I wanted to create a space where women could come together and know more about one another than simply what we did for a living.
So, I created TRIBE, a local women’s group here in Nelson.
Around tables, over coffee and through honest conversations, women began to connect. Friendships formed. Ideas were shared. Women supported one another in life and in business.
But something else was happening too.
We were hearing each other’s stories.
And I began to wonder what might happen if we gave those stories a bigger space.
In 2018, HERstory was born.
A live event where local women could step onto a stage and share something real from their lives. Not because they were professional speakers or had everything figured out, but because their story might help another woman feel seen, understood, or a little less alone.
Over the years, TRIBE grew and evolved into HERA Women’s Collective, but the heart of it has never changed.
It is still about women knowing women.
And HERstory is part of that same story.
Today, my work as a Life Coach, HERA Women’s Collective and HERstory are not three separate things.
They grew from one another.
Different spaces. Different ways to connect. But the same belief underneath them all:
When women have the space to know themselves, know one another and use their voice, something powerful happens.
Before HERstory, there was TRIBE.
In 2016, I was working as a life coach with women from all walks of life, and I kept seeing the same thing.
Behind the roles we play and the lives other people see are stories. Stories of change, courage, loss, reinvention, relationships, motherhood, business, starting again and finding our way.
And somewhere along the way, HERstory became more than a show.
It became a place for ordinary women to stand up and tell the stories we don’t always hear.
Stories of courage, loss, change, identity, survival, love, laughter and starting again.
Not polished. Not perfect. Just real women, telling real stories.
Because when one woman finds the courage to share her story, another woman in the room often finds a little more courage to own hers.
What began as an idea inside a women’s group has grown into one of the most special nights in Nelson.
Every HERstory is different because every woman is different.
Women have stood on our stage and shared the things that shaped them, changed them and helped them become who they are.
And every year, an audience comes together to listen, feel, reflect and celebrate the power of women’s stories.
Six shows. One stage.
So many moments we carry with us
Every HERstory is different. Different women. Different lives. Different stories.
But HERstory is as much about the women in the audience as the women on the stage. You come to listen, laugh, cry, reflect and perhaps recognise a little of your own story in someone else’s.
You leave feeling a little more connected, a little more courageous, and reminded that none of us is as alone as we sometimes think.
An evening that leaves you feeling glad you said yes to a Thursday night out.
HERstory 2026 was a wonderful night at The Suter Theatre, featuring powerful real-life talks from five local women.
The heart of the evening is the talks. Women shared honest, real stories about life, the moments that shape us, and the things we don’t always say out loud. No perfection, no filters, just real people telling real stories in a room full of women who recognise pieces of their own lives along the way.
.
It’s not formal, and it’s not a sit-up-straight kind of night. It’s a night out where you can come with your besties, your mum, your friends, or that one guy who can handle sitting in a room full of strong women.
Some stories made you smile. Some landed close to home. Some made you lean over and whisper, “That is literally me.”
You were surprised by how many stories felt familiar, or put into words things you’ve felt but never quite said.
COULD YOUR STORY BE NEXT?
Apply to be a HERstory 2027 speaker
You don’t need to be a professional speaker. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You simply need a story you’re ready to tell.
If there’s something in your life that has shaped you, changed you, challenged you or taught you something, perhaps this is your time to share it.
We choose stories told from the scar, not the wound.
Stories you have had enough time and space to understand, and that you’re ready to share not simply because they happened to you, but because they might be a gift to someone sitting in the audience.
I’ll work alongside you to help you find the heart of your story, shape it, practise it and build the confidence to tell it in your own way.
Your HERstory journey begins in HERA.
HERA gives you a sisterhood of cheerleaders. A space to belong, to be supported and to build the courage to use your voice. You can begin by sharing tiny pieces of your story around a table, over a coffee, surrounded by women who are genuinely rooting for you.
Then, when the time comes, I’ll be there as your coach, helping you take your story from conversation to stage.
Your HERstory doesn’t begin on the stage.
It begins with me, HERA, and a circle of women cheering you
on.
If you’re reading this and there’s a little voice inside saying,
maybe I could do this, I’d love to hear from you.
Caron xxx
