[00:00:00] Speaker A: I'm Lila Rhee. And I'm Nick B. Listen, we're just two single girls from the city of roses discussing all things love, lust and perception. And roses are a symbol of all.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Things beautiful about love.
[00:00:11] Speaker A: But as you know, love can get a little dirty. So we're here to talk about it. Dirty Roses podcast starts now.
Hey, I'm Lela Ree.
[00:00:20] Speaker C: And I am Charlisa Shadowbox.
[00:00:22] Speaker A: All right, and welcome to Dirty Roses podcast. Now today we have like the ultimate of all ultimates of hair care and beauty care and all the things. And of course, a little bit of bling bling in the mix. But because we doing this show the way that we're doing this show today, you all know that Ms. Charlisa Shadowbox Harris is my stylist and we be doing all kinds of crazy things. So we want to feature our product today. Ms. Shadowbox, what you got?
[00:00:48] Speaker C: I got the tame leave in conditioner. This is the staple item in the Milani vegan hair and body care line. This is the OG and, and this is the perfect product that you can use for so many different purposes. If your kid is super tender headed, you can spray that on to help detangle. If you've got the curly hair, then you can spray that on. We could even put it on this straight hair in order to, you know, be able to blow dry it. It goes perfectly on wigs. It's just the beauty supply that's in la, they call it the. The because you can use it for all the things. So tame leaving condition.
[00:01:22] Speaker A: And y' all know that I be rocking the. The weaves and the sew ins and it is absolutely how of my tresses in between care in. In between appointments. And I can keep these, these bundles for a very long time. So y' all make sure y' all check out Lisa Shadow box hairs at what's the website?
[00:01:39] Speaker C: Milani beauty.com.
[00:01:41] Speaker A: Okay, get that tame, y'. All.
[00:01:42] Speaker C: Cuz use code Lee.
[00:01:43] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:01:44] Speaker C: Like, she doesn't like to plug herself, but use code Lee in order to get additional.
[00:01:48] Speaker A: And that's L E I G H. Okay. Get you a little extra savings courtesy of moi. Okay? But today I cannot tell you how excited I am today. We have like the ultimate duo here of all things glam beauty, wigs, hair care, community, paint and sips, community like events. I mean, it is, it's going down. And as you can see on the table, we got some things. So usually we start with the story. This story is going to be how I met this wonderful Beautiful queen. And I think we'll change our names to Queens today. I'm Queen Lee Laree. Okay.
But I met this queen because I actually used to work with her sister. And her sister came to the office and she had one of these blinged out water bottles that you see on the T.
If you don't see the episode, you're listening. We will definitely plug it in the show notes. But she had this water bottle, and I was like, I love things sparkly. I love all things sparkly. And I tried to take it, and she was like, no, but my sis got you. And so I was like, okay. So we exchanged information. I talked on the phone. She was like, yes, Queen.
Hey, Queen.
Every time you talk to her, it's Queen. I was like, oh, I like her already. I love her. And from there, I was at every pop up, every event, she was there. And she has everything custom. I'm talking about custom blinged out earrings, jewelry, purses, water bottles, bags. I mean, and then we're going to get into these wigs. Oh, the outfits, too. Because the outfits. Be on point. Listen, we got Queen.
Queen Charlise Lewis in the building.
[00:03:18] Speaker D: Thank you.
[00:03:19] Speaker A: Yes. Thank you so much.
[00:03:21] Speaker C: Yes. And we've got Ambrosia here. Actually, it's such a small world because Ambrosia and I met years ago when you were looking for someone to color your hair, and then you ended up being my model for the first commercial that was ever shot, especially at our new location that we're in. So it's really funny how things come around full circle. But Ambrosia has the boutique. She's got the paint and sip. Or are you guys sipping?
[00:03:46] Speaker B: We have. We have sparkling cider.
[00:03:48] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:03:49] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:03:49] Speaker C: I was going to say.
[00:03:52] Speaker B: I come to you, you get your bartender, you get your caterer, and I'm teaching and bringing all the paint supplies.
