Gabby Jahanshahi-Edlin helps purpose-led solopreneurs and organisations build confidence, create trust and drive engagement and growth through strategic, human-centred brand communications.
She is an award-winning social entrepreneur herself, who founded the groundbreaking menstrual equity charity, Bloody Good Period, and held the role of CEO before stepping down in 2022. Alongside BGP, she co-founded Bloody Good Employers, helping companies improve their communications, culture and policies around menstruation and menopause and which was named a Natwest Top 100 Social Enterprise.
Gabby has been named one of The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2018 Top Changemaker by the Evening Standard, a Top 50 Trailblazers in Gender Equality 2021 by We Are The City and one of 100 trailblazers redefining the creative industry 2019 by The Dots. Most recently she was awarded the Newcastle University Award for Civic and Social Contribution. She is a trustee for Clore Social Leadership, and an Ambassador for Huckletree.
Projects
- PR, Bootstrapped - A Workshop for Founders and Small Businesses and CharitiesPR, Bootstrapped: A Masterclass with Gabby Jahanshahi-Edlin, Founder of Bloody Good Period http://tinyurl.com/2v4a3nwa Join us for an online masterclass with the incredible Gabby Jahanshahi-Edlin, the founder of Bloody Good Period. Get ready to learn all about PR and how to bootstrap your way to success. Gabby will share her insights and expertise on building a brand, creating impactful campaigns, and getting your message out there. Don't miss this amazing opportunity to learn from one of the
- Branding Strategy for Daring CapitalTasked with branding a new social investing company, I brought on the amazing designer, Rebecca Duncan to create a bold, challenger brand to all the pale, stale VCs out there. Creating the vision, mission, values, and subsequent messaging with founder, Jem, I think we've created something really cool. I continue to work with DC on brand and comms strategy and founder advisory.
- The Gendered Object 2015"The Gendered Object" This project was a part of my Masters in Applied Imagination in the Creative Industries at Central St Martins College of Art and Design. The title for this project comes from Pat Kirkham's 1996 book of the same name, which explores "the way in which objects in everyday life are made socially acceptable and appropriate for women and men." Let's make no bones about it. The beauty and hygiene industry is set up to make women feel like shit. That's how they make billions and
- Anti-Food Porn"#ANTIFOODPORN If you like pictures of beautifully presented food, you probably won't like me. Here's some shit food I made. And ate. And then put on Instagram as #antifoodporn. That's literally it." https://anti-foodporn.tumblr.com/ -------------- But really, it's a sort of parody of our obsession with projecting a shiny kind of life. I'm interested in how we photograph our food, perhaps as some sort of repentance for consuming calories in our body-obsessed society.
Projects credited in
- Festive Period - Flow Ho Ho!The Festive Period is back! It's the most wonderful time of the month...10
- BLOODY FUNNY!Photography credit to the bloody wonderful team at Bronac McNeill.5
- Bloody Funny: A Comedy Evening in aid of Bloody Good PeriodBloody Funny is the biggest event in Bloody Good Period's fundraising calendar, featuring some of the biggest names on the UK comedy scene uniting to raise money to fight period poverty. Conceived as a riposte to the accusation that women ‘only make jokes about periods’, Bloody Funny is a comedy fundraiser that has been running for four years. The event is the biggest in the charity’s calendar, featuring some of the leading names on the UK comedy scene uniting to raise money to fight period pov13
- About Bloody Time!The ASOOO team recently had the bloody fun task of designing Instagram assets for About Bloody Time, a live comedy panel show created to raise funds for Bloody Good Period. Up for a bloody good giggle? Tickets are still available! Join us on Saturday 8th June at Kings Place London for an evening that's sure to make you PMS-L. https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/comedy/about-bloody-time/9
- Bloody Good PeriodWhen asylum seekers reach the UK, they are given just £37.50 per week to live on, with no provision for menstrual supplies, which are classed as ‘luxury’ products. Bloody Good Period is a non-profit organisation set up to provide menstrual products for free to asylum seekers, refugees and those who can’t otherwise afford them.12
- Bloody Good Period: Festive PeriodIn November 2018 we launched a fundraising campaign for Bloody Good Period hilariously titled 'Festive Period'. First, we sent out stockings to a bunch of influencers, asking them to post pictures of themselves filling the stockings with pads on social media, using the hashtag '#flowhoho’ On bloodygoodperiod.com, we created a bespoke donations page, with donations split into three tiers. Visitors could donate to fill either a Light, Medium or Heavy stocking full of pads for someone who neede5
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Work history
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Strategic Brand Communications and Founder Advisorygabbyedlin.com
London, United KingdomFreelance
I help purpose-led solopreneurs and organisations:
- Build confidence
- Create trust
- Drive engagement and growth
through strategic, human-centred brand communications.
