of how I wanted to do things. Yeah, it can still be, it can still be quite overwhelming sometimes just needing to like, figure something out and having to translate it and not knowing the system and you can't just translate.
Like the tax system, you can't put that into Google Translate. It's a totally, there aren't the words to figure it out. Yeah, it's still an adventure. It's still still sometimes feels quite bumpy and oh my God. Like, how am I gonna grow? Like, how am I gonna create this business in the way that I really envision it and what I know its potential could be.
So yeah, not sure if that answers your question, but
There, there's just so many parts to it. I, being an entrepreneur is a rollercoaster by the hour sometimes. And I think people who haven't jumped into that, entrepreneur pond, think we're all a bit nuts because they'll see us having the worst moment ever.
And you're like, just get a regular job. And you're like, what? No, like we're not there. That's not what's going on. Because you know when you've felt that high of. Having that amazing moment, I'm sure for you in your case with the artisan or with the customer who's so happy and just seeing it all work.
Yeah, it's, it just stretches the the emotional scale that we've had previously and so our whatever would've been our worst moment before. Is now not our worst moment and what's our happiest moment before may also not be our new scale. And I think it's a bit tricky to understand that when you really love what you're doing and you're, it, it just shifts how you think about it.
Yeah. I know when I made the leap, the only concern I had was the financial stress. Of how is it gonna work? How is it? 'cause you go back and forth between confidence and totally thinking it's gonna all fail. But I, all the other stress went away. There wasn't anyone else's corporate drama.
There weren't any of the politics. It just, it felt so peaceful. Even though I was scared about something that everyone else freaks out about at a high level, I felt like I had the capacity to manage that one pillar of how do we fix this versus a hundred things I had before.
Yeah. Yeah, totally. It definitely builds resilience of just, yeah, knowing that I can figure it out.
Like I've been doing it now for what, like two and a half, three years. It's okay. I I've got a gauge of it and yeah, the, when I first opened, it was like the first few sales that I made. I was just like, oh my God, someone's just come in and bought stuff. Someone that I don't know, especially 'cause family have been super supportive, but like someone that, I don't know, just buying something or saying, oh, this is so beautiful.
Like overhearing the customer's comments of yes, yeah, the highs are high. And it can be incredibly stressful sometimes too. Yeah.
It, how challenging has it been to get exposure in the European or US market and how has, social media and digital marketing supported you in that process?
Yeah. It's been quite difficult. I've just redesigned the website, just reshot all the products. I did a trade show in the States like last, at the beginning of last year, but it wasn't. It wasn't the right, it wasn't the right thing. Like for people to really appreciate something that's handmade is like, and Europeans and Americans, they do appreciate when they come in the store and see it, they really appreciate it.
But yeah, it's growing the business. I'm not really. At a point where I can just go and do a load of trade shows,
yeah, it's,
I'm self-funded. I still have some clients that I work with that help me, grow. So yeah, quite difficult. Yeah, you just need money for that.
Like people don't set up fashion businesses without funding usually. Yeah.
And I hate that people think if we build it, they're gonna come yeah, no. There's so many things out there. You have to run around and scream at the top of your lungs. And I fight with a lot of clients about needing to do direct sales and how it's no matter if your entire business lives in a digital space, you still need to knock on doors.
You still need to call people. Absolutely. You still need to do that. On the ground work because it's honestly how most businesses are.
Yeah, it's, yeah, getting it in front of people is like a whole thing. Yeah, you have to pay for the marketing. You have to do it. And fashion's competitive, it's not like it's, yeah. Yeah. It's a competitive market and yeah, it's it is, it's definitely a challenge to grow. Yeah.
There's obviously the element of really helping the community there and using the natural materials. How much is. Sustainability or doing things the ethical way, how is that woven into your business?
Oh, that's, and I forgive the pun. I'm
yeah, literally. That's everything. Yeah, everything is, we have, I have three missions that I make sure everything is based around that, which is a hundred percent biodegradable materials. Bringing work to local women in art stands and making really special things.
We have a made to order service too, so people can get exactly what they want. But yeah, sustainability is everything. When I was working for other companies, I was. So disturbed by how things were done, and I was like, okay. And I was pretty much ready to leave the fashion industry when I left la, but then I was like, oh, I think here I can do it in a way that I feel really good about.