[00:03:58] Speaker C: I love it. Cuz I was like, I know this is a sanctified operation.
[00:04:01] Speaker A: Listen, I was sure they were sitting.
[00:04:03] Speaker C: You know, we on communion juice up in here.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: But I also do my services for people who are in recovery and things like that. So they want to have a good time and have nice wine glasses and stuff. But they use sparkling cider.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: We can do some good mocktails.
[00:04:17] Speaker C: It's always about community. That's why I want to highlight, like, it's just always about, like, making sure that you're making your mark in the community for both of us.
[00:04:24] Speaker B: Of course.
[00:04:25] Speaker A: I love that. Well, welcome Queen Ambrosia and Queen Traleece and Queen Shadowbox. So Baby, we queens today.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:04:32] Speaker A: Tell me, where did queen come from? Because that is like your staple phrase.
[00:04:36] Speaker D: Yes, queen came from. Because, you know, our ancestors, they paved the way. And I wanted to remind us that we are queens and we work hard, we come from good stock, and we deserve to be honored.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:04:59] Speaker D: Each and every person that enters my store, I want you to know that I honor you. And each and every person that I come and that cross my path, I want you to know that I honor you and I appreciate you and I love you.
So that is why I call kings and queens kings and queens, because that is who you are, that is what you represent, and that is what our ancestors who paved the way for us.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: Absolutely. And speaking of honoring, you established your business in honor of your mom. So tell us a little bit about that.
[00:05:37] Speaker D: May my mom rest in peace.
She passed in 2012, and I asked my sister and them could I name my business after my mother. So I'm very protective of the name because it's her legacy.
And I named and my daughter, who I also lost is baby Kelly. Me and my husband after my mom. In honor of her is named after my mom. And my mom was a person who took care of everybody. She was a nurturer, and she loved a good wig, and she taught me and educated me surrounding wigs. And so I wanted to honor my mom in that way. And my mom always served community, and she always took care of everybody. She was a nurse for over 33 plus years. She was a hospice nurse. And I followed in my mom's footsteps.
[00:06:28] Speaker A: I was gonna say, because you had 15 years in healthcare before you even really dipped and dived into this whole wig kingdom.
[00:06:35] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:06:36] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:37] Speaker D: Yeah.
Mixed the two. I went to Beaumont Beauty School, and then Covid happened, and I began to make quick weave hat wigs, which I still rock and make today. But I only make my hat wigs when my energy is in a good space. So if my energy is off, I will not create, because my mom would always teach me that we use our hands to heal.
[00:07:01] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:07:01] Speaker D: And oftentimes, people who are dealing with hair loss and our hair challenges, and that includes men, women, and children, because oftentimes they are forgotten.
And if our energy is off and somebody is trying to heal from a medical condition and you're working on their head, you're transferring that energy into that person.
They may have not told you medically, but you can definitely sense that they may be going through something when you're working on something. So if I'm off, I'm not going to then pour my craft onto what I'm creating to put on somebody's head. So I'm very mindful and appreciative of that and my craft because this is what God has called me to do. So I always tell my customer, I did it the other day.
I was like, hey, your. Your hat wig is going to be a little late, or your wig service is going to be a little late, because my energy is off. And my customers appreciate that about.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: I was going to ask, how do they respond to that?
[00:07:57] Speaker D: I've never had a customer be upset with me. Because when you honest and you communicate, they appreciate it. It's just all about communication.
[00:08:05] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:08:06] Speaker D: And I'm up front about it.
[00:08:07] Speaker C: It's also about the energy as well, because people. I. I don't feel like people happen upon you by accident. So I think it's about the energy that you put out and the fact that people gravitate to you. So I could imagine that people are very understanding of that because they know that you're that safe space.
[00:08:23] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:08:24] Speaker C: You know, with us. And I definitely can resonate with how you were saying, making sure that your energy is intact, because it was the same thing. My grandmother was the entrepreneur, and when I let her know I was going to bed school, the first thing she said, make sure your spirit's in the right place, because you're touching people and you're transferring that energy onto people.
