Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to the founders of Interwovxn, Rebecca Jankowski and Theresa Kopac. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rebecca and Theresa, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

We both agree that learning to hold space, for ourselves and for other women, has been the greatest experience our work has offered. As a women’s health acupuncturist/photographer and a motherhood practitioner/postpartum doula, we have seen and experienced the gaps of information and the lack of preparation and conversation as women move into and through pivotal transitions. Personally, we have experienced fertility issues, “geriatric” pregnancies, postpartum challenges, shifting identity, the loss of a parent, and the start of perimenopause and have crossed through early middle life and are beginning our chapters of late middle life. These phases, for many of us, are converging more than they did for our mothers and grandmothers and we want to bridge the gaps to minimize the crisis and emphasize the enjoyment. We want to destigmatize aging and prepare women for what’s to come. Everyone’s journey through middle life is different, but in providing space to share stories and resources, we find connection and commonality that empowers the journey through this chapter.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourselves and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

We have worked together for over 10 years and came to do our work in different ways.

I (Rebecca) graduated with a BFA in Photography from Parsons in New York and returned to Milwaukee after school. While looking into graduate programs, I tried acupuncture for the first time for a recurrent sinus infection and within weeks the trajectory of my life changed. I started acupuncture school and soon after starting my practice 17 years ago realized that women’s health, fertility, and pregnancy were my calling (and ultimately part of my journey as it took 6 years to get to our daughter).

I (Theresa) grew up watching my mom support the well-being of others through massage and esoteric healing and compassionate conversation. My dad was a Special Forces medic who delivered babies and supported the health of others in the midst of war. When my dad passed I trained to be a birth doula because in this work I felt a connection to him and there is nothing quite like bearing witness to the strength of a woman through childbirth and the moment her baby enters the world. After the birth of my daughter I was moved by my very intense postpartum period to train to become a postpartum doula in order to support other mothers during this important time.

Fast forward 10 year and both of us are in our 40’s, mothers, having symptoms that seem to be a merging of postpartum (did you know that the height of postnatal depletion can be 6-7 years after birth) and perimenopause, in the pandemic, feeling the weight of the “invisible load”, and desperately wanting community and conversation. And so came the seed of Interwovxn.

Interwovxn launched last year as a platform (podcast, newsletter, social media) in celebration and support of women (inclusive of anyone who identifies as a woman) in middle life. For us the X in INTERWOVXN represents the cross-sections of womanhood and the places we intersect to celebrate our commonalities, our differences, and the shared wisdom of those around us. Studies have shown that women have disproportionately shouldered the emotional burden of the last few years and that levels of stress, anxiety and sadness among women are at a 10-year high. We need to heal in a collective way—we are hoping to create a space to dig deeper so that as women in middle life, we feel supported and seen while having some fun and being empowered to support our own health and well-being.

Our podcast features conversations between women on their journeys through this chapter while our newsletters/website offer resources and our WOVXN Wellness guides (Menstrual.Health, Fertile.Health, Mother.Hood, Peri.Menopause, and Breast.Health–all co-written by medical professionals) to support the varying needs of women between 35-55. We are planning retreats for the coming year while continuing to build community and highlighting women, artists, musicians, healthcare providers, etc who are doing amazing work. We are currently recording season 5 of the podcast and are so excited to share voices and experiences to support women as they mother, care for parents, navigate changing health and body, and claim their power and the wisdom of their age. Our monthly newsletter is built around the topics and women on the podcast and within our community.

We are proud of the ripple effect that happens when others feel uplifted and supported.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

A friend connected us and basically said listen you need to know this person. I (Theresa) was looking to change paths and downshift from a number of very stressful years working for start-ups and had recently become a reiki practitioner. Rebecca was looking to bring other practitioners into the mix at the office and so began our relationship. From there, our practices and work grew, shifted, and evolved (as did our personal lives) alongside one another– a beautiful coming together, moving apart, and coming back together. We have remained each other’s constant cheerleader and so when the discussion of revisiting Interwovxn came up (we started talking about it and picked out the name 8 years ago), we had lived more life and experienced more of these transitions and knew that if we were both finding this phase difficult to navigate that other women must be as well.

I (Rebecca) have often worked alone, it has been a really great reminder of the importance of communication. Business partnership is in some way like marriage and it can be hard to find the time to foster the relationship and ensure everyone’s needs are being met and strengths are being utilized in the best way possible. Some days we are just trying to get things done before school pick up;) I am excited to continue working on these skills as we grow in our business and partnership.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

We will be the first to admit that this last year has been a huge learning curve–from podcast production (thanks for our friend Jen for getting us off the ground and showing us the ropes) to trying to grow an audience on social media (which often feels like an uphill battle), what we always come back to is holding space and creating connection. If we are able to offer support to one woman that is a win. That feels like success. And we LOVE the work. That we get to be creative, meet new and interesting people, and create a space that inspires conversation and might take some of the weight off of the load, is pretty motivating!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.interwovxn.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/interwovxn/

Image Credits
Jarvis Lawson (image of the two of us)