My Life In Seven Charms with Annoushka Ducas MBE

Welcome back to My Life In Seven Charms where today I am joined by Michelle Kennedy, co-founder and CEO of Peanut: the social networking app for women focused on fertility, pregnancy, motherhood and menopause. Starting her career in law, Michelle rose to become Deputy CEO of the dating appBadoo and she then served as a board member at Bumble, another leading dating apps. 

Feeling lonely after the giving birth, and frustrated at the lack of connection and resources for new mothers, Michelle drew on her extensive tech background to co-found Peanut as a space for mothers to meet and build relationships. 

In 2022, PEANUT was named one of Time Magazine’S Top 100 most influential companies, and I'm fascinated to find out more about the person behind the app and what mistakes and sacrifices she has made along the way in a typically male-dominated tech world. 

Welcome Michelle Kennedy to My Life in Seven Charms.

“Welcome back to My Life In Seven Charms where today I am joined by Amanda Wakeley OBE, the renowned British fashion designer, creative director and podcast host.

Amanda Wakeley founded her eponymous brand in 1990 following a modelling career in New York in the 1980s. From her boutique and studio in Chelsea, Amanda built a global brand renowned for its elegant signature style. Over 31 years, Amanda Wakeley designs became beloved wardrobe staples for iconic women including Diana, Princess of Wales and Angelina Jolie. In 2021 she had to make the truly difficult decision to close her doors and put her beloved business into administration. Amanda has since become a popular writer, commentator and creative director and host of the Amanda Wakeley: Style DNA podcast, where she hears from famous faces sharing their best and worst fashion moments. 

Join me as I explore Amanda’s inspiring career and understand the challenges she has encountered along the way. 

Welcome Amanda Wakeley to My Life in Seven Charms.

“Welcome back to My Life In Seven Charms where today I am joined by Margie Nomura - chef, food writer and host of the brilliant Desert Island Dishes podcast. After graduating from the world-renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School in 2010, Margie has enjoyed a fascinating and varied culinary career, from teaching Zulu women to cook in South Africa to cooking for the late Queen Elizabeth. Margie launched Desert Island Dishes in 2017 and has been joined by incredible figures including Michel Roux, Marcus Wareing and Stanley Tucci.

Having explored the seven dishes that have shaped her numerous guests’ lives, I am delighted to turn the tables today and speak with Margie about her life, as told through her seven charms. 

Welcome Margie Nomura to My Life in Seven Charms.

“Welcome back to My Life In Seven Charms where today I am joined by Peony Lim - creative director, content creator and brand consultant.

Peony is one of the original influencers. Drawing on her time studying Fashion Promotion and then Art History at the Courtauld Institute,  she created a blog that changed not only her life but the way in which we are influenced by tastemakers.  It is so familiar now that it is easy to forget that iTS been a huge and fast revolution - and she was there ,at the forefront.

 Peony began her first blog in November 2010,  and after only a month she secured her first contract and has gone on to create content for the world’s most prestigious luxury brands including CHANEL and Hermès. Since then, she has become one of the UK’s leading and most recognisable luxury lifestyle content creators. 

I’m really looking forward to finding out more about the person behind the content, exploring her personal stories and experiences through her chosen charms.  

Welcome Peony Lim to My Life in Seven Charms.

Welcome back to My Life In Seven Charms where today I am joined by Emma Gunavardhana; better known as Emma Gunns -a leading podcaster, beauty journalist and presenter. Emma spent ten years as the Beauty Editor of OK! Magazine and her extensive career includes writing for The Telegraph and Sunday Times Style, Red and Get the Gloss amongst many  others.  Emma launched her renowned podcast, The Emma Guns Show, in 2016 and now with over 15 million downloads she has intimate conversations with her guests about the risks they've taken, struggles they've had to overcome, successes they’re proud of… and what they’ve learned along the way.

Having boldly overcome her own personal challenges with her appearance and mental health, I am so looking forward to learning more about Emma’s life stories through her own carefully chosen seven charms. 

Welcome Emma Gunavardhana to My Life in Seven Charms.

Back by popular demand and on International Dog Day, listen to the latest episode of our podcast My Life In Seven Charms, with iconic florist and founder of the Wild at Heart Foundation for dogs, Nikki Tibbles. In an emotive chat Nikki and Annoushka swap notes on their mutual love of clashing colour, the smell of dog paws (if you know you know!) and discuss why flowers and jewellery are the ultimate combination!

