Sister Stories

Storytelling is core to Global Sisters. Through storytelling we can not only communicate impact but amplify Sister voices, raise the profiles of Sister businesses, recognise the impact of pro bono support, advocate for policy and systems change, and challenge disempowering mainstream narratives about Australian women (particularly older women and single mothers). You’ll find two types of stories here. Sister Impact Stories showing the impact Global Sisters support has had on individual Sisters, and Sister Stories which showcase the Sisters’ lives and journies.

Be inspired by their grit, resilience and brilliance. 

Impact Journey Maps

My Journey with Global Sisters
September 26, 2022

Introducing Karin Lee:
Florapeutic

Global Sisters has supported my business journey, from developing Florapeutic as an idea and start-up, to a growing business that is bringing in an income to support my financial resilience. Since joining…
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My Journey with Global Sisters
September 12, 2022

Introducing Angie Poller:
Remedii

My business Remedii, is inspired and built from my lived experience of living with an incurable disease called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Since joining Global Sisters my business progress…
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My Journey with Global Sisters
August 18, 2022

Introducing Fabiola Campbell: Professional Migrant Women

My business, Professional Migrant Women, works to grow migrant women's visibility and representation across the Australian corporate landscape. Within less than a year of engagement with Global Sisters, I have…
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Financial Resilience Case Studies

 Yuko Nakao

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Fiona Harrison

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Cyana Duong

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Angie Poller

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Suzie Fletcher

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Maureen Nugent

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Yoko Nakazawa

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Sister Impact Snapshots

Sister Impact Stories illustrate the impact Global Sisters support has had on individual Sisters and the change created across our 6 social impact domains: Business Acumen, Enterprise, Financial Resilience, Empowerment, Influence and Connection.

Angie Poller

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Jo-Ann Wolles

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Yarrie Bangura

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Minerva Jimenez

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Cindy Chen

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Jacqui Thomas

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Celeste Iannotta

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Nikki Hind

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Glenis Wilkinson

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Aysha Navlakhi

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Joanne Diver

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Lila Bate

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Kirsty Parkes

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Corina Muir

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Sister Stories

Sister Stories are an opportunity to amplify the voices of individual Sisters, where they share their personal and business journey. 

Sister Stories
June 30, 2023

Ginan Tabbouch,
GTAB

GTAB is a unisex streetwear brand with a really strong ethos and message. I grew up in Bankstown in Western Sydney where I saw a lot of things like domestic…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
March 30, 2023

Natalie Blacklock,
Rainbow Goddess

I’m based on the Sunshine Coast on Kabi Kabi country and I design for my own fashion label, Rainbow Goddess. I previously had a company called Native Swimwear Australia. Fashion…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
March 27, 2023

Alies Bol,
Frika Activewear

I was 14 when I came to Sydney from Sudan, via Egypt. My dad wanted us to study and to create a better future for us. When I arrived, I…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
September 22, 2022

Alison Foley,
Ten Little Pieces

Alison Foley is from Gubbi Gubbi Country on the Sunshine Coast, QLD. She is the founder of Ten Little Pieces, an environmental education and empowerment movement inspired by ordinary folk…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
September 19, 2022

Catie Fry,
Clovendoe Distilling Co

Catie Fry is based in Burleigh Heads, QLD. She is the co-founder and master distiller of Clovendoe Distilling Co., Australia’s first all-female distilling company, creating low- and no-alcohol spirits. I…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
September 16, 2022

Ira Puspita,
Kayu and Co

Ira Puspita lives in Sydney, NSW and designs and sells Indonesian-made wooden homeware at her online shop, Kayu and Co. I came to Sydney when I started a Master’s degree…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
September 16, 2022

Yuko Nakao,
Shokunin Store

Yuko Nakao lives in Bondi Beach, NSW. Her business, Shokunin Store, imports traditional Japanese crafts including premium gardening tools, kitchen tools and homeware. I was born and raised in Japan and…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
September 15, 2022

Fabiola Campbell,
Professional Migrant Women

Fabiola Campbell lives in Melbourne, VIC. She runs Professional Migrant Women, an organisation bringing visibility and representation of professional migrant women to corporate Australia. I was born here in Australia…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
December 7, 2021

Zulimel Leon,
Leon Studio

My name is Zulimel Leon. My husband and I moved to Australia in 2009 because our home country of Venezuela was going through a really hard time at that point.…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
December 6, 2021

Amber Bennett,
Ethics and Alchemy

I’m based in Melbourne and my business is Ethics and Alchemy. I hand make botanically dyed eye pillows that are filled with ethically sourced crystals and organic herbs. It’s a…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
November 10, 2021

Angie Poller,
Heat Wear You Need It

My name is Angie Poller and I live in Ripley in Queensland. My business is called Heat Wear You Need It. I make a range of wearable hot and cold…
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Sister Stories
October 21, 2021

Fiona Harrison,
Chocolate on Purpose

I’m Wiradjuri and live on my family’s ancestral country in central NSW. My business is Chocolate On Purpose and I handcraft couverture chocolate with Australian native botanicals to create my…
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Sister Stories
October 21, 2021

Heike Stephan,
Memory Box

My business is Memory Box Design. I’m based in Sydney’s Inner West and I make homewares out of organic and natural materials, mainly ceramics, but I’m also a textile designer.…
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Sister Stories
October 21, 2021

