Go where you are CELEBRATED

Go where you are CELEBRATED

by | Aug 23, 2018 | Fashion, LifeStyle, Travel

Happy Tuesday everyone, Many of you know I celebrated my birthday last week with a trip to beautiful Cartagena, Columbia.  I’d been wanting to go there for years, but really didn’t know what to expect.  I can honestly say, Cartagena really surprised me.  If I had to sum up my entire experience into one phrase, it would be “Go where you are celebrated”. All women are embraced there, but I feel like women of color are truly celebrated in Cartagena.  There are African influences everywhere! In particular, billboards, breathtaking murals and beautiful pictures of women of color all around.  This is often taken for granted, but as a woman of color my trip to Cartagena was the first time I ever felt really embraced in a country.  Not only were women of color posted everywhere, people were extremely friendly, nice and helpful towards me.  Again, something I haven’t always experienced in other countries.  By the way, since there were so many beautiful murals, I’ll be posting another blog post of the murals, and the Walled City. Once of the major reasons why I’ve had this colorful, vibrant, and happy city on my bucket list for so long is because of the Afro-Columbian community that I wanted to learn more about, as well as where the african influences originated from.  I can be bit of a history fanatic at times, and as I’ve grown older my desire to learn more about it has grown exponentially. On my second day in Colombia, I took a tour to San Basilio de Palenque, which is an african village almost an hour outside of...
The Debut: Never Forget Where You Came From

The Debut: Never Forget Where You Came From

by | Sep 14, 2015 | Fashion, Style

A year ago my deepest love for Africa and passion for giving back inspired me to start my own handmade African jewelry line.  My goal is to help educate and share with the world the beautiful African Krobo Trade Beads or sometimes referred to as African Slave Beads from Ghana, West Africa. Krobo, powder glass trade beads are the most popular type of recycled African Beads made using the recycled glass procedure.  They have been popular since the 18th Century when used as a currency for trade.  The Krobo people of Ghana are attributed with the earliest production of powder glass beads, widely recognized as the eco-friendly alternative to blown-glass creations.  Glass remnants are sourced from general waste such as broken bottles and jars.  These are ground down to what is known as “fritt”, which is a fine powder-like consistency, and then added to porcelain molds lined with a clay.  The molds are placed in a kiln, and prior to cooling the glass is shaped into the beads.  Each and every one of the beads I use in my jewelry designs are carefully selected, and hand-made by me in North Carolina.  This is custom made-to-order, one of a kind jewelry. One of the business goals with regards to my jewelry making is a 10% of each sold item give back to three families located directly in Ghana.  This will help provide financial assistance needed to take care of their families, which is personal for me.  I strongly believe in sowing back into the region where these gorgeous beads are created.  As my business grows, I plan to increase the...