TL(don't want to)R?
In short, I specialise in ensuring your communications not only sound human, but that they're coherent and consistent across channels and (most importantly) suit the ethos and ambition of the work itself.
I’m also
- a former founder-CEO + founder advisor
- an award-winning social entrepreneur known for creating and branding two organisations which disrupted norms and forever changed society.
- a speaker with talks at Apple, Disney, The Guardian, Adidas and The British Library under my belt
My Journey:
- 2016: Founded Bloody Good Period after a career in the Arts left me unfulfilled.
- Developed a brand that changed the UK’s conversation around menstruation, using humour, compassion, and honesty.
- My work made waves across the non-profit sector, influencing massive culture change.
- 2019: Founded Bloody Good Employers, launched by NHS Public Health England in 2021, to drive culture change in British business.
- 2022, I stepped away from periods (professionally!), ready to embark upon my next adventure: strategic brand communications and founder advisory
Recognition & Highlights:
- Evening Standard’s Progress 1000: Named one of London’s most influential people (2018).
- We Are The City: Top 50 ‘Trailblazers in Gender Equality’ (2021).
- Featured in The British Library’s Unfinished Business exhibition.
- Covered in Vogue, Buzzfeed, BBC and many more outlets
- Subject of 2 Documentaries: Bloody Activist and Bloody Good Period: A Human Right.
- Honoured with a donut named after me by The Female Glaze!
- Permanent feature in Manchester Jewish Museum's collection of "notable Mancunians."
You can find out more about how to work with me at gabbyedlin.com or just send me a message!
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Co-Founder + DirectorBloody Good Employers
- London, United KingdomFull Time
An innovative commercial initiative reshaping workplace dynamics by improving communications, culture and policy with regards to menstruation and menopause.
Named NatWest SE100 2022 Top 100 social enterprise in the UK and NatWest “Equality” award winner in 2023.
• Based on insights gleaned from work in BGP, I identified a disruptive business opportunity in growing menstrual and menopause market in order to create sustainability for Bloody Good Period and raised initial capital to build
• Brought in co-founder and built team of manager, designers and facilitators, partnering with NHS Public Health, Middlesex University and London College of Communications to develop products
• Released first of its kind report and iInfluenced countless other companies to adopt practices
• Oversaw business development, which sold work to clients including British Red Cross; Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust; and Kingston upon Thames Council
• Handed over a growing company to Co-founder and Directors in 2022.
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Skills
- Visual Arts
- Art Direction
- Craft
- Drawing
- Fine Art
- Creative Event
- Exhibition
- Design
- Marketing Strategy
- Problem Solving
- Project Management
- Coordination
- Comedy
- Indesign
- Photoshop
Education
Applied Imagination in the Creative Industries (distinction
- London, United Kingdom
Design Thinking & Creative Social Innovation
Awards
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Evening Standard Progress 1000 Top ChangemakerEvening Standard // ES Magazine
Vice Chancellor's ScholarshipUniversity of The Arts London (UAL)
I was awarded a full MA scholarship from University of the Arts London for Academic Excellence.