Women Who Inspire: Sara Baumann
Meet Sara Baumann, the artist and founder behind the Women and Weapons NFT collection.
Ever since she was a young girl, Sara had dreamed of becoming a full-time artist. However, she pursued a career as a full-time Occupational Therapist, working in the hospital system, while she was selling her art on the side.
Today, through the power of digital art, NFTs, and Web 3.0, she has been finally able achieve her lifelong dream: she’s now a full-time artist, creating the breathtaking collection that celebrates brave, accomplished, and talented women.
Q: Thank you so much, Sara, for sharing your insights with us. So, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A. Take risks, because choosing to not take a risk is a risk in itself. You may never know what opportunity you could’ve had.
Q. Fabulous: Your collection has broken ground, and has been the source of tremendous inspiration. Tell us: what inspires you with your work?
A. Women and Weapons was inspired by women during the mid-20th century time period, a period where women weren’t viewed as powerful. I wanted to change that narrative, and make them powerful.
Also, I was inspired by the women who went into the workforce during the WWII era. During that time, productivity increased, the quality of products increased, and turnover time improved. Yet, these heroic women, who had loved the independence they gained and the contributions they made, were ultimately laid off from their positions, and essentially were told to “return to the kitchen”, when men came back from war.
Q: That’s powerful context to inspire your collection! Speaking of inspiration, who was/is your mentor?
A. I would say my mom has very much been my mentor throughout my life. Watching her work ethic and her passion really inspired me to persevere.
Q. It’s fair to say you’ve learned a lot in the last year. What, in your opinion, is a lesson that everyone should learn?
A. Be kind to everyone, you never know what someone is going through. Your kindness to them could help turn their day around
Q. It takes bravery to do what you’ve done. So please share: what scares you?
A. I’m frightened by anything bad happening to my loved ones.
Q. Agreed. They’re the reasons we work so hard, right? So, on the flip side, what makes you feel empowered?
A. I feel empowered whenever I’m making others smile. There is truly no better feeling than making someone laugh, or brightening their day. Even if it’s just for a little while.
Q. Terrific. We feel that! So, Sara, looking into a crystal ball, what’s next for you?
A. Next? We’re focused on bringing my characters to life. What that looks like, we’re still working on. We have bold ambitions, to 3D-model my characters, and get them metaverse-ready, for example, developing unreal engine files.
I am also interested in storytelling, whether that be via comics, or an animated series. We’re branching out into exclusive streetwear and collectibles. I’m getting back to my roots, creating 1/1 pieces; 1 for each month in 2022, that will be airdropped to a random WAW holder each month. And the 2nd season is also coming out. Not a lot of info at the moment, but I’m very excited about it. We’re actively pursuing brand partnerships to help build the brand and leverage our IP.
As always, our greatest mission is to be one of the most charitable NFT organizations out there. Thus far, we’ve donated over $120k to the Malala fund. We donated 5% of our initial sales, and continue to donate 5% of our secondary sales each quarter.
Q. Sara, it was so satisfying to get to know you a little. Thank you for your time. So, as we always do, here at 90s Babes, we end with a question about 90s nostalgia: What’s a gadget from the 90s that you miss the most?
A. The old-school walkie-talkie — that was one of my favorite things as a kid! I felt so cool, being able to talk to my dad or my friends from down the block, or from a different room!
Thanks again, Sara. We appreciate you and your achievements — and we can’t wait to see where you take your beautiful collection next!
Here’s a chance to hear Sara’s insights, from wherever you are in the world! Join us in our Twitter Space called Women Who Inspire, where we’ll be interviewing Sara live! Tune in this Wednesday, February 16 at 4:30 PM PST | 7:30 PM EST
Plus, we invite you to learn more about Sara and her inspiring collection below:
www.womenandweapons.io
@womenandweapons
@NFTSaraBaumann