So yeah, we don't use any nylon, acrylic or polyester. Everything could literally go into the compost once it's been worn to death. And our dyes are ecotech certified. So yeah, that ensures that there's no harm done to the environment. And then we will also do plant dyed colors on request. Sometimes we do a little line of like naturally dyed products, but it is a mission, like it's a whole other process that is
Like consistency is. Near impossible. But that's what kind of makes it fun and special too. Yeah, TBD on the plant day stuff. And then, yeah, like I really wanted to know who was making the products. Like I wanted to hand the money over to them directly. Like I know that this work can really benefit women, especially with families.
'cause they can take the work home, they can do it in their own time if they wanna do it fast. I'll give them more projects. If they're busy and, looking after kids and stuff, then they can do it however they want. So yeah, that's the hand, the handmade stuff. We also work with a local workshop in Cusco too, which is owned by this awesome woman who is a friend now.
So yeah. And then we hold very little stock, like a lot of our stuff is made to order and that's a little bit of a. An investment thing. And it's also a sustainability thing of, we don't make anything that doesn't have a home to go to. But yeah, that's a bit of a balance. Some people don't wanna wait, like to get something. So yeah, we're working on the balance of that.
We've had a lot of really interesting guests come on and talk about sustainability and the closed loop system in fashion. Yeah. And the patience piece comes up a lot because there's the, how do we, I think we're even asking maybe the wrong question of how do we make the existing fashion consumer model sustainable?
Versus making a new model that still allows us to love fashion and also love everything else involved people in the planet and all the things. Where have you been frustrated in this industry and where do you see that we're missing opportunities?
Yeah. I feel like the industry is such a mess.
And I don't feel like I'm in the industry now, but yeah, like supporting really small businesses makes such a difference. One sale makes such a difference to us. But yeah, it's like where are those businesses? Like how do you find them? And they don't probably have the money to do all the big marketing and stuff like that.
So Yeah. The whole industry, I was so ready to just. Get out and do something else. I was so ready to throw in the towel with it. Like the pace is just, it doesn't work for anyone. It doesn't work for the designers. It doesn't work for production. It's so stressful. Designing like four collections a year, just everything needs to slow down and maybe the pandemic helped a little with that, but. Yeah, like appreciating what we've got, like reusing stuff, re-wearing it all the things we know already. But yeah, I think being really conscious about where you are buying from can make it can make such a difference to small businesses.
Yeah. In every industry now.
Yeah. If we go back to 8-year-old, you would she have imagined that this is your life today?
Definitely not. Yeah, definitely not. Yeah, when I was eight I wanted to be, I wanted to be an actress actually. Like I loved acting and and, but I loved art as well.
And I guess part of my work is, I still make a lot of the designs, but I often make the first ones myself. 'cause I love the making. That was always what I loved about it. And then I hand it over to the lady. So I still am very involved with making, but I definitely wouldn't have expected how unconventional my life is and like how much I've traveled and, the. I do really strive to live in a way that feels really good to me. And yeah, I think, yeah, 8-year-old me probably would've thought I'd just be like, married with two kids, like down the road from my parents or something.
When you look at that journey you've had from the 8-year-old you to now, what are you most proud of?
I'm really proud of the business that I've built. Yeah, I'm really proud. I love having a shop and there's something about like having a physical store that really puts you in the center of a community. And like here I have such an amazing community, mostly of like badass women who are also like doing their own businesses.
And here it's possible to. To do things in a different way. Yeah I'm so proud of the life that I've built here. It's absolutely not what I expected for myself, but yeah, I'm really proud that I'm doing what I wanted to do, which was working with local people, make, like bringing them work and making beautiful things and that's what I love.
What's the hardest part about being in Cusco?
Being so far from family. Yeah. It's such a long flight. It's like really not, yeah. My family, we're in the north of England, it's, yeah, it's a mission to get back. I can't just pop back just to say hi. Yeah, that's definitely the downside.
Yeah, there's lots of other great things about being here.
Yeah, no it's, there's a great quote or a letter that I believe Thomas Jefferson wrote to his son when his son first went to France for the first time, and he said, I'm so excited for you to go abroad. You're gonna have your life enriched in so many ways.
