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

It’s no surprise that Jody Cole—who climbed Tanzania’s intimidating Mt. Kilimanjaro twice to raise money for the LGBT group Equality California—calls herself a “philanthropic adventurer.” About seven years ago, Cole and her friend Allison Hawthorne began taking colleagues on trips to Africa, but it was not until Cole’s third safari to Kenya that her passion turned into a business. The fearless entrepreneur founded Wild Rainbow African Safaris LLC, a boutique adventure travel company, to share the extraordinary experience of African safari with LGBT travelers and their families. Cole hosts small groups of adventurers on customized safaris through sub-Saharan Africa, and offers the chance to learn about indigenous cultures, endangered wildlife and sustainable tourism. “I absolutely, unabashedly love what I do,” Cole says. “I could have been deterred by the thought that safari companies are a dime a dozen. At first that would intimidate me, but it didn’t [stop me]. I just know if you go on a safari with me, you’re going to have a great time.”