About Us

‘Individuality means self-choice, volition, conscious mind, personified Spirit, complete freedom and a Power to back up that freedom.’ – Ernest Holmes

Our mission is to introduce you to outstanding causes, exceptional women, inspirational role models, and to promote social and environmental responsibility.  We highlight our favorite organizations, companies, and products, all of which in some way contribute to making this planet a better place to call home. We also travel to cool locations in search of  the best IndieModels and IndieAdventure goddesses. Having a higher purpose in life is what IndieWoman is all about!  Our focus is not on celebrities or on hot-off-the-runway fashions, which let’s be honest, most real women can’t afford. There are way too many magazines to promote external rather than internal beauty.

IndieWoman is for the woman who embraces her passions, stands in her own power, and seeks to live a fuller, more meaningful and cause driven life.  Our focal theme is bringing you those IndieModels - women who get out there not in their stilettos, but with sleeves rolled up ready to get their hands dirty and make a difference. She is the mom next door who divides her time between caring for her family and raising money for charities, she is the friend donating her time to environmental causes, or the woman who decides that merely existing is not enough, spreading her wings and flying to reach her highest potential.  I once heard  that an eagle bravely uses the winds of a storm to gain altitude and soar higher, gliding  gracefully and unshaken by the strong currents, until it flies above the storm.  I believe that only by discovering and sharing those things that inspire us can we rise to meet and embody our highest human potential.  We are committed to traveling to those places and to bringing you those very things and people that will inspire you to soar above the clouds.  Don’t forget to watch our fun and inspirational IndieVideos where we go in search of the best places and best people.  Welcome to IndieWoman!

Your Humble IndieEditor

WHO WE ARE

Claudia’s Story…

Claudia Ghetu, IW Founder & Editor

When I set out to create this e-zine, I was still entangled in a mundane world filled with stress and personal challenges that kept me away from following my true life’s mission: living a cause-driven life, writing, meeting extraordinary people, traveling, and fulfilling my true passions and talents.  My idea for IndieWoman came when I was stuck at an airport with nothing to read, while heading to Puerto Rico to meet my best friend Beth, now my IW partner.  You see, I’m not your typical Cosmo, US, or Glamour reader.  I could care less what Paris Hilton is wearing, or if one of the Kardashians is getting divorced.  I want to be inspired by actual role models, like the Tibetan nun Palden Choetso, who self-immolated in 2011 to protest against the Chinese occupation of her country.  With her body engrossed in flames she called out for a long life for the Dalai Lama and his return to his homeland.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying a woman has to go as far as setting herself on fire to become a news worthy role model.  But I’d rather be informed on such matters pertaining to martyrdom than on what designer is hot this season. And we think you do too! Finding nothing on the news stand that day at the airport I vowed to come up with my own women’s magazine: something that would combine all my interests,  from spiritual growth, to social awareness, to products and organizations which benefit people, their communities, and the environment worldwide. At the end of the day, I’ve always yearned to express myself through my creative and humanitarian visions, constantly seeking to reach out and connect with the world out there on a far more meaningful and gratifying level. As the founder, editor and video host of IndieWoman it is now up to me to find and highlight inspirational role models, support communities and causes – and bridge the gap between wanting to make a difference and getting involved while making a change! Here is to following dreams, overcoming boundaries, living a fuller, more meaningful life, and having lots of fun too!!!

Claudia has served as a photography director and contributing writer for such renowned publications as, ELLE, Newsweek, Interview, Gotham, Hamptons, and The Village Voice, and has been directly involved with promoting and reporting the latest trends in lifestyle, entertainment, pop culture, politics, and travel. She has personally worked with such major stars as Oscar winner Hilary Swank, Project Runway star Heidi Klum, and Oscar nominated Marisa Tomei, among many others. Claudia holds a Masters degree from University College London (UCL) in 17th Century Art History & Fashion, and has contributed as an editor and historical consultant on two major hardcover publications Art: A World History, and In The Spirit of The Hamptons, published by DK Publishers and Assouline. Additionally she has been enrolled at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Stella Adler Studio in New York, and performed in Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues benefitting the advancement of women worldwide, with Ally Sheedy and Kathryn Erbe.  Claudia was born in Bucharest Romania, and immigrated to the States at the age of fourteen, just a few years prior to the revolution that toppled the communist regime. She currently shares her time between the Hamptons, Philadelphia, and New York City. Over the years she has lived in Paris, Bucharest, and London, and her travels have taken her as far as Siberia, India, and Japan.  

You can also follow Claudia on Facebook and Twitter!

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Beth’s Story…

Beth, IW Photography Director & Video Producer

Claudia and I went on vacation in Puerto Rico. Both of us were escaping the winter blues, the gray skies and concrete colored streets of New York. It was our first travel adventure together. I really needed some time away from my full-time life, as I was going through a difficult personal time and experiencing a lot of stress.  We had no expectations on this trip, no itinerary, no deadlines, just the wish to relax and be in the company of a good friend.  At the end of the week however, Claudia and I formed an extraordinary bond, made some great new friends, and had what turned out to be an incredible adventure out of which IndieWoman was born.  We met Romi, a fearless adventuress who left her highly ‘responsible’ life as a doctor in Berlin, hungry for the experience to learn how to kite surf and live passionately pursuing a dream.  This was the first time I traveled without my professional camera, thinking I would relax from shooting and escape my work mode mentality.  But thanks to my little point and shoot with video capacity, Claudia and I saw this incredible journey as an opportunity to document what would be the beginning of our story.  We chose Romi to be our inspirational female, and I shot her doing her thing, while my IndieWoman partner in crime jumped in as the impromptu video hostess, and wrote down the synopsis for what would become this website: two women traveling and being inspired by other women who venture out of their comfort zone to live their life to the max. This is what inspires me! This is why I’ve traveled the world lugging on pounds of equipment – from Nepal to India to Africa – in search of this incredible high, this gift of stumbling upon something so great and unexpected and being able to capture it on film.  A moment…a face…something unforgettable.  I am so blessed to be able to have this opportunity to travel and create stories yet again, and this time with a far more personal mission: I am doing it for ME, and not just of the sake of earning a living, but for the sake of living a life being true to who I am.

Beth is a Producer and Cinematographer who has worked globally on award-winning commercial, narrative, documentary films and in television. She holds a BFA from The School of Visual Arts. Beth believes that the internet is becoming, if it’s not already, the main vehicle for television and communication. Her work can be seen on A&E, Discovery Channel, CBC, Sundance Channel, the Food Network, the Fine Living Network. She has also filmed NYC Fashion Week as well as many live concerts. Her commercial and corporate work has been for Osram/Sylvania, Novartis, Toyota, Revlon, and Virgin Mobile. Beth has traveled the globe filming in all climates, in the Himalayan mountains to the African bush to major metropolitan and cultural centers around the world.  Beth is one of those people who doesn’t consider work ‘work’ and is grateful for every day she gets to meet new people and travel to new places doing what she loves.  She shares her time traveling to wherever her camera takes her on assignment, and splits her time between Boston, New York City and Los Angeles.

You can also connect with Beth via Facebook & Twitter!