This International Women’s Day we are celebrating just some of the very extraordinary individuals living and working within Tunbridge Wells and surrounding areas. Discover more about them, what inspires them and drives them to make positive changes for the greater good.

KATE EDMONDSON - HOME EDITED
Kate is a busy mum of two who works as a home accountability coach and professional organiser in Tunbridge Wells.
She is a home detoxing and organisation specialist who truly believes that outer order contributes to our inner calm. She is not afraid to say that clutter and mess make her feel anxious and stressed so being organised is hugely important for her.
As a woman in business and with mental health being at the forefront of Home Edited’s existence, she is driven to make others feel the impact of detoxed and organised spaces that allow for clarity to prevail and our mental load to be reduced.
Kate knows the importance of encouraging her 6-year-old daughter to dream big with no limitations so she sets the example and surrounds herself with women who inspire and uplift her.
Home Edited

CLAIRE PASSOS - CARACOL CAMPING
Claire is the founder of Caracol Camping located just outside Tunbridge Wells in the stunning village of Groombridge. She started the business last year with Ade to create an oasis where people can enjoy being in nature but in a cosier and more luxurious setting. She has 8 fully furnished bell tents where friends and family can gather and enjoy creating special memories with their loved ones.
Whilst on her new business journey she has been overjoyed to be meet many powerful and ambitious women who are looking to change the narrative and carve out their own destinies to allow their careers to fit their lifestyle needs. Their theme this year is #embraceequity which is about fairness and justice for all, she sincerely hopes as we move forward that many more women feel confident and able to drive their own success for a better and more harmonious future.
Caracol Camping

RIKKE MITCHELL - NORDHUS FURNITURE
Rikke was originally a surveyor, but whilst on maternity leave she helped some friends out with home renovation projects. She now runs two successful companies, Nordhus Furniture & Baltic Star Design and Build – proving that a determined woman really can have it all!
Rikke is originally from Denmark where she was strongly influenced by classic Danish designers while growing up. At their workshop and design studios in Langton Green, Tunbridge Wells the Nordhus team work to deliver their clients’ ambitions and create interiors to suit their lifestyles.
Imagine bespoke furniture without limits. No specific unit sizes, no set door types or layouts. and all made in any timber you choose. Imagine your kitchen, wardrobes, bookcases, and tables designed and built just for you; an original and one-off. Imagine bespoke furniture without limits. This is the ethos of Nordhus Furniture.
Nordus Furniture

JESSICA TUCKER - LUXE VIDA

Jessica is the co-founder of Luxe Vida, an emporium for luxury lifestyle items carefully curated by herself and her Father from exciting brands they have discovered from all around the world.
Luxe Vida sits proudly on Tunbridge Wells High Street and this past year has become a destination for finding the perfect gift, the perfect unique item to add to your home, a treat for your little ones, a new niche perfume, clean beauty products, sustainable fashion and much, much more!
After spending the last 10 years as a stay-at-home mum and raising 5 children, stepping away from “mum life” and creating Luxe Vida with her Father has given her the opportunity to explore her passions and bring them to the wider market. She is keen to support women who choose to pursue their passions, going against the grain. That’s why most of the brands in the store are women-owned and operated businesses, all with sustainability and giving back as a focus, two more things she feels strongly about.

LUXE VIDA

EMMA SIMS - SOUL STAR SANCTUARY
Emma Sims is the founder of Soulstar Sanctuary, a well-being practice in Tunbridge Wells. As an Intuitive Energy Healer, Tera Mai™ Reiki Master, and Crystal Therapist Emma teaches Reiki, hosts corporate workshops in London and Tunbridge Wells, and provides treatments for Women and Children to help transform their lives. Moving them from fear to freedom, pain to calm, and helping manage overwhelm, whilst understanding and assessing where the problems lie within their energy body. The 'hands off' healing treatments are incredibly powerful for grief, anxiety, pain, insomnia, depression, and stress, and focuses on reinforcing the body's natural ability to heal itself. Emma uses her intuitive vision to see inside the body and be guided to and understand the physical cause of any problems. This has been verified by Osteopaths and Doctors on many occasions.

Recently Emma has taken a new space, to expand her practice, in the High Street of Tunbridge Wells at Good & Green which offers Crystal Reiki treatments for children and adults. Every Tuesday you can step out of your business and into peace, a perfect environment if you are working in town or from home and want to experience Meditation or Reiki during your lunch hour.

