Check Out She Keene’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to She Keene.

Hi She, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Macon, Georgia, at a time when the expectations for Girls and Women were much narrower than they are today. When I graduated from high school, most young Women were expected to either get married and raise a family or go to college to become a teacher or nurse. Those are wonderful professions, but I knew they weren’t the right path for me.

I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to be, but I knew I wanted a challenge and I wanted to do something different. Because of the cost, I knew I needed to select an in-state college, so I chose Georgia Tech. At the time, it felt like the most difficult and ambitious thing I could do. I attended in the mid-1980s when Women made up only about 20% of the incoming class. It was the first of many times I found myself in a room where very few people looked like me.

After graduation, I built a career as a Robotics Engineer and Software Consultant supporting the Department of Defense. Once again, I was often the only Woman in the room. I loved the work and built a successful career, along with several businesses along the way, but I also learned an important lesson early on: the rules were often different for Women. Men were frequently assumed to be capable and competent from the moment they walked into a meeting. Women often had to prove themselves first just to earn the same level of attention and respect.

That experience shaped me. It reinforced my belief that opportunities should be based on talent, effort, and character, not gender. Whoever can do the work should have the opportunity to do the work. Period.

For years, I planned to retire at 50 and begin an entirely new chapter. I worked toward that goal, and when the time came, I stepped away from my career and started exploring what was next. After trying many different creative pursuits, I discovered mixed-media art and immediately fell in love with it.

But I didn’t want to create art simply to decorate a wall. I wanted my work to have purpose. I wanted it to tell stories.

That’s how “Redefining She” was born.

Every design I create includes a slightly hidden date highlighting a remarkable Woman. A QR code connects customers to HER story (HERstory), allowing them to discover Women whose contributions are often overlooked or forgotten. I believe Women’s stories (and Girls’ stories) aren’t told often enough. When we know the Women who came before us, we expand our understanding of what is possible for ourselves and for future generations.

Today, “Redefining She” is my way of combining art, education, and empowerment. It’s more than art. It’s a mission to share HERstory… One Date, One Story, and One Scan at a Time.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
A smooth road? Absolutely not!

In many ways, I put myself into an industry where I had zero experience. My background was in engineering, software development, and business ownership; NOT stationery, gifts, or art licensing. When I launched Redefining She, I didn’t know the terminology of the gift and stationery world. I didn’t know where to source materials, how to price products, how wholesale worked, or how to market and advertise in this industry.

Honestly, I was starting from scratch.

There was a steep learning curve. I spent months learning the processes, understanding the industry, finding reliable suppliers, and figuring out how to turn a creative idea into a viable business. At the same time, I was teaching myself mixed-media art, which was an entirely new skill set for me.

There were plenty of moments when I felt overwhelmed or questioned whether I knew enough to make it work. But one thing my engineering career taught me is how to solve problems. When I don’t know something, I learn it. When I hit an obstacle, I figure out a way around it.

Looking back, those challenges were actually part of the journey. Every skill I had to learn and every mistake I made helped shape both me and the business. The road definitely wasn’t smooth, but it was worth it because it led me to creating something I genuinely believe in… a brand that combines art, education, and empowerment to help share not history, but HERstory, with the world.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At its core, I create mixed-media art that celebrates the strength, courage, and accomplishments of Women. I sell original artwork, but I also transform my art into a variety of gift products, including greeting cards, journals, stickers, coffee mugs, and art prints. Today, my greeting card line alone includes more than 100 designs.

I’m probably best known for my feminist perspective and the bold, and sometimes snarky (but always truthful) messages woven throughout my work. My designs encourage Women and Girls to be brave, challenge expectations, and create their own unique paths.

What truly sets Redefining She apart, however, is that I don’t just create products; I create stories.

Every design includes a slightly hidden date that commemorates a remarkable Woman or milestone in Women’s history / HERstory. Customers can scan a QR code to discover the story behind that date. So when someone gives one of my cards, journals, or stickers as a gift, they’re not simply giving a product; they’re sharing HERstory.

The creative process is much more involved than most people realize. I create the original artwork, research the Women and historical events, write the stories, generate the QR codes, design every product, source suppliers, manage production, market the brand, and handle the accounting. I do have help from Raven, my incredibly talented college intern, who assists a few hours each week, but Redefining She is largely a one-Woman operation.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’ve always believed that growth happens when you’re willing to take calculated risks. In fact, some of the most rewarding experiences in my life have come from doing things that felt a little intimidating at the time.

One of the biggest risks I took with Redefining She was expanding into the wholesale market. As a small business owner, trade shows are a significant investment of both time and money. Most people start small and test the waters with a single market. I did not.

In one year, I exhibited at the Atlanta Mart, the Dallas Mart, the San Francisco Mart, and the New York Mart. Looking back, it was probably a little crazy. It was exhausting, overwhelming, and required a tremendous amount of preparation, travel, and financial commitment.

But it was also one of the best business decisions I ever made.

Those markets introduced my products to retailers across the country and helped me learn the wholesale industry much faster than I would have otherwise. I gained invaluable experience, built relationships with store owners, and generated so many wholesale orders that I had to recruit family members to help process and ship them.

That experience reinforced something I’ve learned throughout my life: you don’t have to know exactly how everything will work out before you take the first step. Sometimes you have to trust yourself, do the homework, take the leap, and figure things out along the way.

Whether it was attending Georgia Tech when very few Women were there, building a career in engineering, retiring at 50 to start an entirely new chapter, or taking Redefining She to markets across the country, I’ve found that the biggest rewards often come from the risks that scare you the most.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://redefiningshe.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redefiningshe/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redefiningshe/