The world of Michelin starred chefs in the UK has traditionally been dominated by men. My guest today on My Life In Seven Charms was one of the first women to smash that particular ceiling with her brand of simple, beautifully cooked, delicious food. Born of Italian and Irish parentage, she spent her early childhood learning to roll pasta with her beloved Nonna. Her first accolade was her Brownie badge for cookery, which was to be followed by Michelin stars, an MBE for services to hospitality,  a raft of TV appearances, and several books and newspaper columns.  I’m so delighted to be talking to Angela Hartnett about her life in seven charms.

Charli Howard is a model, a writer, an activist and an entrepreneur. Her stellar career, and her profile, was kick-started by a brilliantly defiant letter she posted on Facebook having been fired by the first agency who signed her. Since then, as well as writing novels and creating her own skincare brand, she has become a catalyst for women celebrating their bodies, embracing their curves, and loving the skin they are in - she is a fabulous example of doing so.

We are delighted to open Series 3 with an authority in the jewellery world and the 2022 Gem Award Winner for Media Excellence - Mel Grant. Mel is an award-winning author, writer, curator, stylist and art director and has written a definitive book on key designers and curated an influential exhibition celebrating black jewellery talent for Sotheby’s New York. She is the Jewellery Editor for The Economist and writes for Vogue, Vanity Fair and Tatler. One of her earliest memories is twirling around her grandmother’s garden wearing all of her jewellery and being captivated by the experience. She also knew that she wanted to be a journalist from when she was eight. Her writing is alive with the vibrancy and joy of having combined those two passions. I’m delighted to welcome Melanie Grant to My Life In Seven Charms

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Born into a creative, bohemian family who own the largest apple orchard in Europe, my guest this week has been called the Ralph Lauren of British fashion. Famous for her beautiful, ethereal clothing which is worn by women all over the world, she began, in her own words, as a ‘girl from Somerset designing tea dresses.’ During lockdown she has created a fabulous emporium back in her beloved Somerset. I can’t wait to hear all about it and am delighted to welcome Alice Temperley to My Life In Seven Charms.

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Our final guest on this series of MLISC began her life as an occasional, very tiny guest on Blue Peter. Smart, beautiful and cool, she became a successful pop singer with a string of hits. She’s been a Strictly finalist and one of the Masked Singers. She’s the mother of five gorgeous boys. She danced into all of our homes with her Kitchen Disco during Lockdown and turned it into a best selling album. She’s currently brimfull of new projects, with a successful podcast and her first book coming out this Ocotber. I’m delighted to welcome Sophie Ellis Bextor to My Life in Seven Charms.

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Stylist, editor and creative director, my guest today on My Life In Seven Charms is also known as the Queen of Thrift. A trailblazer who combined second-hand shop finds with couture for luxury shoots, she brought thrift into the mainstream. Her recent pop-up Oxfam store at Selfridges, fronted by Michaela Cole, was a sell-out. Her emphasis on the joy of thrifting has reached new audiences as fashion begins to think more about sustainability. She’s also a talented photographer who has shot covers and editorial for magazines all over the world, she has that most elusive of qualities –a  brilliant eye. I’m delighted to welcome Bay Garnett to My Life In Seven Charms.

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Known to fashionistas as the much-loved Mrs B, my next guest on the podcast is the original curator, the first and foremost fashion retailer with her multi-brand emporium Browns. A persuader, who was able to entice luxe brands to London, and a nurturer who scooped up entire collections from Central St Martin’s graduate shows, her career has spanned over fifty years in fashion. The first woman to wear trousers in Claridges, her style and her instinctive eye have made her an icon. I’m delighted to welcome Joan Burstein to My Life In Seven Charms.

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Writer, historian, educator, and someone who shone a light for millions of people around the world onto the recent history of China, Jung Chang wrote Wild Swans, one of the most influential multi-generational biographies of our time. She has also written meticulously researched books on Chinese leaders such as Chairman Mao and the Dowager Empress Cixi. Born fourteen years before the Cultural Revolution began, Jung Chang was swept up by that particular tide of history.

Briefly a member of the Red Guard, and then a so-called barefoot doctor, electrician and steelworker, she watched her parents being repeatedly denounced and her father’s heath utterly broken by his treatment. When the universities re-opened in 1973, she was galvanised to begin studying, and she came to the UK on a Chinese government scholarship as a postgraduate student. She was the first Chinese person to gain a Phd in the UK. A visit here from her mother began the train of events which resulted in Wild Swans and then her life changed for ever. It became the highest-selling non-fiction paperback book ever published. I’m delighted to welcome Jung Chang to My Life in Seven Charms.