But I have to warn you that you'll never feel satisfied again. Yeah, and like I read that after I had moved abroad and I was like, it's the truest statement ever. Because suddenly your favorite people in your favorite restaurants and your favorite places are will never be in the same vicinity again.
I remember going to a friend's baby shower and like bawling on the ride home because I was like, I will never have all of those people around a table. Like I was so happy for her and so jealous for myself that like, that's just won't, that would be a very weird reality. Something crazy must have happened if everyone's sure we can make it.
It just requires so much more effort. Yeah. I think also you start to appreciate the people who. Like value that connection and keeping it. Yeah. So how do you balance running a business being far from family? Just the, and this is me projecting, so if I'm wrong, you please correct me. But the aloneness that I think can almost be doubled down be between being living abroad and owning a company.
There's dual alienation that can happen in that space. So what do you do to combat that And. How do you how are you just maintaining yourself as a human and beyond being just a business owner? Yeah. Oh,
I do a lot of stuff like, yeah, I need a lot of self care to feel just like normal and Okay and I think this is one of the reasons that I didn't fit into.
W working a real job in the States. 'cause I just couldn't find that time to, to balance.
And I am quite sensitive and energetically sensitive and yeah, yoga, I do yoga a few times a week. There's a studio just down the road from me. I meditate, I have a beau. I just moved into a lovely house with a nice garden so I can meditate and I can see this beautiful mountain in front of me.
I have my two doggies, so we go hiking a lot. And here I have a really special community of a lot of business owners. I really have I do have people that we can be like, oh yeah, to finish it week let's chat about it. So I have a community in that way. But yeah, wanting to, really, wanting to grow and like just not knowing how to do it.
Like just trying things is. Yeah, it can be really challenging. But the other thing that I have here is that I can really build my schedule and I can have a really flexible schedule. So if I need to take the afternoon off or even a day off, like I went hiking for a week with friends, like I can just build my own day, even day to day.
Like I can get the good, the assistance to work in the shop and. That really works for me. Having flexibility of if I'm feeling something or need to tune into something, I can just take the time I need to. That's, yeah so valuable to me, so precious.
Yeah. When you think of the words powerful and ladies, what are they on their own and when they're next to each other, does that definition change?
Yeah. Outta this question. Yeah.
Like powerful in kind of. Just the assumed meaning I kind of think of it as quite a masculine word. Like it is quite a hierarchical word. It's like someone's at the top and they're like bossing everyone around. But yeah, like the kind of, the feminine sense of power, I think is way more, it's more like a circle.
It's like way more holistic. It's, and it is a circle, but it's also a cycle of knowing when to retreat and when to go inward and self care or whatever you need to do. And then knowing when to push and hustle and knowing that there's this, there's always these cycles in life that it's not just like pushing all the time.
It's like giving yourself what you need as well as it's like internal and external and very holistic.
Yeah. What have you learned about yourself creating this business that surprised you?
God. I think I have way more I guess like tenacity than I thought to make this happen. And yeah, like I've really i've done it now. Yeah. But it's taken so much and yeah, there were times where I'm like, oh, I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but I just kept going. Yeah. So yeah, I think I, yeah. I'm like, oh wow. Like I really did this and I did it in a country where I hardly knew anyone and didn't know the language and all the things.
So it's oh wow. Okay. Done something here. Yeah.
Is there a movie that you think is a summary of what it's really like to move abroad and start a business? Is there, if someone's what's that experience like? Could you direct them to something?
I don't even know, it's one thing, eat, pray, love, like go and experience these things, but to like really decide to actually live somewhere and stick it out and decide to build a community and even sign a year's lease on a house and stuff that was like, unthinkable to me when I first arrived, but I just did that. It's okay, I'm gonna be here.
God. Yeah. I dunno if there are any movies that really that come to mind that. That show this, like the step beyond all the newness. Of okay, I am gonna, I'm gonna invest in this and see it through like with all the day-to-day, the day-to-day things like beyond when it's like exciting and new anymore.
Maybe someone should make one.
Like for me, I think the closest one is under the Tuscan Sun. If you've watched that movie or read that book. 'cause I, I like that it shows the that it's like just random, like crying and on the floor for no reason and you're like, I'm just over making decisions.
