I recently co-hosted a dinner in my studio for fourteen amazing women, most of whom hadn’t met one another. Within a few hours, we were openly sharing our biggest dreams and fears around the candlelit table.
It was honestly incredible—a dream dinner.
The idea was born from a desire to bring people together in a more meaningful way than your average networking or press event. I wanted to create an environment where every person felt safe enough to show up authentically, connect with each other, and leave feeling inspired.
It wasn’t until I turned my art studio into an exhibition and saw people’s faces as they entered the cocooned space that I realised this was the perfect opportunity.
Together with chef Natalie Chassay, and stylists Leila Godfrey and India Cardona, we curated a list of women we wanted to connect with, and we were off.
As I said to the women sitting around the table that night, it takes a lot of vulnerability to attend an event.
A few weeks prior, I was invited to the launch of an amazing new bar. As I walked in alone, I scanned the room for a friendly or familiar face, and it dawned on me—I didn’t know anyone, and everyone else seemed to know each other. I was immediately handed a martini, which, though appreciated, derailed my plan of killing time at the bar. I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
We’ve all been there, right? In the bathroom, unnecessarily reapplying lipstick, contemplating how we can inconspicuously escape.
Those experiences can make you feel so small that you never want to put yourself out there ever again. So you stay home or stick to the people and places you know.
But one thing that moving across the world to a country where I had no friends has taught me is that making new and authentic connections is incredible.
Every once in a while, you meet someone unexpected and find yourself in an engaging, exciting conversation. So much so, you leave feeling energised and enriched. At one point during our dream dinner, I looked around the room at the women laughing and leaning into one another, and I smiled. Everyone was having that “I want to be your friend” moment.
After dinner, I asked everyone to read the question on the back of their name cards:
What is something you really want to do but haven’t out of fear?
We then went around the table and individually shared our answers. I am so grateful for the openness and vulnerability every woman in that room shared. It is a moment I will never forget.
Hosting that dinner was a big fear of mine. In the days leading up to it, I was very anxious. I had never done something like that before and was worried it was going to be just another event.
In the end, it surpassed all my expectations, and it’s something I’d like to cultivate more of. I’m not just talking about future dream dinners, which I plan on hosting, but in general—on Instagram and here in Between The Lines. I want to create an environment where everyone reading feels comfortable to reply and share.
So, I’m going to ask you the same question I asked everyone around that table:
I’d love to hear from you!
Jess x
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff369a2a2-4275-4238-abc7-46064132e0cc_1080x1350.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff83d27d7-48a4-4082-97b8-5bcf1c51aaac_1080x1350.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff350dd81-f0cb-4db1-9fcd-ab6fc1953790_1080x1350.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9b06436-fafa-468b-8559-42a20ee18ce9_1080x1350.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8db929c8-9f48-44b5-bf63-d3a80171dbee_1080x1350.jpeg)