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Creating the spaces that people call home takes style, flair and emotional insight. They are qualities that my guest this week on My Life in Seven Charms has in spades. Her ascent has been remarkable. Founding her own agency aged only 24, she has quickly gained a reputation for warm, uplifting, gorgeous rooms which are filled with beautiful art. Eclectic and strong on sustainability, she draws on a boho upbringing which weaves together South Africa, Devon, New York and now London. Her Instagram following is made up of chic, savvy, interiors-obsessed millennials who love her ‘how-to’ advice. Already a trail-blazer, I’m delighted to welcome Sophie Ashby to My Life in Seven Charms.

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A International Women's Day Special - Being an Olympic gold medalist in one discipline takes talent, courage and resilience. Being an Olympic gold medalist in an event that requires brilliance in seven of them is utterly awe-inspiring. My guest this week found athletics when she was eight, and she was instantly smitten. Displaying extraordinary commitment and determination from the word go, striking gold with a historic win at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, an OBE, an ambassador for many charities, a cheerleader for girls' participation in sport. She is also a mother of four children. I'm so thrilled to welcome the amazing Denise Lewis OBE to My Life In Seven Charms.

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A must-listen for any budding entrepreneur or dynamic creative, this week’s episode is with Holly Tucker. A trailblazer, an entrepreneur and a cheerleader for hundreds of small businesses, she founded Not On The High Street and in more recent years, Holly & Co. However, like many people, Holly's path to her passion has had some major obstacles, which true to her effervescent spirit, she has overcome with determination and grace. She has, as the poem says, met with triumph and disaster and treated them the same. Ahead of her time in the opportunity she spotted, she had the guts to persevere in the face of the mostly-men who said no and went on to make the British high street a virtual one.

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Rachel Johnson is undoubtedly a high achiever, having navigated a career as a novelist, journalist, editor and now broadcaster on prime time radio and yet as many women of talent have often been, is all too often categorised primarily as the sister or daughter of a prominent man. A member of one of the most well-known political families of our time, in this chat Rachel, explores childhood memories on the family farm in Exmoor, her deep connection and admiration for her parents and how she manages her place among 3, independent-from-the-word-go, brothers.

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The doyenne of decadence, Lucia van der Post is the pre-digital influencer having crafted a career as a tastemaker and a curator of beautiful things, most notably in her role which spans some decades, at The Financial Times How To Spend It Magazine, which she was fundamental to launching in the mid-1980s. In this, at times emotional chat with Annoushka, Lucia shares tales of early years in her native South Africa, where she spent her formative years during apartheid and talks openly about her late, great philosopher, explorer and conservationist father Laurens van der Post.

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Interior and Textile designer Kit Kemp is best known for shaping the boutique hotel industry known and loved today. Renowned for her stylish and witty aesthetic, immortalised through three critically-acclaimed books, here she shares childhood memories and tales of young love with Annoushka in a relaxed chat at The Hamyard Hotel.

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An icon in the world of fashion journalism, Alexandra Shulman OBE is British Vogue’s longest-serving Editor-In-Chief, as well as a successful author.  In this candid chat she reflects on life post Vogue; shares anecdotes from her time in the lens and unpicks how she balanced that with her other role, as a Mother.

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It has been said that no other individual currently working in fashion has seen the industry from as many angles as Caroline Issa, she’s a designer, an innovator and as the Editor of cult title TANK Magazine - a woman in love with both the written and spoken word. In this informal chat between friends, Caroline recalls childhood memories in Canada, how she discovered her roots in Tehran and how her love of food has taken her across the globe.

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Born into the rigid social hierarchy of the English aristocracy in the 1930’s, Lady Anne Glenconner’s life was stitched for many decades into the tapestry of the royal household, most notably as the late Princess Margaret’s lady In waiting. An author at 85, with her bestselling autobiography Lady In Waiting, My Extraordinary Life In The Shadow Of The Crown and on the cusp of launching her debut fiction Murder On Mustique, this is a candid and witty account of her truly remarkable life.

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Jeweller Annoushka Ducas MBE has been collecting charms for as long as she can remember. Here she explores their unique ability to evoke memory and meaning with seven inspiring women, as they reveal their Life In Seven Charms.