Like I'm over having to constantly be translating. There's, I remembered when a friend moved to Germany and I went to pick them up at the airport and I was kinda giving them the lowdown on things and I went, oh my gosh. I actually know some things. It was six months after I moved there and, oh, I don't have a headache anymore because you don't realize how much your brain is.
Everything is so new. Every sense is getting new information all the time, let alone the translation elements. And I remember calling a friend trying to buy a couch. And I was like, white or gray. And they were like, what? I'm like, white or gray, just pick. I cannot choose any more things. I am maxed out. And they're like, are you crying?
I'm like, yes. I'm crying. I cannot make this choice. Just choose it for me. And you're not gonna make a wrong one. I will not, hold you against whatever choice you make. But there's that limit of being pushed to the extremes. Of days when nothing's working and you're like, I'm just gonna lay on the floor and cry.
'cause I have to.
Yeah. Yeah, totally.
When the p maybe like a few months into the pandemic of just oh my God, like what am I doing here? I've got myself stuck in Peru. Like I could have got out if I wanted, but I decided to stay and now I am stuck. And it's just yeah, like what am I doing with my life, like in my late thirties being like, oh my God, this is the worst decision I ever made. Yeah, how am I gonna figure this out? Like, how am I going to, how am I gonna get back to something or I don't know but yeah, you just take a step. Take it a step at a time, don't you? And yeah, I think those. I've, I kind of love throwing myself in at the deep end of experiencing something else.
And Crisco's actually been the first place where I've felt like, oh, I can stay and make something of this for the foreseeable future. Yeah, there's definitely been some, yeah, there's been some moments for sure. And there,
there's so many studies and conversations I've been seeing lately about.
Like really where do you get to live the life that people dream about? Having a community, getting to walk to your shop, getting to start things and do projects that you wanna do and having that kind of magical balance of everything you need and nothing else that you don't need.
And how can it all fit? 'cause there's so many places, especially in Europe and the US where. There isn't balance and it's too it's really lopsided on like how you get to spend your time or maybe there isn't the freedom. But how you've described Cusco I think sounds so charming where I'm like, oh, do I need to move to Cusco this
because this the better balance? Because yeah, I think that's what everyone dreams about, of getting to do what you want and have it be in close proximity and. Just getting to be the full version of yourself versus only one version.
Absolutely. Yeah. The whole time I was in the States, even in London as well, when I worked there, like I felt so strung out all the time, like I didn't feel like my life was my own at all. Like I felt it was just taken over by this schedule and having to make enough money to survive. And I didn't really feel like I was living. But I think also the thing is like when you are in that system, you also don't have many other models of how other ways of life are possible.
And there's just that has given me a lot of perspective of being here. It's like there are a million ways to live life and yeah, if you can figure it out in the states and you wanna be there, then yeah, that's like good for you. It's not easy to figure it out. In, in, in that kind of culture where so much is expected of you, of how to live your life.
But yeah, I think there are so many ways to live life and there are so many places in the world that you can try it out. And it was always a trying out for me. It was like, okay, I'll just try it and see and I can see myself being here for a while, but, yeah, there are so many ways of doing things and yeah, it's hard to get, it's hard to have a role model when you're in the system.
And that's why this whole podcast started 'cause there's so many people like yourself, choosing a path that's really customed to you and making amazing things happen and making new opportunities for other people. And there's so many ways to have an incredible life and. So often we're only modeled the versions that are extreme.
If it's oh, do you want a life like Oprah or Beyonce? You're like sure, but that's very far from where I am right now, and that's not the vision I have for myself. And I think being able to show all the different ways that you can really be authentic to yourself and. I love the book, big Magic.
Have you read that one?
You know what, I haven't, but I like Elizabeth Gilbert a lot. Yeah.
Yeah. It's, it was surprisingly the most, so far, the most recommended book on this podcast from guests. But there's something really beautiful about having a life that gives you space to chase the opportunities that cross your path and to be able to say yes to things.
I think it shifts our perception of the world and what's going on, because. So many people don't have even the option to chase something a little bit like what would it look like to go down the rabbit hole of should I make a t-shirt company or should I start this, dog business? Whatever people want.
