She's In!
Meet the incredible women and women-led businesses helping us bring the first GEMS Festival to life at Dummer Down Farm near Basingstoke, Hampshire, on 10–11 July 2027.
From wellness practitioners and creative workshop hosts to speakers, musicians and independent makers, each brings something of her own to our women-only festival. Discover their stories, explore what they’re bringing and get to know the faces in our growing GEMS village.
And this is only the beginning…
Meet the women joining GEMS Festival 2027
Gather · Empower · Motivate · Support · Hampshire · July 2027 ·
THE WOMEN BEHIND THE WEEKEND
SO, WHAT DOES “SHE’S IN!” ACTUALLY MEAN?
You may already have spotted our “She’s In!” announcements appearing across social media.
Every time we share one, it means another brilliant woman or women-led business has officially said yes to being part of the very first GEMS Festival.
But these aren’t simply names on a list. They are the women who will help fill the GEMS village with music, ideas, creativity, laughter, beautiful products, delicious food, moments of calm and experiences you may never have tried before.
Who will I find at GEMS?
GEMS is a festival first, but it isn’t built around just one type of experience.
Across the weekend, you’ll discover live performers and DJs, inspirational speakers, creative workshop hosts, wellness practitioners, coaches, therapists, makers, independent businesses, food and drink providers, community organisations and plenty more.
Some will help you dance and celebrate. Some will encourage you to try something new. Some will create space for you to slow down, listen, talk, make, laugh or simply take a moment for yourself.
That mix is exactly what GEMS is about
Are all the women listed here confirmed?
Yes. Every woman or business featured on this page has already booked or confirmed her place at GEMS.
We will continue adding new faces as the festival grows, so this page will keep changing between now and July 2027
Is everything they offer included in my ticket?
Many of the talks, performances, workshops, demonstrations and wellbeing sessions taking place across the weekend will be included in your festival ticket.
You’ll also find wonderful independent businesses to shop with, food and drink to enjoy, and optional treatments or premium experiences that can be purchased separately.
As the programme develops, we’ll make it clear what is included, what can be booked and where you can simply turn up and join in
Will more women be joining?
Absolutely, this is only the beginning.
New performers, speakers, workshop hosts, experience providers, traders and festival partners are joining us all the time. Every new announcement will help reveal another part of the weekend we’re creating
Keep checking back, you never know who might be “In!” next
SHE’S PART OF GEMS
MEET THE WOMEN BRINGING GEMS TO LIFE
Every woman you’ll meet below has a story, a passion and something special she wants to share with you at GEMS.
We didn’t want this to be another page filled with business names and logos. We want you to meet the actual women behind them, to discover what they do, what brings them joy, why their work matters and what they’ll be bringing to the festival.
Have a browse, follow their pages, visit their websites and get to know some of the women you’ll be spending the weekend with.
By the time July 2027 arrives, we hope you’ll already feel as though you know a few friendly faces.
Welcome to the growing GEMS village
Tara Pestell
Registered Nutritional Therapist — Winchester & Alresford
Meet Tara
Tara is the woman behind Wellhouse Nutrition, offering online support from Winchester and in-person consultations in Alresford. She helps people navigate disordered eating, food guilt and body image, working towards a more peaceful relationship with food and their bodies.
Her own experiences of illness and an eating disorder inspired her work. Tara understands how much headspace food worries can take up, and loves seeing people who thought things couldn’t change discover more freedom and confidence.
Outside work, she’s a Labrador owner or perhaps Labrador-owned!
A beginner watercolour painter and a vegetable grower battling the slugs.
A passionate home cook, she’s happiest bringing people together with good food, laughter and time to enjoy it. She once spent two years travelling Europe in a campervan with her partner and dog!
What Tara is bringing to GEMS
Tara wants to open up conversations about body image and the messages women receive about beauty, bodies and worth.
She hopes you leave knowing that struggling with body image doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you, and that these feelings don’t have to hold you back from the things you enjoy.
For Tara, GEMS brings together things she values: women supporting women, time for wellbeing and space to connect.
The feeling she hopes you take away? Things can change, and life can feel different.
And if ABBA comes on, you’ll probably find her dancing!
Tara's Links
Eloise Curtis
The Lucky Elephant
Clothing, accessories & homewares — Binsted, Hampshire
Meet Eloise
Eloise is the young entrepreneur behind The Lucky Elephant, a Hampshire business bringing together Indian jackets, block-printed homewares and accessories full of colour and personality.
With support from her parents, who have years of experience in retail, she started selling jackets and tablecloths at markets and pop-ups. Just over a year later, her collection has grown to include napkins, tote bags, wash bags, velvet glasses cases and purses. Her stalls have taken her from village fêtes and Cotswolds markets to Victorious Festival in Portsmouth.
