High Flying Design

A note from our editor

I grew up in Clacton-on-Sea, one of the most economically inactive towns in the country. Money was tight. Building something of your own wasn't really part of the world around me.

But Dina was. She lived opposite us. Every morning she got into her Mini Cooper and drove somewhere. I was in primary school when I found out where: she had opened her own hair salon. I remember what it felt like to discover that. A woman, right across the road, who had built something entirely her own. It was the first time I understood that a different kind of life was possible. Not just for other people. Possibly for me.

When I bumped into Dina recently, I told her I would love to interview her for this magazine. She said she probably wasn't interesting enough. That nobody would want to read her story.

She is wrong. Unfortunately, she is every woman I have ever approached for this magazine.

The women I feature here are Dina. They are building something real, quietly, without the performance, without realising who is watching or what it means to them.

This magazine is for the woman who stopped following someone else's dream and started building her own. A place to come back to for real stories and practical guidance from female founders who are actually doing it.

— Shannon Kate Murray, founder & editor

Alongside the magazine, I work with small businesses in beauty, wellness, and lifestyle as a digital growth partner, building websites that serve as strong foundations for growth, and supporting a small number of clients as their ongoing strategic digital lead. Explore working with me →

My top picks

Nothing is here because someone paid for placement. Nothing is here to fill space. Everything featured has been personally tried, tested, and loved by me.

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High Flying Design is an independent online magazine for female founders, covering business, mindset and the life that surrounds it.

Proudly ranked #8 in FeedSpot's Top 50 Women's Magazines, 2025 & 2026.

Independently published from Essex, UK. Affiliate links are present throughout the site. Privacy | © High Flying Design by Shannon Kate Murray