Cyana Duong,
Camie Fleur

My name is Cyana Duong. I'm based in Sydney and my business, Cami Fleur, is the home of dried, preserved and silk flowers. We provide a service for weddings and…
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Sister Stories
March 31, 2021

Nelsa Simmonds,
This Is Who I Am

Nelsa Simmonds, 55, from Sydney I believe that unleashing creativity is the future of mental health. I’m looking at reconceptualising trauma by taking people through two programs: This Is Who…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
March 31, 2021

Asha Murphy,
Edu-fy

Asha Murphy, 63, from Sydney At Edu-fy, our idea is to uplift everybody, no matter who they are. I carry an image in my head of a little girl outside…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
March 26, 2021

Yoko Nakazawa,
Cooking with Koji

My name is Yoko Nakazawa. I make organic miso paste and my business is called Cooking with Koji. We sell at farmer’s markets and also run cooking workshops. It started…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
March 25, 2021

Nikki Hind,
Blind Grit

I’m Nikki Hind. I am Australia’s first legally blind fashion designer and my business is Blind Grit. It’s a prestige fashion brand built entirely of and around people who live…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
March 25, 2021

Jo-Ann Wolles,
Goanna Hut

My name is Jo-Ann Wolles. I’m a chef and a mother of three and I live in Sydney. My business is called Goanna Hut, it’s based on my indigenous cultural…
Kirsty Ainsworth
Sister Stories
March 17, 2021

Raeesa Khatree,
Edible Love by Rae

“My name is Raeesa Ally Khatree. I live in Brisbane and I have two children. I’m originally from South Africa, where I was a lawyer. I moved to Australia 14…
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Sister Stories
February 22, 2021

Florence Olugbemiro,
Designed by Florence

My business, Designed by Florence, infuses the vibrant colours of African prints into beautiful designs for my baby doll collection. Our dolls' outfits are handmade by single mums in Nigeria…
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Sister Stories
February 15, 2021

Glenis Wilkinson,
YOGA + MEDITATION

If there is one thing I have taken from my Global Sisters journey so far, it is that I have the power to change things. At Global Sisters, there is…
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Sister Stories
February 15, 2021

Amy Nguyen, Zen Tea Lounge

My name is Amy. I came to Australia when I was 12. My sisters escaped from communist Vietnam by boat before being accepted to come to Australia from Hong Kong.…
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Sister Stories
February 15, 2021

Corina Muir, Amber Days

My name is Corina. I own Amber Days, an ethical and sustainable childrenswear label. We’re 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned and we collaborate with Aboriginal artists to tell stories about our…
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Sister Stories
June 13, 2020

Aysha Navlakhi, Events by Aysha

My name is Aysha Navlakhi and I run a catering business called Events by Aysha. I live in Brisbane and I’m South African Indian. I studied beauty therapy and massage…
globalsisters
Sister Stories
June 13, 2020

Joanne Diver, The Backyard Garden Enthusiast

I’m Joanne Diver. I live in regional NSW with my husband and two children and my business is The Backyard Garden Enthusiast. I grow flower and vegetable seeds and sell…
globalsisters
Sister Stories
June 13, 2020

Lila Bate, bVitra

A few years ago, I found myself in no-man’s land, middle-aged and unable to find a path back into the workforce. I was in my 50s and, because I was…
globalsisters
Sister Stories
June 13, 2020

Kirsty Parkes, Sweet Cinnabun

When I started Sweet Cinnabun, I was a mum to five sons. I didn’t have babysitters, I didn’t have family support, there was no way for me to be able…
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Sister Stories
June 13, 2020

Milia Simielli, Milia Simielli Doula and Childbirth Educator

My name is Milia, I’m from Brazil and I’ve lived in Melbourne since 2015. I’m a doula and a childbirth educator and I designed a doll that can be pregnant,…
globalsisters
Sister Stories
June 13, 2020

Minerva Jimenez,
Minjums

“I’m originally from Mexico and moved to Australia four years ago. When I became a mum, I wanted healthy food for my daughter, who is now three. I looked in…
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Sister Stories
June 11, 2020

Celeste Iannotta, Miluny Mud

My name is Celeste Iannotta and I’m the creative director of Miluny Mud. I have a little boy with special needs and I live on the border of Albury-Wodonga. I…
globalsisters
Sister Stories
September 5, 2019

Suzie Fletcher,
Tidy Canberra Gardens

Suzie’s partner of eighteen years was diagnosed with a terminal illness when their daughter was just one. After caring for her partner for five years, Suzie found herself over forty,…
Kirsty Ainsworth

Sisters Speak

Listen to our Sisters speak about their businesses. These videos are created by Sisters themselves and produced using the Folktale app.

Joanne

The Backyard Garden Enthusiast

Natalie

Pink Hibiscus

Holly

Flash Bark Custom Furniture

Nat

Botanix

Tracy

Tracy Stirzaker

Elissa

The T Lady

Donna

Annod Natural Skincare

Amy

Zen Tea Lounge

Sandi

DIYGIRL.SHEDSHOP

Glenis

Glenis Wilkinson – YOGA + MEDITATION

Florence

Designed by Florence

Sarah

Sarah Munnings Jewellery