There is a version of me that existed before this brand. A woman who had stopped doing her hair, stopped wearing makeup, and stopped getting dressed up. And then, slowly and beautifully, I found my way back to myself.
The Intimate Company was not born in a boardroom or built from a business plan. It was born from something deeply personal. A journey of healing, self-discovery and the quiet, powerful act of choosing MYSELF every single day.
Who I Am
I am Australian-Croatian, born and raised in Western Sydney and now calling Sydney's inner west home. By trade, I am a screenwriter and content producer with 11 years of writing and 6 years of producing experience. I specialise in comedy, particularly romantic comedy. I write stories that make people feel something warm, something real, something they carry with them long after the credits roll.
I have always believed that the best stories are not about what happens on the outside. They are about how something makes you feel on the inside. That belief is woven into everything The Intimate Company stands for.
The Moment Everything Changed
About eighteen months ago, I began a mental and physical wellness journey that quietly changed the trajectory of my life. And I want to be clear: It had nothing to do with weight loss or a new diet. It was about something far more meaningful than that. It was about learning to treat myself with genuine love and care, and truly seeing my own potential for the very first time.
Three months ago, I started doing my hair again. I started wearing makeup again. I started getting dressed for myself and not for anyone else. And as I walk into my 32nd year, I can honestly say I feel better than I ever did in my twenties.
It has got nothing to do with how you look. It is about how you feel in your soul and what you exude from it.
That realisation became the heartbeat of creating The Intimate Company.
Why I Built The Intimate Company
As a storyteller, I have always envisioned women in my mind. Women who move through the world feeling effortlessly beautiful, who do not dim their softness or their femininity for anyone. I want to create something that makes women feel that way in real life. Beautiful on a first date. Radiant when making love. Soft and feminine in the quiet in between moments.
I want to make women feel pretty for no reason at all and every reason at once.
I want this brand to bring out your soft and feminine side without effort. That is the whole intention. That is everything.
The Woman I Am Building This For
The Intimate Company is for the woman who knows exactly what she wants and refuses to dull down her softness to get it. She dreams big. She gives her body grace. She believes in feeling like a woman. Fully, beautifully, without saying sorry for it. No more sorries.
My personal style sits somewhere between late-nineties euro nostalgia. A great pair of jeans, a white tee, a Ralph Lauren knit or my uniform double denim. Then there is the other side of me. Full old school glamour. Leopard print, lace, fishnet stockings, a pair of Jimmy Choos, a big, bouncy blow dry, soft pink makeup and LOTS of gold. Always gold. I think that is the Eastern European in me, and I would not change it for a thing.
I love Sex and the City. Not just for the fashion, but for what it represents. A group of women who are completely themselves. Women who love their careers, love to dress beautifully, love to wine and dine, and most importantly, show up for each other. That energy lives in this brand.
The Man That Stands By My Side
No founder story is complete without acknowledging the person who stands quietly behind it all. And for me, that person is Alex, my fiancé and the love of my life.
Alex is the kind of man who has never once made me feel like I’m too much. He has never asked me to shrink my dreams, quieten my ambitions or be anything other than exactly who I am. In a world where women are so often made to feel like their softness is a weakness or their drive is intimidating, Alex has only ever made me feel celebrated. He lets me be me, completely, freely and without condition or caveats.
I genuinely believe that his love and support are one of the reasons I have been able to step into my femininity so fully. When someone truly sees you, you start to see yourself differently, too.
Alex and I are a team. We are two people who get to chase our dreams side by side, professionally and personally, and there is nothing more beautiful than that. To build a life with someone who understands the fire that lives inside you because they carry the same one. That is something I do not take for granted for a single day.
And in June, I get to marry him. I cannot put into words how much I am looking forward to that day. To stand in front of the people we love and choose each other officially. After everything, after the hard years, after the healing and the growing and the becoming, it feels like the most romantic thing I have ever been a part of. And trust me, I have written a lot of love stories. This one is my favourite.
What Drives Me
I am a major advocate for mental health and suicide prevention, and this is something I hold very close to my heart. I have personally lost family members to suicide, and while that grief has been one of the hardest things I have ever carried, it has also shaped me into the woman I am working every day to become. I share this because I believe that vulnerability is strength, and that our stories, even the painful ones, are what connect us to each other.
I am chasing every dream at once. Building The Intimate Company while continuing to write stories for film and television that make people feel something genuinely good. Because in a world that can feel so heavy, I truly believe it is time to bring a little more light in.
Be kind to all, and good things will happen to you unintentionally. I really believe that.
Welcome to The Intimate Company. I hope you love it as much as I do.
Love always,
Ivana, Founder of The Intimate Company