Even if it's not gonna be a business, just where's the room to do a project or go on an adventure. Yeah, and I can't imagine my life without the words projects or adventures. So I feel so bad when people are like, no, I just need it work, and that's it. I'm like, oh that's so unfun to me.
Yeah.
Yeah, me too. I can't do it just with the paycheck. It's, can't find that motivation. It just doesn't, it doesn't come, but. Yeah, so many people here come through just if anyone can do anything online, like then you can travel like, and the pandemic really shifted so much for that of
Yeah, if you can get some hours working in the States, but you can do it from anywhere, then you're free.
So we ask everyone on the podcast where you put yourself on the Powerful Lady scale. If zero is average everyday human and 10 is the most powerful lady you can imagine. Where would you put yourself today and on an average day?
I'm gonna give myself a nine. I'm gonna give myself a nine, like across the board because yeah, I feel like I, I think like power comes from being able to own your feelings and own your emotions and I've really, I think I've really learned to do that and. I've set up a business in a foreign country that like I didn't know anything about when I got thrown here.
So yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go high.
I feel like I can like tackle, I can tackle most things that life at me now. Like I've set up something that I really believe in and I feel like I can just figure it out. No, i've had ups and downs, but it everything, you can just, you can tune in and figure it out and
Probably not the end of the world.
And how has that changed your perception of your own self-worth or confidence? Oh my goodness, so
much. Yeah. So much like a total world of difference. Yeah. Being in charge of my own schedule too, like really, I. Yeah, I feel amazing being able to do that. If I need to take the day off, then yeah, I can just do that.
Or if I wanna work from home, I can just work from home. And it's that really makes me feel in charge of my life and
That was really good.
And then I also love wondering too what have you given away or let go of, or what are you saying no to that you maybe didn't before?
Oh, living a life that's expected of me.
Yeah. Yeah. And that's sometimes really hard to let go of. Like even if it's not your own expectations, it's Yeah. Living a life that doesn't look the same as other peoples and doesn't hit the benchmarks that other people are living to. And I. I wonder, even if I wanted to now go back and get a real job, I just feel like I wouldn't be able to I just, I wouldn't be able to fit back into the system, which is, I don't ever see myself doing that either, but like I gotta keep going on the path that I've set out on and.
Yeah. The things that I thought would be in my life maybe won't be, but it's something else. No, it's diff different things will be there.
Yeah, it's one of my favorite quotes is You must be willing to let go of the life you had planned to have the life that is waiting for you. And sometimes that quote gives me reassurance and sometimes I really hate it and wanna throw it against the wall?
Yeah. Because you're like, no, I want what I wanted. So it's this really funny. Back and forth about surrendering to it and then refusing to surrender to it.
Yeah. Yeah, I feel that too. Yeah. I have a quote from Mary Oliver and it's, it's the last line of one of her poems, but it's What will you do with this one Wild and precious life, and yeah, sometimes if I'm like, I should just, oh, you have it.
Oh, yay. A, a friend just gave it to me. Framed. Oh, beautiful. Yeah. Yeah. It's yeah, like what are we here to do? We have this life, like, why not do something that you feel passionate about? And that does give me a little bit more strength sometimes when it's oh my God, what am I doing?
It's this is the only thing that I wanna do, so I'm gonna just do it and figure out,
yeah. It, I don't believe that life is meant to be predictable or easy. Like it wouldn't, it's. The fun part is getting into the dirt and making something, or collaborating with people and doing the things that feel like, oh, this is what living is.
Yeah. You brought that up earlier and I think that's such a great question for people to ask themselves of like, when's the last time you felt like you were really living and taking advantage of this life that we get? 'Cause how do I just wanna feel that way as often as possible. And I think I shared the same gene that you have of running away and jumping like cannon balling into something new is when I often feel that way the most, and I'm like, okay, how can I feel that way without having to burn everything to the ground and start over again?
Yeah. Yeah. I know I've got back to some balance with that. Just focus instead of jump.
I was gonna say something regarding that. Oh yeah. I think like often that stuff is like what's on the other side of fear.
And it's often going towards, or like accepting that, like the fear boundary, like the fear wall of seeing what's on the other side of that and just going through it.