Alongside running her business, Eloise has begun a degree apprenticeship in digital marketing with Bournemouth University and Ellie & Bea in Winchester. She loves working in fashion, visiting suppliers and helping customers find something they feel good wearing.
Outside work, you’ll find her spending time with friends or looking after Luna, her dachshund. And something you might not guess? She’s a twin!
What Eloise is bringing to GEMS
Eloise is bringing The Lucky Elephant to the Marketplace, with pieces to brighten your wardrobe, your home or someone else’s day.
Whether you’re drawn to an Indian jacket, a block-printed tablecloth or a little accessory, she hopes you discover something that feels like you and brings you happiness.
For Eloise, joining the GEMS village is also about meeting other women, connecting with local communities and enjoying the conversations that happen face to face.
Stop by, have a browse and meet the woman behind the business.
Her hope is that you leave with a little more confidence and something that makes you smile.
Eloise's Links
Visit The Lucky Elephant’s website
Jemma Giles
Massage Therapy Winchester
Massage therapist — near Easton & Winchester
Meet Jemma
Jemma offers massage therapy from a private cabin on her smallholding between Easton village and Winchester. Her approach is about giving people space to pause, feel cared for and leave feeling lighter.
Her journey into massage began with memories of her dad massaging her tired feet after long days at cookery school. Later, meeting therapists working in tents at a festival showed her a way to combine caring for people with her love of the outdoors.
Before massage, Jemma spent years travelling the world as a Cordon Bleu cook, including cooking aboard a dive boat on the Great Barrier Reef and running a summer guesthouse in southern France!
These days, she’s happiest in the countryside with her husband, her childhood sweetheart, whom she reconnected with in her early forties. Alongside her wedding venue, Field with a View Winchester, she’s creating a woodland escape for adults to recharge through crafting, nature journalling and time outdoors.
What Jemma is bringing to GEMS
You’ll find Jemma in the Wellness Sanctuary, offering massage treatments for women who want a little time for themselves during the festival.
Step into her space, stop for a while and let somebody else take care of you. You can chat if you want to, or simply settle into a quiet moment while she works on those aches and areas of tension.
Jemma loves the atmosphere of massaging in a tent, with festival sounds and women enjoying themselves nearby. For her, GEMS is a chance for women to feel held, heard and supported, connecting with nature and each other.
Her hope is that you leave feeling lighter, relaxed and perhaps a little as though you’re floating.
Massage treatments will be available to book separately.
Jemma's Links
Amy Kindleysides
Art of Rest Retreats and Meditation
Meditation teacher & Reiki practitioner — Hampshire
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Meet Amy
Amy is the woman behind Art of Rest Retreats and Meditation, creating space for people to slow down, relax and discover what proper rest can feel like. Based in Warsash, she holds most of her sessions in Durley.
Her business grew from her own experience of burnout. Learning how to look after herself led Amy to train as a meditation teacher and Reiki practitioner, and she now helps others make room for rest through classes focused on relaxation and supporting a calmer nervous system.
What she loves most is seeing people arrive carrying the stress of a busy week and leave feeling more relaxed, calm and peaceful.
Outside her holistic business, Amy is a wife, mum to two teenagers and works in a secondary school, so she understands having plenty to juggle! Nature is where she recharges, whether that’s beside the sea or among the trees. She also loves reading and sitting doing absolutely nothing, although she admits she’s still practising that one.
And something you might not guess? She studied dance at university!
What Amy is bringing to GEMS
Amy is bringing her passion for rest and meditation to GEMS, inviting women to pause and experience a little peace amid the festival.
She hopes you discover what it feels like to truly rest, with space to soften, settle and take some time for yourself.
The GEMS ethos spoke to Amy straight away. Women looking after themselves, supported by a community, is at the heart of what she does. It’s the kind of weekend she would love to attend herself, and being part of it is the icing on the cake.
The feeling she hopes you leave with is simple: peace.
Although, with a love of club classics, you might also spot her on the dance floor later!
Amy's Links
Explore Amy’s retreats and meditation classes
We will update here regularly
SO BE SURE TO CHECK BACK SOON
The Women Behind GEMS Festival
Hi, we're Michelle and Jean, and GEMS Festival is something we've been dreaming about for a long time.
As best friends of *cough* 30-something years *cough*, we know better than most how powerful it is to be surrounded by the right women at the right time. That's exactly what we want the GEMS Festival to be.
We're building this from the ground up with heart and soul, and we'd love you to be alongside us.