[00:08:41] Speaker D: So.
[00:08:41] Speaker C: And she's like, and if your energy is messed up, you're gonna have bald head clients.
[00:08:45] Speaker D: Now listen, we don't want that.
[00:08:46] Speaker A: Listen. Now, the way that that is also reciprocated in her salon, because I know she was quick to be like, mm, mm, your energy is off. Get out my salon. And I crack up every single time. I swear to God, she'd be calling, she's like, girl, this lady done brought a cat to the.
I will never forget that story.
[00:09:04] Speaker D: I swear.
[00:09:05] Speaker C: I had to tell people the other day when they were joking, like, with the reel that we did, and they were like, oh, that's so funny. I was like, the funny thing is that she was a true story.
[00:09:13] Speaker B: Emotional support animal.
[00:09:16] Speaker C: He wasn't emotionally supporting me.
[00:09:20] Speaker A: And the cleanliness of our space.
[00:09:21] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:09:23] Speaker C: Especially because the cats were, like, rabid. Like, she couldn't.
She couldn't keep the cats at home, so she had to bring them with her because they were becoming a nuisance in her apartment building. So I'm like, so what are they supposed to do here?
[00:09:37] Speaker A: Right.
[00:09:38] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:09:38] Speaker B: Right. Yeah, I'll be Honest, I'm picturing muzzles.
[00:09:42] Speaker D: Listen, she had them in a stroller.
[00:09:44] Speaker C: I said, lord, I'm gonna be quite.
[00:09:46] Speaker D: Look, I'm an animal lover.
[00:09:49] Speaker A: I have pets. Listen, I tell you, I have pets too. But what I'm not gonna do is go to a salon or a restaurant. I even barely like it at the grocery store. I just. I'm weird about hair and food and pets. And in my thing, like, my animals don't go in my room or the kitchen. Or the kitchen. Or the kitchen.
[00:10:09] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:10:09] Speaker C: Because there needs to be sanitary spaces. There's such a thing as having it too sanitary when you've got animals and.
[00:10:15] Speaker B: Things like that around.
[00:10:16] Speaker C: So I was like, ma', am, no, we can't do this.
[00:10:19] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:10:19] Speaker A: We don't play games.
So what made you transition from healthcare to doing wigs and like this creative, entrepreneurial shit that you got?
[00:10:28] Speaker D: Queen? I still like to think I'm still into healthcare through the grace of God.
I'm in partnership with Kaiser, and so I provide wigs. I'm Kaiser's wig wholesaler. So I provide the wigs for Kaiser as well, which is a blessing. And then I do not sell a wig that I do not wear. So I test each and every wig and making sure that educating people surrounding wigs and often something that is definitely not taught in beauty school.
[00:11:01] Speaker B: Right.
[00:11:02] Speaker D: And Queen, you know that.
[00:11:03] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:11:04] Speaker D: That is something that definitely. Yeah, definitely.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: That seems to be a trend with, like, ethnic hair. And I use. I use air quotes because braiding was the whole thing.
[00:11:14] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:11:15] Speaker A: And like, natural hair care is the whole thing. But when you go to the schools to get licensed to be able to practice the things that they don't teach.
[00:11:22] Speaker C: Right.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: You don't learn those things in the school.
[00:11:24] Speaker D: They don't teach about wigs.
[00:11:25] Speaker A: Right.
[00:11:25] Speaker C: And then it also becomes comes of minimizing when it comes to things that are centered around our community.
[00:11:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:31] Speaker C: So it's not taken as seriously. So although all cultures do, you know, have hair wear wigs, hair extensions and things like that, somehow when it comes to our part of the industry, they minimize it to being like, oh, that's. That's different.
[00:11:47] Speaker D: Yeah, you know. Yep. Yes. And so I just.
I tried to be very mindful of that and.
[00:11:54] Speaker B: Right.
[00:11:55] Speaker A: Include.
