Shelan Markus: Founder of How She Made This & City and She, Executive Director of Level Justice
Tell us about your businesses and work.
There are pictures of me at age 1 playing with my Dad’s cameras. Maybe the fascination started then. I’ve grown up around art my whole life and very little white space on the walls. My mother is a fine art oil painter. My dad is a photographer. In 2017, I started City and She, a photo art business where I sell my photographic art prints. My work is often described as serene, ethereal, and mind-drifty.
Back in 2016, I attended a talk series called Local Talks in Vancouver, started by Kelly Turner and introduced to me by Alexa Mazzarello. I loved these talks so much. They connected me with other interesting people and entrepreneurs who were running incredibly creative and savvy businesses. Many years later, in 2024, I started How She Made This in the hopes that I could connect people around the stories of women-identifying, transfem, and gender-diverse entrepreneurs. Thanks to Suraiya Nanji of Homecoming Candles and Elizabeth Fisher and Victoria Koby of OneSpace, I’ve been able to host some of the first How She Made This talks!
Oh, and in my day-to-day, I’m the Executive Director of a human rights and justice education non-profit, called Level Justice. I’ve been at Level Justice since 2019.
City and She, How She Made This, and Level Justice have taught me so much about running a business.
Why did you start City and She and How She Made This?
I started City and She because I love photography, colour, and letting my vivid imagination run wild. I’m sensitive to my space and how art in our space has the power to make us feel grounded and at peace. I wanted to create pieces that would bring the same joy I felt looking at my mom or dad’s art, but in my own way.
City and She is a passion project to connect people, share stories of entrepreneurship and the unique challenges and opportunities faced by women-identifying, transfem, and gender-diverse entrepreneurs. I wanted to create a platform to inspire others to follow their creative dreams.
What do you love about your businesses?
I love how City and She is an outlet for me to be creative. I love sharing this creativity with others and seeing how it makes them feel something.
I love How She Made This because I see real personal connections happening at every event. I’ve had many people tell me after the event, sometimes months later, that they are still in touch with people they met at the event and how this network has helped them push forward and get inspired with their own creative businesses.
What is your greatest personal strength in being an entrepreneur?
Persistence, resourcefulness, perfectionism (sometimes also a weakness).
What is your biggest challenge?
I love doing *a lot*, but this sometimes means I’m spread thin and lose focus. I’m working on taking time to rest.
How has entrepreneurship changed you as a person?
It’s made me realize that if I set my mind to something (realistic, not too far-fetched lol), I can do it. Maybe it won’t happen in 1 year, maybe it will take 5 or 10 or 15 years, but if you visualize where you want to go, you can absolutely get there. Surround yourself with those who love and support you along the way.
