Up Close and Personal with Sherine Hamdy

You may have heard of Sherine Hamdy, the host of the 'Ana wi Heya,' but don’t you want to know a little bit more about her? Well, we know you do, which is why we decided to get up close and personal with Sherine Hamdy; from what made her decide to start the 'Ana wi Heya' show to what it's like being a working mum in this day and age.

Introduce yourself to the world!
I was born and raised in Alexandria, I'm a business administration graduate from the Arab Academy for Science and Technology. I owned and managed a gift shop in Alexandria for many years. I’ve always loved fashion and media, and so when I got the chance to present 'Ana wi Heya,' I didn’t think twice.

What made you decide to start the online show 'Ana wi Heya'?
'Ana wi Heya' is managed by a production company called Tayarah (formerly known as Disalata). Its founder Mohamed El Bassiouny is an old school friend, and he approached me with the idea, which I was thrilled about, as I was a big fan of all of his shows, and was very excited to start my own. We both felt the need to create something that’s targeted towards women, which would be interesting, yet informative. 'Ana wi Heya' is a lifestyle show which talks about everything that interests women, from fashion and beauty to female success stories.

How do you plan your episodes, from picking your topic to your guests?
My topics are picked from everyday life! From our struggles to our interests, for example, I see women every day that are passionate to start a project, but don’t have the motivation, so I felt like I wanted to talk about the success story of a female entrepreneur, and motivate others to take risks (Episode 1: Laila Sedky, Founder of Nola Cupcakes). I see women who want to loose weight and don’t know how to start (Episode 8: Sports and Nutrition), others who are bored of how they look and feel that they need to make a change (Episode 9: Makeover), and so on. Once I come up with the topic idea, I then meet with my Tayarah team, and we brain-storm on how to put all the episode details together.

How would you define a "modern woman"?
A modern woman is a woman who is independent and has equal opportunities to rise and live a self-determining life. She has the opportunity as a woman in this time of change and modernization and technology to create movements in our communities, our countries, and make a change in our world.

Since you are a working mum, what advice would you give to other working mothers?
It's not easy, that’s for sure, but if you are passionate about what you're doing, you’ll never feel that you're working for a day and that’s how I feel. The key is to GET ORGANIZED. I plan everything in advance (I have a 2-week schedule that I write everything in), then I have an everyday to-do list, which I put in all the smallest details, and I time everything in it, and make sure I follow it. That way, I know I don’t miss anything. I believe that if you stick to your schedule, you’ll have time for everything.

Tell us about a typical day in Sherine Hamdy’s life?
Oh boy! On weekdays I wake up at 6am to get my son ready for school, and I take him myself, then I go back home to check and answer all my emails in an hour, then get ready to head out (It's usually for a meeting or to run some errands). Then, I pick my son up from school, and we usually have a soccer practice, then we head back home and it's ME time! I either have friends over or we go out and sometimes I have an event to attend which is always fun! And the cycle continues.

Can you give us a little teaser about what we should expect on the upcoming 'Ana wi Heya' episodes?
Expect to see some of your favorite influencers, upcoming Egyptian designers, bloggers and stylists, and I’ll also be covering one of Cairo’s top fashion events! Stay tuned.

Share with us a hidden talent you have.
I LOVE to bake! No matter how I feel, baking makes me happy! But my favorite part is decorating my goods. I’m a self taught baker, but have taken a couple of cake decorating courses. I was just getting ready to start my own cake business when I was approached for 'Ana wi Heya,' but that doesn’t stop me from making my favorite treats for family and friends.