[00:11:56] Speaker D: And I found that it wasn't taught. And I wanted to create a space. So it's trying to find.
Fill the gap that wasn't filled. And so this is what God has called me to do. I was like, oh, Lord, who's gonna support me?
You want me to do this.
I stare.
[00:12:16] Speaker A: Yes.
And that's a huge, like, step in faith. And I know Queen Ambrose, you talked about, you know, how you do this, this kind of work, but in a different aspect with the paint sips and like the, the coming together to be creative and like an outlet. So how, what, what was the biggest step that you took into moving in that direction that was kind of different from what you could have been doing?
[00:12:37] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
I don't know if we got enough time, but, but seriously, coming from working with children and families, whether it was teaching dance, whether it was working for dhs, child welfare, or currently with my day job of creating programs for a mental health organization.
And I still collaborate with that organization and with others to provide the services that I provide.
But it was never too far fetched for me because again, it was about teaching and helping people. And I tell people my talent is not just like, oh, paint this, this mural or anything like that. My talent is showing you and teaching you that you can relieve stress, you can heal from some trauma, you can be able to talk about things. People release things when they're doing art and they're drawing. You see, when you're learning something, you're doodling or you're trying to, it's helping you focus and it's helping you to be able to release some things that are inside. And so I like to say, look, I'm not selling these huge, huge paintings, but what I am selling is the ability to be able to teach you and show you not just a good time, but that you can create art too.
[00:13:51] Speaker C: That's amazing. And I'm sure that it does so much for the mental health and because I think we've also grown so accustomed to like, suppressing things. And so sometimes we're always like, I'm okay, I'm okay. So I'm pretty sure you've had those moments that in the course of creating that they realize maybe I'm not quite so okay.
[00:14:10] Speaker B: Right?
[00:14:10] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:14:11] Speaker B: And a lot of people, especially black males, surprisingly, they're just like, I didn't know that I could create something like this. And one of the number one rules in my class is no negative talk.
[00:14:22] Speaker D: Yep.
[00:14:22] Speaker B: Especially about yourself. No backhanded comments. Oh, yours is so nice. And I could never do. No, no. And what comes out, you have to release control. You can't control it all. Especially when you're painting, you're learning. What does this do when I do this with this brush? What happens when I mix these colors? Like you think you're going to Create this tree and it's going to be this little thing and it takes up the whole canvas and you have to accept it. It's your art. It's what came out of you. And be okay with it and be proud of what you created.
[00:14:50] Speaker A: I love that. I love, like, because the way that art works is, you know, you make a mistake, like air quotes, again, make a mistake. But you can redirect that into something beautiful. And I love how you guys both kind of talk about how you kind of redirected what your passions are into ways to help the community. So that is so beautiful. What has been like the, the biggest pitfall or the biggest barrier to doing this kind of work that maybe have made you say, like, I don't know if I can keep going.
[00:15:17] Speaker D: Ooh, ooh. Queen, I love that question.
I'll share this with you. I think I shared a little bit when I was on coin, but I was at home from coming from the store. And for those who don't know, my store is 170 square feet.
And you know, I opened it on faith, right? And what God called me to do, not knowing if my community would show up for me, you know, and we have the In Living colors, the Mid Ks, and being the only black owned wig store here in the Pacific Northwest.
And you wonder, is there going to be a sale today? And on this day, I was having a bad day and no sales. And then I'll go. My place tends to be the shower where I do all of my crying. You could probably relate, Gwen. I think we've talked about swing. And I was like, you know, Lord, you know, I'm like, lord, I need a sign, you know, mama, Lord, I need a sign.
[00:16:13] Speaker A: Send me a sign.
[00:16:14] Speaker D: Is this something I'm supposed to really be doing? You start to question, question God, question, like, did I. Am I moving in the right way? What am I supposed to do? Where is it? And then two. That's two hours later, my husband didn't even know child.
And I was sitting on the couch and I was asking, I needed a sign if you are who you say you are. I need you to send me a sign if this is what I'm supposed to be doing.
