Ridhwana ‘Ray’ Shaik is a creative economy and sustainability consultant with over ten years experience in the footwear and apparel industry. As the co-founder of a creative agency called Creatively Connected Consulting, she helps small brands build products from conception to production – and as a sustainability consultant, her first point of reference is always getting the design right so that the products she helps create do not become a burden to the environment further downstream.
Let’s get to know Ridhwana Shaik a little better!
If you had a theme song, what would it be?
Bitch – Meredith Brooks. So apt and probably describes every woman alive
What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?
Leaving my job in media to go to Italy to study; it worked out in some ways and in others, not so much.
If Mars were liveable, would you accept a one-way ticket there?
And leave this gorgeous Planet behind, no thanks
If you were given one thousand acres of land what would you do with it?
Create a community supported farm and allow people to be a part of their own food journeys – from seed to table.
Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer?
Hunter
How many pairs of shoes do you own?
Exactly 5 and a half – there’s a left foot sneaker lying sadly on the train tracks somewhere in northern China.
If we came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us?
Pita chips and hummus; for mains, a lentil moussaka and dessert is Baklava – come hungry!
How would people communicate in a perfect world?
Face to face without masks and fear.
When you have 30 minutes of free time – how do you pass it?
Reading furiously – I have two kids, so reading anything other than ‘The Monkey with the Bright Blue Bottom’ on repeat is almost a luxury.
If you woke up to 300 unread emails, how would you prioritise which ones to answer?
I’d use the same principle I use for work – first in, first out.
Where do you go and what do you do to find peace and recharge?
I love hiking and I attempt yoga
If you could know the absolute answer to one question, what question would you ask?
Does human emotion continue after you die – will being reunited with a departed loved one feel good in a ‘human’ way or is it different?
If you could write one new law that everybody had to obey, what would it be?
I’d make pre-parenting preparation classes mandatory.
What, if anything, have you ever re-gifted?
I re-gifted a necklace that I thought would look better on a friend than it would on me
What is the most interesting thing you have seen or read this week?
A book called The Lost City of the Monkey God.
What skill or craft would you like to master?
I’d like to learn to use Adobe After Effects better than I know how currently.
If you could dedicate your life to solving one problem, what would it be?
Just one? I guess it would have to be to create easily-actionable ways for people to avoid sending things to landfill completely.
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