01 Nov

Joan Kelley Walker – Redefining ‘Housewives’

Hopefully, by now you have come to know Fernweh Society as a hub for boss lady profiles, advice and inspiration!  I find nothing more inspiring than learning about other women who have taken it upon themselves to rise above and build the life they love.

I had the immense opportunity to sit down and have a heart to heart with Joan Kelley Walker and my mind was BLOWN. The specific occasion was due to the fact that she was the closing keynote speaker at Toronto Start-Up Fashion week; another topic that is dear to my heart and coming soon to the blog!

Many know Joan more recently from The Real Housewives of Toronto, which Joan actually let me in on a secret that it was originally supposed to be The Real Housewives of Muskoka and was later switched to Toronto. She was one of the first selected and got to see the show form from there. From watching bits and pieces of the franchises in other cities I would have been a little nervous to be on the show in the first place. Joan, in fact, shared that sentiment and also confided that she hadn’t really watched the other shows so this wasn’t even a thought to her. In addition to that Joan has many years of experience being in front of and behind the camera so she had a bit of a leg up!

Joan’s background was particularly interesting to me because we are both from Saskatchewan! Joan is originally from Wilcox, SK and moved to Toronto for university.  At that time, she was only just beginning to build her empire. We got to talking about life, perseverance and of course everything on her impressive resume of experience. In that there were a few nuggets of wisdom that stood out for me and seemed completely appropriate for young girlbosses at the beginning of their journeys.