And two hours later I got. And what people don't know, I had. Me and my husband had just got scammed out of our home buying money. Oh, no. And two hours later, Queen Tabitha Brown sent me a DM and said, I'm doing a movie. I need two wigs. I need these wigs. And I had just Got done doing a collaboration with a fashion show with me, so. And then I was like. And being scammed. I didn't think it was real.
And so I ran upstairs and I asked my son, you know how teenagers are, right?
[00:17:18] Speaker A: Like, how do you know if this is really her? Is this.
[00:17:21] Speaker D: And I ran upstairs and I was.
[00:17:23] Speaker C: Like, is this real?
[00:17:24] Speaker D: And he looked at it and he was like, yes, mom, this is real. You know, And I was like, are you sure?
[00:17:30] Speaker A: Like, that's. When you go to the page, you see the blue check mark. You gotta see how many followers that got, how many posts they had. Yes. The deep dive.
[00:17:38] Speaker C: Look at the email address.
[00:17:40] Speaker D: He did the whole rundown and he was like, yes, mom, this is real. And then for some reason, I just kind of fell and I opened up to her and I just kind of share with her, like, I'm having a difficult time, you know, I miss my mom. And is this real? I told her, is this real to this celebrity? You know, how corny is that?
[00:18:04] Speaker A: We all had our moments, I tell you.
[00:18:06] Speaker D: And I told her, you know, I named my business after my mother. And then she replied back to me, it's beautiful that you named your business after your mother. And I was asked. I was telling her, I was asking, God, was this a sign? And she sent me a private video recorded message that I've. I think I played it for you, Queen. I played it for Queen.
That I don't share too often, but I go back and I listen. And just a small snippet that I'll share with you guys won't share the whole thing, but she shared that her mother always wanted to go to Cali and that she lives in Cali.
[00:18:43] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:18:43] Speaker D: And that her mom's friend has a dog named Callie.
[00:18:51] Speaker A: I got chills.
[00:18:53] Speaker D: Listen, my mother's name is Callie, right?
That this is a sign.
[00:19:01] Speaker A: Oh, that is beautiful.
[00:19:04] Speaker D: This is why I encourage and I even tell Queen all the time, just continuing to encourage entrepreneurs even when we can't see the other side, no matter what it looks like. And I tell myself, just continue to keep the faith. Walk in faith, no matter what it looks like, and keep going.
[00:19:23] Speaker A: Okay. And we're gonna come back to your story. Cause I have another question. But I wanna give Queen Ambrosia a.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: Chance to talk about the struggle is real.
[00:19:29] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:30] Speaker C: Cause some days all we have is faith.
[00:19:32] Speaker D: That part.
[00:19:32] Speaker A: That part like for real, though.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: So me and Trlise, we met because our businesses are next to each other. She had what, 170 square feet? I may have had 200.
[00:19:40] Speaker D: Yeah, she had more.
[00:19:41] Speaker B: 10 square feet.
[00:19:42] Speaker D: Yeah, she got more than me. Okay.
[00:19:45] Speaker B: I called the critique. Okay. And so I'm there with newborn baby, and here she is with her hair. And we setting up our shops. Cause we just got our keys and everything. And then she got like, four or five people helping her. And I'm like, wait a minute.
[00:19:58] Speaker D: What is what?
[00:19:59] Speaker B: I'm like, excuse me, ma'.
[00:20:00] Speaker D: Am.
[00:20:01] Speaker B: You got a lot of help over there. It's looking good. You got your shelves up and everything. I'm over here building. Building stuff. And she was like, yeah, connects to Miso. And she just shared her resources. She shared about wigs. I was like, I don't know a lot about wigs. Over the two years of our business being next to each other, she just poured out and just Is always like, I'm like, I don't know what to do. Like, I'm getting my hair dyed and stuff like that. Like, how do I. How do I take care of my hair? How do I switch it up? And so she just taught me so much. And not just about wigs, but about business as well. And so back to your original question about, like, okay, what. What was, like, one of the moments that were really hard and, you know, how do you keep going? Being at that location, it wasn't really ready for business owners.