Investment in yourself is the key to transformation and taking the small step to connect with your soul is one worth taking with Soulstar Sanctuary.
Soul Star Sanctuary

LEILA NIGHTINGALE - THE WELLS CANDLE CO.
Leila was made redundant during the lockdown and with two boys at home, she wanted to have a business that would work well alongside her young family. The Wells Candle Company was founded in 2020. Her love of home fragrances led her to create a range of luxury candles, diffusers, and wax melts that others could enjoy in their home.
Her inspiration is drawn from the seasons with scents including Damson Plum, Rose & Patchouli, and Autumn Leaves in the collection. Each candle is hand poured in Leila’s home studio in Tunbridge Wells. In the last 2 years, she has built a community through her Instagram profile @thewellscandlecompany with the main goal of bringing others joy.

The Wells Candle Co.

GEMMA MURRAY-HUNT & BIG BILSKI - STUDIO COLLECTIVE
International Woman’s Day means a great deal to Gemma and Big, they feel incredibly lucky to both be working mothers, surrounded by such a supportive, local, female community. Studio Collective is about sharing their love for art and design with others. Between them, they have years of experience in this field and being able to teach this to others is something they are truly passionate about.
Their latest workshops were based on the ‘Great Female Artists’ and they encouraged people to explore the original artworks and reimagine them in their on style.
They feel that creating art can help boost confidence and make you feel more engaged and resilient. Participating in art activities is also known to alleviate anxiety and stress and they hope that their sessions have allowed students time to relax and escape for a couple of hours, and will continue to do so.

Studio Collective

JENNIFER COOPER - TIMESAVER
Jennifer Cooper is the founder of @jennifercoopertimesaver She offers time-saving support and business mentoring to predominantly female business owners. She manages a team of 8 associates, highly skilled women who fit work for ‘Team Timesaver‘ around their own jobs, businesses, and responsibilities caring for children or elderly parents, homeschooling, and more. She is passionate about enabling solopreneurs to focus on the work that lights them up by taking time-consuming tasks off their hands. Also, the founder of @kindredspiritscommunity runs free weekly co-working sessions in Tunbridge Wells designed to give the freelance community a place to connect.

She says; “So many amazing women's talents are being lost because they are locked out of traditional working patterns. With a creative approach, we can fix this and enrich our world and lives. International Women’s Day gives us all a moment to pause and reflect on what we can personally do to ensure gender parity”.

Jennifer Cooper Timesaver

DEEPS MOTLEY - MARKETING MANAGER
Deeps is a marketing professional working for two local businesses - Marketing Manager for Brittens Music and Events and Marketing Manager for The Finance Hub. Throughout her career, she’s had the opportunity to work with many independent and successful women in the business community.

Her Mother has been her role model throughout her life, inspiring her and giving her the confidence to emulate her ambition and success. She hopes to provide this same inspiration to others, especially to her young daughters. It’s important to her that they grow up feeling empowered and confident in order to accomplish their dreams regardless of gender. She’s worked really hard to demonstrate to them that being a woman shouldn’t stop you from being successful in developing a career in any industry.

She says: “International Women’s Day celebrates the achievements of women but also highlights the work that still needs to be done. It gives us an opportunity to reflect on the challenges that we face and the opportunities that we have”.

Deeps Motley

JAYNE SHARRAT - RUSTHALL LIFE

Jayne is the editor of Rusthall Life and Langton Life magazines, and lives in Rusthall with her two children in the most amazing community. This year’s International Women’s Day feels incredible to her because for the first time, shes is not a bystander, she’s celebrating the powerful forces that are unleashed when we come together for change. Last November she worked with writer Lauren Brook to organise a ‘Reclaim the Night walk’, driven by their shared desire for the basic freedom to feel safe on the streets at night. They have been blown away by the response from the community and honoured when Eva at The Sussex Arms asked them to organise an event on International Women’s Day itself. In May she’s standing for election to the Borough Council and also fighting to save Tunbridge Wells Children’s Centres. She says; “There are big battles to fight, but I feel empowered and hopeful for the future”.

Rusthall Life Magazine

CASSIE OCKWELL - PINK FOX

Cassie is a Virtual Assistant helping local homes and businesses with administration tasks so that clients have more time to focus on their priorities. She has been running Pink Fox VA since 2021 and this year is expanding her virtual services to in-person as well.

She undertakes project work, specifically anything to do with Excel as she is a self-confessed Excel nerd! Pinterest Management is also her specialty, her passion for this helps to maximize results for businesses. She also takes on various other duties to fit the clients needs.

She says; “International Woman’s Day is a great day to celebrate all the other female business owners out there, to support and lift each other up. I am a huge advocate for community over competition, and this day brings into focus what a great community we have of inspiring and supportive women”.

Pink Fox