With International Women’s Day around the corner I’ve been enjoying many of the quotes that have been popping up on social media. This one particularly struck a chord,
“To tell a woman everything she cannot do is to tell her what she can.”
It’s an old Spanish proverb, and I had to think about it. Does that mean we can only do what’s left after the long list of what we can’t? Growing up in England in the 70s the “you can’t” list was unending.
My early career was peppered with an awful lot of, “you can’t…” and I started to see it as a challenge rather than a commandment. As I progressed, working for firms groaning under the weight of a male hierarchy, I began to realize that “you can’t” was a deflection. It meant, “we’ve never done that before,” “it’s not how I would do it,” “it’s not proven,” and often, “I wasn’t the one to suggest it.” I got creative. I honed the art of insinuating my ideas into conversations around executive tables. As soon as one of my bosses grasped the thought and began to repeat it I praised their insight, their innovative thinking, their vision. Sometimes the idea would take root, it became somebody else’s brilliant proposal and it got fed and watered.
As I matured so did the workplace and in the later years of my career in Architecture & Design there was a lot more collaboration and openness to new ideas. Yet progress was still slow. My passion has always been to find ways to do more with less, reduce waste, create efficiency, tread on the Earth more gently. Yet innovative solutions too often met with risk averse clients and nervous bankers. If it hadn’t been done before no one had the appetite to be the first.
I was at an impasse. I was miserable. People really didn’t want to change. I couldn’t wait any longer. I was 55 years old and I was still pushing my rock uphill.
Then I met Meg.
She was working for a small beauty company. I was trying to take my mind off architecture. We drank Vermouth and talked about lipstick. We absolutely adore lipstick, but…our conversation took a turn that may be familiar to you; “Why is it so wasteful? It feels awful after a while. The color never lasts. It dries your lips. All that waste in those plastic tubes. I hate going in and buying it from those teenagers who talk you into some awful “trendy” color. I get home and I never wear it! Do you ever finish a lipstick?”
By the morning it was clear. We were going to reinvent lipstick.
We’d change the formula, the packaging, the applicator, the very way we feel about wearing it.
Meg dug deep into her art background for inspiration, and our prototype emerged. We were so excited. We started talking to manufacturers, suppliers, materials specialists, beauty companies…and we heard something familiar, “You can’t…”
But this time it was different. The only people we had to answer to were ourselves. “Thank you,” we said. “We’re sorry you can’t help.” We knocked on another door, sent another email, and the magic began to happen. For every 10 people who told us, “you can’t” we found one who said, “I don’t know but I’d love to help you figure this out.” Steadily we built our network. Our collaborators went above and beyond to find solutions and each one of them has become a passionate Vermouth Beauty ambassador.
Three years later Vermouth Beauty stands as proof that, “you can.” We made Vermouth Beauty lip crayons for you. Lip color is so much more than a cosmetic. It’s a feeling. An expression of our mood, our style, our personality. Above all, it is proof that to tell a woman everything she cannot do is to tell her what she can!
