Move over, traditional career guides. For the next generation navigating a world of limitless career possibilities, the well-meaning advice to “follow your passion” can feel overwhelming without a map. Now, a wave of adults with truly fascinating jobs are throwing that map wide open. They’re stepping out of their labs, studios, and field sites to share the real, unfiltered career advice they wish they’d had – not just about how to land the job, but how to build a life of curiosity, resilience, and purpose. This is more than career day; it’s a mentorship movement designed to inspire the innovators, problem-solvers, and dreamers of tomorrow.
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My name is Francesca Hanshing, from Chile. I’m the ‘Master Alchémykonista’ at Velveteen’s Secret Potions (aka VSP)—which is really just our funky way of saying Head Potioneer. My alchemy is customization: I transform personal stories and rare ingredients into fragrant potions and nourishing body-menjunjes, all to make our customers feel like the Very Special People they are.
Could you walk me through a typical day or week in your role? What are your primary responsibilities?
A typical week for me is a fluid cycle of three core acts: brewing our signature potions and menjunjes as the in-house alchémykonista; shaping that craft into our brand’s funky narrative as the lead storyteller for all marketing and content; and building real-world magic with the community through events and direct engagement. These roles constantly overlap, fueling long but deeply fulfilling days. The drive comes from knowing I’m not just managing tasks—I’m curating the entire living ecosystem of VSP, which makes the work feel less like a job and more like a continuous, creative flow.
What is the most rewarding or fulfilling part of your work? What problems do you get to solve? On the flip side, what are the most significant challenges or stressful aspects of your job?
For over a decade, we’ve built a community of individuals across China who consciously choose our handcrafted potions over mass-produced alternatives. The most profound fulfillment comes from this. It’s incredibly rewarding to know that in a sea of sameness, someone finds a sense of identity, care, and magic in what I offer. My key problem to solve is maintaining our standard of magical, consistent, and ethically-sourced materials while navigating a supply chain where local supplier reliability is our biggest variable. But the triumph is that every time we solve it, we’re not just saving a product run—we’re upholding our promise. We’re proving that a small brand, built on real connections and adaptability, can deliver something genuinely special that a giant corporation never could.
How did you get to where you are today? You can talk about your educational route, pivotal moments, unplanned detours, and any other decisions that you find important.
My journey to becoming a Master Alchémykonista was born from personal necessity. When I moved to China 16 years ago, I was a loyal devotee of global luxury skincare brands. Ironically, they were failing me—causing significant skin reactions instead of solutions. I became my own first and most urgent client.
At the time, I was on a more conventional path, leveraging my MBA to run an international trading company, specializing in sourcing and market research for others. That detour became my greatest asset. I simply redirected my professional toolkit inward. I began conducting deep market and ingredient research for the beauty industry here in Asia, not for a client, but for myself. That’s how I found the solutions that the mass market couldn’t provide me.
That was the pivotal turn: realizing the solution wasn’t just to be a better consumer, but to become the creator. I founded VSP. What started as a personal remedy has grown into my full-time mission of business and product development.
Developing VSP has been the longest and richest learning curve of my life. It taught me that this work is not alchemy in a vacuum. It’s alchemy in context. Building a brand in China—especially one that challenges the dominant ‘cosmetic fixing’ beauty standard with our philosophy of ‘corpo-curator,’ or curating the body’s vitality—requires immense patience, constant adaptation, and relentless creativity. The real magic isn’t just in the mixing bowl; it’s in steadfastly offering a different, more caring narrative in a very noisy market.
Perfume
Knowing what you know now, if you could go back and give one piece of advice to your teenage self about work and life, what would it be?
“Fran, your greatest source of authority will not come from fitting into a predefined role, but from the unique map of problems you’ve had to solve for yourself. Don’t see your sensitivities, your frustrations, or the things that don’t work for you as personal failures. See them as clues. They are the very signs pointing you toward the work only you can do—the space where you will eventually build a bridge for others who share your same quiet frustrations. Your niche isn’t a limitation; it’s your compass.”
Images: Francesca Hanshing
