Story and photos Emily Kestel, Fearless editor Age: 27 Hometown: Shawnee, Kan. Education: Drake University, bachelor’s in painting and graphic design Family: Husband, Gooi Hobbies: Planning, reading Rest assured that when you walk into the new Reading in Public bookstore at 315 Fifth St. in West Des Moines’ Valley Junction, Read more…
By Emily Kestel Imagine pulling open the door to a small neighborhood bakery. The homey smell of yeast, butter, sugar and spices gently wafts through the air. You peruse the counters for freshly baked sourdough bread and pie to take home to share with the people you love the most. Read more…
By Emily Kestel, Fearless editor Period shaming is pervasive: A 2018 study by Thinx revealed that nearly 60% of menstruators have felt embarrassed simply because they were on their period. Additionally, 62% admit feeling that they feel uncomfortable using the word “period.” Before she created a planner to help menstruators Read more…
By Emily Blobaum, Fearless editor Much like the rest of the world, Marti Payseur did not know what was in store for 2020. In 2019, Payseur and her partner, Ash Bruxvoort, opened Thistle’s Summit Bed & Breakfast, a 2,800-square-foot Victorian home in Mount Vernon that became “a beacon for the Read more…
BY EMILY BLOBAUM, FEARLESS EDITOR Around the same time that Emily Steele left her job working for a community development nonprofit to get FemCity Des Moines off the ground, the state of Iowa found itself at the bottom of the list of women-owned businesses. In fact, in 2015, Iowa was ranked dead last Read more…
Amber Collins is the owner of the Healing Source and the Soul Book Nook, both bookstores that opened this summer. The Soul Book Nook is the first Black-owned bookstore registered in the state of Iowa. Before opening her bookstores, Collins worked at a nonprofit she founded to address the needs Read more…
This summer, I traveled 1,453 miles across the state to ask 12 women the same questions: When was a time that you were fearless? What does being fearless mean to you? What does it look like? What does it feel like? In doing so, I’ve had a lot of time Read more…