Ampersand Woman: Brandi Williams

Brandi Williams and her husband, Justin, are the proud owners of Primally Inspired Eats. Primally Inspired Eats provides authentic handmade, gluten-free and primal/paleo inspired artisan goods. In a food culture dominated with goods overflowing with sugar, flour, soy, and processed oils, their goal is to supply nutritionally dense, whole food based alternatives. You can find their products at the Bloomington Farmers Market, Bloomingfoods, and Cup & Kettle. Brandi and sat down and talked about what inspires her and how Primally Inspired Eats about. She graciously shared her story with me below.

As I reflected on how to introduce myself I immediately went to the phrase below, “My mother always said….” And my mother always said, “The older you get the faster time goes.” That quote has stuck with me, especially because my mother passed away at the young age of 52. That event certainly shaped the woman I have become today, how I view the world, how I love and view the people I love, and how I choose to spend the time I’ve been granted. In all honestly one of the major driving forces for me is time. Not attempting to beat time, or stop time, but to be present in what I am doing with my time, to consciously choose my own path, and spend the time I have carving out what happiness and success looks like for me. Equally important is to use as much of my time being present with those I love, and exploring the things that interest me the most.

This is where I confess that I am also a self-proclaimed research junky, another driving force. Once curiosity takes hold in me, I will research the heck out of a topic, and make every attempt to immerse myself in it. Nutrition, food, and preventative measures for health and wellness, oh heck yes! Again, the event of having a close loved one experience a health crisis followed by death sent this research junky into overdrive when it came to finding out everything possible in the realm of preventative health and wellness. Which, as you might guess, ultimately led me to cooking and baking with naturally gluten free, grain free, and overall allergy friendly, paleo, keto type ingredients. This took root first within our home, as providing those I love with nutrition and wellness through food, seemed to me, one of the best ways I could love them. Hence, a very fitting way to spend my time.

Besides being a self-proclaimed research junky, I also enjoy sharing the information I gather. Not just sharing but conversing, dissecting, analyzing, debating. All the things I loved so much about grad school. I loved the researching aspect of grad school, but facilitating and teaching in a college classroom was equally influential. I spent two incredibly informative and inspirational years as a graduate assistant for EDCI 285 Multiculturalism and Education. The classroom was filled with undergraduate education majors and we would spend an entire semester unpacking identity in relation to race, class, gender, and sexual orientation, and how this impacted who they would be as teachers, what they brought to the classroom, and how their future student’s individual identities affected what they brought with them into the classroom as well. It was the best in my world. Tough topics, lots of conversation, reflection, research. It had it all. Probably the only other “job,” besides becoming a mother, and creating Primally Inspired Eats, that I have had complete love and passion in doing. Another fitting way, in my mind, to spend some time.

Then came motherhood, which inspired me to knit all these passions together. How I consciously spent my time, which now focuses very much on my kiddos, health and wellness through food and nutrition, and my need and love for research and teaching. The obvious portion of this tapestry has manifested as Primally Inspired Eats. Primally Inspired allows me to share in the best possible way all the things I’ve learned around alternative and nutrient dense focused baking. I get to share the results of that research in the form of really delicious and nourishing baked goods. I also get to have very meaningful, informative, and reflective conversations with our customers, around interesting, and sometimes even tough topics related to health and wellness, another aspect of our business that I completely adore.

Finally, Primally Inspired also allows for freedom. Freedom for me to choose how I spend my time and most significantly, for the daily incorporation of the most important human beings in my life, my children, Ben and Eleanor, and my lifelong love, Justin. We work daily as a family to grow our business, learn from one another in the form of homeschooling, and spend as much time as possible exploring and pursuing our passions. Primally Inspired Eats has gratefully allowed for so many of the things that inspire me to intersect and meet in this particular time and in this particular space. What we would say in our family as “time well spent.” I love it, it’s the best in my world.

I hail from… Greentown, Indiana

I currently live in… Bloomington, Indiana

My morning routine before leaving for work is… Sunday - Wednesday: Coffee, morning snuggles with the kids, Fancy Breakfast, gratitude journalling, and learning work. Thursday - Saturday: Coffee, Baking, and prepping for Market.

My personality at work in three words: Focused, Independent, and Multitasking

My favorite go to tea: Tulsi/Rose

My favorite tea types are… Green, Herbals

My favorite time for tea… Afternoon

When I grew up I wanted to be… A Teacher

When I “grow up” I want to be… Traveler, Explorer

My mother always said… "The older you get, the faster time goes; so value each day."

