Continuing our long relationship with Bastet Noir, Mindthis Magazine’s fashion section continues to highlight empowered women and their stories that have changed the fashion world. Enjoy the complete series at Bastet Noir.
They say history favors the courageous, the bold and the risk takers and not so long ago history’s most celebrated fascinating figures were exclusively men. They were the only ones whose legacy lived on long after their demise. The history we’re making today though has a different ring to it. It doesn’t only favor men, but puts brave women at the front and center. These women deserve to be praised not just because they’re female, but because their drive and passion make them move mountains and conjure empires out of thin air.
Building an empire is never easy. It takes grid, hustle, persistance and incredible patience to make things work. Sure, drive and passion help, but they are simply just words without meaning if it wasn’t for ambition, vision and a solid execution plan involved in the whole scenario. For Natasha Case, the co-founder of Coolhaus, these character traits together with the incredible inate creativity and sort of quirky uniqueness are the sole responsible culprits of her multi million dollar ice-cream empire. That and a woman behind the woman, Freya Estreller, her business and life partner, because behind every successful woman stands another woman.
So, who is Natasha Case really? Simply put, she is our next cool face of Bastet Noir. More elaborately though, she is a self-made millionaire and the queen of artisanal ice-cream. She is the co-founder of Coolhaus, an LA inventive ice-cream brand with an architectural twist that started from a food truck during Coachella music festival in the spring of 2009 and became a viral hit overnight. Her impressive life resume counts a degree from UC Berkeley, masters in architecture from UCLA and a job as an architectural intern at Walt Disney Imagineering in Hotel and Master Planning. Her incredible rise to one of world’s most fascinating women entrepreneurs is covered in publications like Bloomberg, Inc.com, Refinery29 , Elle.com to name a few.
In addition to that, as if she hasn’t already been impressive enough, back in 2014 she was named Forbes 30 Under 30 for Food and Beverage, and Zagat 30 Under 30 in New York City. Blending the love for food and architecture, she coined the term “Farchitecture” while experimenting with cookies and ice-cream, naming these little pieces of heaven after famous architects. Today, Coolhaus distributes in 6,000+ grocery stores ranging from Whole Foods to Safeway to Publix markets. Its flavors have been served in the White House for President Obama and endorsed by people like Cindy Crawford. So these are the reasons why she’s one of the coolest faces we’ve had the privilege to work with. Read on as she shares valuable lifetime advices on what inspires her and how you too can tap that potential and build your own Haus.
BASTET NOIR: Who is Natasha Case?
NC: She is a grateful and hardworking businesswoman, wife and mother — proud of Coolhaus as a successful women-owned brand. She is fearless, likes to have fun and make people laugh.
BASTET NOIR: What’s your morning ritual?
NC: I have a matcha latte with plant based milk, take my son, Remy, out of his crib and have breakfast outside or inside depending on the weather. We usually have yogurt and berries, listening to the news and music together.
BASTET NOIR: What’s the greatest booster of your creativity?
NC: Taking time away from the office, going outside of your bubble to enjoy quality time in life. I also really love alternative forms of transportation, like a bike ride — something about moving around the city, but not in the car, is very inspiring.
BASTET NOIR: Best part about your job…
NC: The people I meet and the products I make.
BASTET NOIR: Worst part about your job..
NC: Having to make tough decisions that are difficult in that moment, but you know will pay off in the long term.
BASTET NOIR: Best motivational speech
NC: Reese Witherspoon’s speech at the 2017 Glamour Women of the Year Awards.
BASTET NOIR: Three things you wish you knew before starting out…
- You actually know more than you think when you are starting out, even if you feel like you don’t. Stay true to initial instincts and ideas.
- Stay true to your identity and persona — you don’t have to dilute things about yourself for acceptance — when you are the leader, people want to see how you are different.
- Trucks break down a lot!
Natasha Case and Freya Estreller at GoogleTalk
BASTET NOIR: Proudest moment to date
NC: Serving Coolhaus at the White House for President Obama.
BASTET NOIR: What’s in your Bastet Noir cart?
NC: The red silk jumpsuit and the pink silk jumpsuit.
Investing in yourself is always a good idea. Investing in something you’re passionate about is even a better one, but investing in your own businesses is the best decision you can possibly make. Don’t let fear of failure ever stop you from dreaming, because empires are built on defeats, so long as you remember to treat each one of them as a roadmap to learning valuable life lessons. So, thank you Natasha for encouraging us, entrusting us with the responsibility to narate your entrepreneurial story and supporting our brand.
We love strong, confident and self reliant women, so if you think you got what it takes, send us an email with your Instagram account and the story you’d like to share and you might just become Bastet Noir’s next cool face.
If you liked Natasha’s story, there’s plenty more to come, just hit that sign up button to get in our inner circle of coolness and never ever miss a thang.