Queer Women We Love, Red Hot Entrepreneurs, Wonder Women

Workin’ It 2011

September 19, 2011 Liz Gold

The Real L Word fans know Romi Klinger from her spot on the Showtime reality series, but this Pasadena, Calif.-born jewelry designer has lived a best-seller life since growing up in the care of two mothers and a father. Our cover girl has been a successful makeup artist, an apothecary buyer for Kitson, a co-creator of the famed lesbian event company PYT and a blogger at tenderomi.com. This year, Klinger and Vanessa Salazar founded HIJA Por Vida, a jewelry and accessories line exclusively sold through Love and Pride. Now solo, Klinger is moving forward with Casa Por Vida, her own jewelry brand inspired by Mexican and Native American designs. Her Web site, casaporvida.com, launches this month. “The best part of owning my own business is that I’m my own boss and I get a chance to do what I love,” Klinger says. “We make all these items by hand on our living room floors. So far, we’ve lost a lot of sleep—but, we’re hustlers and hard-workers. The fact is, when you believe in your product, work is a pleasure.”

2011’s Red Hot Entrepreneurs

Bernadette Coveney-Smith, the founder and president of the leading wedding production company 14 stories, first envisioned her business for same-sex couples when marriage equality was legalized in Massachusetts in 2004. Since then, this former Bostonian (and current New Yorker) has collaborated with couples on hundreds of personalized weddings and emerged as the nation’s leading expert on gay and lesbian nuptials. Coveney-Smith coordinates with hand-picked LGBT vendors to create breathtaking ceremonies in dramatic locations—one stunning event took place on a private island in Boston harbor— and makes a donation to charity on the couple’s first anniversary. Coveney-Smith’s expertise has been sought by The Today Show, New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Travel and Leisure and NPR. She authored the book Gay Wedding Confidential, developed the first gay wedding planning app for iPhone and Android, and frequently speaks about gay weddings across the country. “I have this weird balance of being a super Type A-wedding planner/fierce client advocate, and also really laid back,” Coveney-Smith says. “My clients like that because I’m always chill and calm around them, but they have the confidence that I’m kicking ass and have it all under control.”