And there's always something beautiful on the other side. But yeah, that's the thing that I think keeps a lot of people stuck and has kept me stuck in the past of oh God, I can't do that. It's way too scary. But it's, I think that's how we grow now.
Yeah. So I'm gonna give advice to give to clients all the time, to whoever's listening I dare you to like, fuck it up.
Yeah, try see how like we get, I'm like, if you see how destructive you can actually be if you want to we're not like, we think we're gonna stray so far from our who we actually are. And it's really hard to do that. Like it's really hard to be the boss you're afraid to be. It's really hard to never it's just so hard to, to.
Create the scary scenario that we imagine.
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And it's always just like a step at a time. Yeah. And it's, yeah, I think it's just throwing yourself into creating more space. Something always fills it. That's what I found here of like there's never a void.
Like something always fills the space and, if you jump into something, then something will come and meet you. Yeah. Yeah it's impossible to just free fall, like you would never free fall. There's always gonna be something. Yeah.
Yeah. Absolutely. We have also been asking everyone.
What do you need? What's on your manifest list? How can we help you? This is a big and powerful community, and I really believe that we never know who has the next key that we're looking for. So what's on your list?
Yeah. Thank you so much. Money, primarily I have, yeah, fully self-funded the business with my own consultancy work, and I've just, I've reached a point where I just can't really grow without without financial help. So if anyone is in a position to. Gift, donate, fund help in any way, then I would be incredibly grateful. And most of that would go almost directly straight to the ladies to make more stock and do some popups and just get things flowing. And I'm also putting the feelers out for a business partner, maybe someone in the states who wants to set up some stores.
Who wants to help me grow in a way that, I've got so much already set up here, but i, there's some skills and financial stuff and just business stuff that I. I think with the right person, this could really impact a lot of people. Yeah. So if there's anyone interested in maybe partnering me in, partnering with me in some way then yeah, putting that out there too.
Okay. Amazing. And then on the financial side, where would. Investment start at, is it like, yeah, great, we'll take $2,500 or are you looking for a hundred thousand dollars?
Pretty much anything in between that. Yeah, $25,000 is that would help a lot.
And if someone's interested in Yeah. Helping in a bigger way than like totally up for discussion. And we're like, we're growing like so slowly now, so anything. Anything would help. And yeah, and it has so much potential too. Yeah.
Amazing. It has been such a pleasure to meet you today. I'm so glad.
Again, this is why I appreciate social media when you get to find people that you may never have crossed paths with otherwise. And yeah, I just wanna really acknowledge you for taking the leap and sticking it out and believing in yourself in these. It's really amazing to create opportunities for other people and especially other women, and to give them opportunities that honor the opportunity that you gave yourself of time freedom and flexibility and having a safe, supportive, working environment.
So thank you for creating that and doing it and. I'm excited to have our listeners know that they should go and be buying knitwear from you right away. Because to your point earlier, like supporting a small business changes so many lives, and I don't think people realize the ripple effect that it has.
Because every penny is going to a much farther. Place than you would imagine it actually is.
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you so much for saying that. I really appreciate it and yeah, I've listened to pretty much every episode. I love what you're doing too. Yeah. There's so much of, so many ways of life and there's so many things to create and yeah, there's so much potential.
Yeah. And
for everyone who wants to go buy NetWare, where can they, where are all the places to find you, connect with you, et cetera?
Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. Instagram is Hjk Studio. The website is ww dot hjk studio.com. What else? Yeah, Facebook as well is Hjk Studio. So yeah, would love to hear from anyone if.
People don't see exactly what they want. Like we can make custom orders, so yeah, we can make something special or in certain sizes or whatever like yeah.
Amazing. Again, thank you so much for your time today. It's so nice to meet you and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Yes. Thank you so much, Kara.
All the links to connect with Hannah and Hj K studios are in our show notes@thepowerfulladies.com. Please subscribe to this podcast we have. You're listening, and leave us a rating and review. Come join us on Instagram at Powerful Ladies, and if you're looking to connect directly with me, visit kara duffy.com or Kara Duffy on Instagram.
I'll be back next week with a brand new episode and new amazing guest. Until then, I hope you're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
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Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
Audio Engineering & Editing by Jordan Duffy
Production by Amanda Kass
Graphic design by Anna Olinova
Music by Joakim Karud