What I wish I knew when I started working: You can carve your own path. You can be unconventional.

If I could have a power lunch with anyone, living or dead, it would be… Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

If I could have happy hour with anyone, living or dead, it would be… Maya Angelou

Finish the following sentences:

Success is…. Freedom to create the life I choose

Happiness is… Freedom to create what speaks to me.

Sexy is… Authentically vulnerable

A working woman can never have too many… People in her tribe

Your motto:. "Have an attitude of gratitude"

Ampersand Woman: Amanda Forgas

Today I sat down with the amazing, Amanda Forgas. Forgas is one of the co-owner’s of MIRTH, a curated, edgy women’s apparel store in downtown Bloomington, Indiana. She started working in retail when she was 16. For the past 15 years she has been working for small, local Bloomington businesses. Forgas got her start working for Sole Sensations on Indiana Avenue, Bloomington. She remained at Sole Sensations for 10 years until the owner retired. Forgas then began working for another local, downtown business, Relish. Relish was an iconic contemporary furniture and women’s apparel store that closed in 2017. Working for Relish, Forgas, began to feel confident at the possibility of running her own business. Forgas credits her drive and passion for business to these two business owners.

Here is our conversation:

I hail from… Bloomington, Indiana

I currently live in… Bloomington, Indiana

My morning routine before leaving for work is… wake up, drink warm lemon water, post on instagram, hair and makeup

My personality at work in three words: professional, detail oriented, and likes to have fun

My favorite go to tea: Tension Tamer

My favorite tea types are… Chai, peppermint

My favorite time for tea… all day long

When I grew up I wanted to be… wanted to be an actress

When I “grow up” I want to be… a business owner

My mother always said… “Straighten your shoulders.”

What I wish I knew when I started working: How much there was to learn. When I left Sole Sensations after 10 years, and then going to Relish and starting over; realizing I still had so much to learn.

If I could have a power lunch with anyone, living or dead, it would be… my grandmother

If I could have happy hour with anyone, living or dead, it would be…Jimmy Fallon

Finish the following sentences:

Success is….”happiness”

Happiness is… “found in the little things”

Sexy is… “Confidence”

A working woman can never have too many… “Awesome shoes and porto clothing

Your motto:. “work hard, trust the path, never miss opportunities do the right thing, listen to my inner voice, to excel not compete, and be kind.”

Ampersand Woman: Kelly Jennings

This week’s Ampersand Woman is Kelly Jennings. She is one of the amazing co-owners of MIRTH, a new clothing store in downtown Bloomington. MIRTH is personally one of my favorite stores their collection consists of unique, hand-picked women’s apparel and accessories. The aesthetic is comfortable, edgy, and unique….because fashion doesn’t have to be boring.

Kelly, has worked customer service positions her entire working life. She loves the social interaction, but the long hours had begun to weigh on her. She felt she was ready for a new challenge and loved fashion. She had been designing her own clothing pieces for many years. She was a frequent Relish customer (a legendary clothing/furniture store in downtown Bloomington). When she heard about Relish closing, she contacted Shannon (one of the store owners) and said “I want to do, what you do”. She had wanted to be in business for herself. Shannon suggested she work with a partner and introduced her to Amanda, her business partner. Kelly and Amanda worked together to create MIRTH.

Here are some questions from our interview:

I hail from… Michigan

I currently live in… Nashville, Indiana

My morning routine before leaving for work is… I go outside with my 3 dogs, make coffee, shower, spend time with the husband, I do one chore (to make the rest of the day easier), and prep my crockpot

My personality at work in three words: Always dedicated, excitable, and generous

My favorite go to tea: Lady Grey

My favorite tea types are… Black tea and White Tea

My favorite time for tea… right before bed

When I grew up I wanted to be… a teacher or vet

When I “grow up” I want to be… Doing what I’m doing right now

My mother always said… “My mom has always said you can everything you want, you just can’t have everything. So, do your best, be nice, and always try to do the right thing.”

What I wish I knew when I started working: how to be…more open minded and not being so critical of myself. Always knowing that it's ok to not know, and a great opportunity to learn something new.

If I could have a power lunch with anyone, living or dead, it would be… My grandma

If I could have happy hour with anyone, living or dead, it would be… My mom

Finish the following sentences:

Success is….Being happy in what you do

Happiness is… Enjoying what you have and making the best of it.

Sexy is… Being successful and happy at the same time

A working woman can never have too many… Purses

Your motto:. “Everything will be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright, it’s not the end.”