Welcome
We are thrilled
that you have chosen to share some of your valuable time with
us and the other visitors to the behypatia.com website.
Take a look around, explore, buy a t-shirt for yourself
or as a gift and share your ideas and thoughts with by visiting our blog www.behypatia.blogspot.com.
We want behypatia.com and our blog to offer
you an avenue to discuss your accomplishments and challenges
with authenticity, humility, humor and compassion. Bookmark
the site and visit often to see what’s new!
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Our
Story
We
would like to start by telling you the story of how
we came to be. The idea for hypatia began during a weekend
bachelorette party in Las Vegas in June 2005 –
only this time what happened in Vegas didn’t stay
in Vegas. While Carrie and nine friends were having
cocktails at their hotel pool, one of the women told
the other to “stop being a twat” (Sorry,
Mom!). She did this not by speaking, but by making a
hand gesture.
Like so…
Try it!
The
women continued to use the gesture throughout the weekend,
along with one-liners – clean cut, just eat it,
and of course “stop being a”. The more cocktails
consumed, the funnier it became (don’t judge –
it was Vegas). While partying, the women continued making
up new sayings and laughing, often hysterically, about
their “secret” gesture, while those around
them seemed to be trying to figure out what it meant.
Carrie
returned to San Diego and contemplated making t-shirts
for the bridal party to commemorate their great Vegas
experience. Instead, Carrie’s women’s studies
background kicked in and she began to think about how
powerful the hand gesture could become. The possibility
of creating t-shirts with the hand gesture design accompanied
by funny, powerful, or political sayings on them was
energizing.
During
countless discussions – over a period of about
six months - with each other and with several friends,
family members, and colleagues, the business idea evolved
to be about more than just t-shirts. We realized that
along with making political, powerful, and funny statements
on shirts, we also wanted to foster a community of women
who felt passion for the meaning behind the symbol,
or better yet, prompted them to action surrounding the
issues women face.
The
issue that hits home for us is that often women spend
more time and energy putting one another down than supporting
each other in positive, constructive ways. Why is it
that we women are sometimes “our own worst enemies?”
Have you ever said that? We have. Our mothers have (we
asked them). In fact, most of our female friends have.
Why? It doesn’t have to be that way.
In
writing our mission and vision statements, we continued
to evolve the idea of the business to one that is cutting
edge, both in terms of products and ideas, and in terms
of paying attention to women’s issues.
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Mission
hypatia offers trend-setting
products that reflect edgy, meaningful messages meant to provoke
thought, incite passion and encourage action, while celebrating
the humor in life.
Translation:
You will find some cool shirts in our store. Buy one –
for yourself – for a friend. Wear
them proudly.
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Vision
hypatia will ignite the fourth
wave of feminism by inspiring women to be confident without
destroying the confidence of others.
Translation:
It’s time to “stop being a twat.” You in?
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| Why
hypatia?
We named our company
after Hypatia of Alexandria, said to be the most eminent
woman mathematician of ancient times. A beautiful woman,
she was an accomplished philosopher, teacher, astronomer,
and scientist who lived during the fifth century AD.
It is widely reported that Hypatia was brutally murdered
in 415 AD because she was perceived to have gained too
much political influence. The life and times of Hypatia
remain a bit of a mystery; however, artifacts of her
teaching and scholarly pursuits live on today.
For us, it is not the
proofs Hypatia put forth or the books she authored (which
did not survive the great fire of the library of Alexandria),
it is what she represented and continues to represent…
a woman unafraid to learn, explore and think for herself.
We honor Hypatia for her commitment to truth, her courage,
and her passion for knowledge. It
is in keeping with this spirit that we have founded
hypatia (yes, lower case h).
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The
Bottom Line
Our journey
will begin with a women’s clothing line that is both
expressive and trendy (six shirts to start). The images and
words on our clothing will be humorous, political and
powerful – allowing for you to choose one based on your
mood, character, passion or personality. You won’t find
any catfight causing “tell your boyfriend I said hi”
shirts here!
Along with
selling our line of shirts, we will be working diligently
to expand the behypatia.com website so that you will want
to visit us often – not just to buy something, but to
join our community, a network of women who support each other
instead of being our own worst enemies.
Check
out our polling features, message forum, and articles. The
articles are written by women we know (warriors, princesses,
rock stars, visionaries, and anti-twats alike) who are unafraid
to talk about what it is like to “be a woman”
in life, in work, in friendship and in love. We’ll also
link you to some great articles we have found.
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So
Who Are We?
Writes
Tonya: Carrie is fun, feisty, stylish and exceptionally smart;
simply put, she is one cool chick. She is an extroverted idealist
whose glass stays about 99 ¾% full – no kidding.
With a keen ability to always see the good in people and situations,
Carrie inspires those around her to do the same. Passionate
about the gender aspects of leadership, she has an undergraduate
degree in women’s studies from the University of Michigan
(her home state – ask her to show you where on her hand
and she’ll do it) and a graduate degree in organizational
leadership. She is the creative, energizing force of hypatia,
and the reason we exist as a company.
Writes
Carrie: Tonya is a brilliant woman. When working with Tonya,
I learn something new every day. Her strong organizational
skills and sharp eye make her the perfect business partner
and the backbone of hypatia. Originally from South Dakota,
Tonya and I met in 2004 in San Diego, CA during a groups and
teams graduate course. Tonya was on the road to earning her
MBA (which she now has). My initial impression of Tonya was
that she was the soft-spoken brain who sat in the back of
the classroom – I wasn’t too far off. Tonya is
an introvert but don’t mistake her for being quiet –
we often joke about her having a “red” personality!
We
tell you about each other with the hope that you will let
us get to know you, as well.
Welcome
to our passion, behypatia.com.
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