Empowering Women One Mya Backpack At A Time

Kim and Katie introduce us to Diosa’s new product, mission for sustainability, and empowering women worldwide.

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In This Episode

Being passionate about your work, invested in your company’s mission, knowing you are creating a positive impact and loving the people you work with sounds like the ultimate career, doesn’t it? Well, today, we spoke with a mother-daughter team Kim Hickman and Katie Thompson, who have spent the last few years building that ultimate company. It all started with Kim asking a simple question to her daughter Katie, do you have a good backpack?

Over the last few years, they’ve met with women from all different backgrounds to design a bag that would meet the needs of a professional woman that carries a lot on her shoulders, both physically and figuratively. They are taking on the weight of female empowerment by making the 1% for the Planet pledge and 1% for women by supporting efforts worldwide to empower women in their entrepreneurial endeavours. With their first shipment of the Mya bag on the way, these two women backed by a team of other Goddesses have big plans for continuing to create a positive impact through their company. We also learned they are on the B Corp journey and hope to be one of the first B Corp’s in Newfoundland.

 

Episode Breakdown

First 10 Minutes
Dave is back with us for this week’s episode to meet our guests Kim and Katie Hickman. They give us an overview of launching their company DIOSA. The mother-daughter team give us an overview of how they gathered the opinions of many women on their mission to design the perfect backpack. They talk about how they wanted to create the ultimate professional woman’s backpack. Katie highlights how far the company has grown and speaks to their goals as a business, like being 1% for the planet. Greg asks about their B Corp status, and they highlight that they have applied for their B Corp status. Greg mentions the sub-group in the B Corp space specific for female entrepreneurs called We the Change. Kim and Katie explain their 1% for Women mission that supports giving back to women globally, specifically with their connection to Guatemala.

10 Minutes – 20 Minutes
Greg asks Dave to explain the Million Pledge to tied into the conversation about DIOSA’s mission-driven company. Katie discusses the amazing team that supports business growth. We get a product overview of the new Mya backpack. The group discusses how it is inclusive for all genders. Kim gives us insight into the sustainability features, like the inside being made from recycled water bottles and the outside being vegan leather with plans to be made from cactus leather. Greg mentions another guest to the Boiling Point Shamini Dharma and the Memory Jackets.

20 Minutes – 30 Minutes
Dave asks about the mother-daughter establish and what Katie has learned and feels about the experience. Katie explains how great the experience has been for her and how great it’s been to work on the project with her mother and bring together many of her marketing and communication background. Kim and Katie talk about the dynamic between them and the working relationship between them.

 

Kim Hickman

Kim Hickman

CEO-Founder at DIOSA designs Inc.

DIOSA designs Inc. is a company that designs women’s executive, multi-functioning backpacks customized for females needing a carry item that serves many purposes for the busy professional woman. This concept was created when CEO, Kim Hickman decided there wasn’t an ‘almost’ perfect woman’s carry bag. Most backpacks were masculine, offered limited space and certainly were not versatile. A business with a social conscience, is a core value of DIOSA. Kim had many ties with Guatemala and had a past of supporting a school’s education program by organizing teams of people to help build extra classrooms for Melody School (with her business Give Get Go, a voluntourism company), located in Chimaltenango (outside Guatemala City). In creating her backpack she saw an opportunity to support women two-fold: 1) employ local women weavers in Guatemala to create hand woven, one-of a kind luggage tag to go on the backpack 2)support a women’s empowerment centre, where the women weavers and other talented Guatemalan women have an opportunity to enhance their skills and be a part of an enterprise environment. This organization can help women support their families financially through the sales of their products. By donating a portion of every backpack sold to the organization, this is the foundation for Women-Helping-Women-Globally.

Katie Thompson

Katie Thompson

Co-Founder / Partnerships Manager at Diosa Designs

Katie is the other half of the mother-daughter duo that runs DIOSA designs. Katie’s storytelling journey began with her Journalism Degree at the University of King’s College in Halifax. After years of working in radio broadcasting, Katie made the shift to marketing and communications. She is a skilled communicator who brings her love of supporting women and connecting people through her role at DIOSA designs. With a vision to create functional and ethically sourced products, along with her mother, she is helping give back to the earth by creating sustainable products and empowering artisans.

About Diosa

DESIGNING “THE ONE”

Our problem was simple: most women’s bags suck.
DIOSA was founded on a love for women and our amazement in all that we do every day. So why don’t we have bags that empower us to reach our potential?

Our solution?
Meet Maya. Designed for you and the life that you live. Meeting at the intersection of fashion and functionality, she’s been meticulously crafted to help you conquer your day, in style. As your newest sidekick, she’ll help you carry the small (and not so small) stuff. So you can get back to taking names and kicking butt like we know you do.