This week in our Women Entrepreneurs on the Go series, I'd like to introduce Ainslie Cyopik, the founder of high end dancewear clothing company AinslieWear in Vancouver, Canada. For over 17 years, the company has designed and manufactured locally, specializing in bodysuits which are worn all over the world.
ABOUT AINSLIE
Ainslie, who was a professional ballet dancer herself for 15 years at the National Ballet Canada and Ballet British Columbia always had a passion for creating her own bodysuits for her classes and rehearsals. It became a creative outlet for her in which she designed not only for herself, but her fellow dance friends as well. After retiring from the ballet world, she made a natural evolution to start a dancewear clothing business.
Ainslie works alongside business partner Terri Margo, and the two of them are often faced with new challenges as the company grows. She emphasizes the importance of staying relevant with her customers, to create exceptional product and to be able to be flexible and make changes if necessary.
The best parts of her job however are travelling and meeting new and interesting people - this includes hearing from her generous and happy AinslieWear fans and the many people she meets on her adventures.
AINSLIE ON TRAVEL
Traveling is something that Ainslie highly approves of and encourages. There are many wonderful experiences to be had by traveling, many great people to meet and things to learn about another's world.
When I asked about her most memorable trip, Ainslie reminisced over her magical trip to Egypt with her uncle and a couple of his fellow teacher friends. For 5 1/2 weeks she called the bustling and dusty city of Cairo homebase, driving from Abu Simbel at the Sudanese border, through the Suez Canal, to climbing Mt St Catherine in the Sinai Desert. They saw dozens of temples and pyramids, and rode horses and camels in the desert.
One particularly magical and starry night, they dined on carpets along the shoreline in Dahab, gazing across the Gulf of Aqaba to see the twinkling lights of Saudi Arabia in the distance. It was an otherworldly experience she will never forget!
Ainslie's Top 8 Carry On Essentials:
1) Lipstick
2) Nexus Pass - the best thing since sliced bread!
3) Earplugs
4) Something to read
5) Iphone/Ipad with a meditation for listening to
6) Tango shoes - you never know when you'll want to drop in to a Milonga! I keep them in my carry on when I can so there is no chance of loosing them
7) Cheap and cheerful sunglasses
8) Cozy scarf for the plane - even if going to a hot destination
Learn more about Ainslie Cyopik and AinslieWear on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook.
Special thanks to Ainslie for taking the time to be interviewed for "Women Entrepreneurs on the Go". If you know an Entrepreneur, or are an Entrepreneur who loves to travel that we should feature, please click here to contact us.
With gratitude,
Brittany
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