They said there was a lot of foot traffic. They gave us a lot of numbers, but construction wasn't finished. There wasn't clear signage. We spent over a year trying to advocate for all of the businesses, all the small businesses in that area to be able to get proper signs. Like, people don't know that we're here. We're tucked in the back. The apartments aren't finished. We don't have the foot traffic that you had promised. And our businesses, a lot of people put in our savings, our life savings into opening these businesses with these promises that you gave us. And so after being there almost two years, I'm like, okay, doing that thing again. Like, Lord, yeah, I know. I was here for a reason, Right.
I left my job. Okay.
I used to stay with some.
[00:21:22] Speaker C: Playing with money now that must have.
[00:21:24] Speaker A: Seen me to do something. Now good benefits.
[00:21:27] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:21:28] Speaker B: My husband was like, okay, you sure you about to. Yes, I'm sure.
This is what the Lord has told me to do.
But within that, it was very hard decision. And I end up switching my business from being facing, you know, front facing, to being online and working with Miso, developing programs and teaching youth and young adults how to start their own business. And prevent some of the pitfalls at the same time. Still building up my business. And as I began to still get paint parties, I had paint parties and paintings up and I had my boutique. I had both running at the same time.
I started getting more contracts in business with the paint parties. And I had to make a decision like, oh my gosh, am I going to have to switch what I'm doing? You know, because something.
And being an entrepreneur, that. That is very important of being able to recognize the market and being able to recognize what are people asking for and what is going to sell and when is the right time to change. One eye opener for me is that I applied for the.
The Black United Fund entrepreneurship program. Yeah. Because she was like, you need to apply. You need to apply. And I applied and went through multiple rounds and I'm like, okay, maybe, you know, maybe this is it. This is going to help me. I need that. I need the next level advice. I know. I know how to register my business. I know how to open a business bank account. I taught people how to do that. I need that next level of business coaching for a business that is making more money now. And so when I applied and I didn't get it, and I was like, oh, man. Like, you know, that can be very discouraging.
[00:22:56] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:22:57] Speaker B: Very discouraging. But that's, that's the industry as well. You have to be able to take those. And they're not really losses because it's learning lessons. And I went to the guy that runs it and I was like, hey, I saw him at a event and I was like, any advice? What do you suggest? And he said, what if you put all of your energy and your talents into the paint party business instead of spreading yourself thin?
[00:23:24] Speaker D: What would happen?
[00:23:25] Speaker A: A lot of entrepreneurs, they need that advice because Absolutely.
[00:23:29] Speaker B: When I did that last year in December, I ended up getting three other contracts and I end up tripling my revenue.
[00:23:35] Speaker D: Wow.
[00:23:36] Speaker B: When I applied again to the program, I actually got in.
[00:23:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:40] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:23:43] Speaker B: That's all it is.
[00:23:43] Speaker A: It's not right.
[00:23:44] Speaker C: Not for you. But it's also the importance of learning how to pivot. Because I think that's where a lot of businesses go wrong.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:50] Speaker C: Or just in life.
[00:23:51] Speaker B: You know what I mean?
[00:23:52] Speaker C: Like, not even just in business. In life, sometimes when things are not working for us, it doesn't mean that we're not supposed to be here, but maybe not in this capacity.
[00:24:01] Speaker A: Right.
And that spread too thin is you. You know, a lot of people get caught up in the fact that I'M not making money here. So let me also do this. And then let me also do this. But this is going to fund this. And you end up having like five or six different revenue streams that aren't really revenue streaming nothing. And then you get lost, you get discouraged. And I love that you were able to get the advice that you. And then focus and then it really paid off. That's like a beautiful thing right there.
[00:24:27] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:24:28] Speaker C: Touched on that too. Because like you said, starting a business is easy. We, like anyone can.
[00:24:34] Speaker D: Right.
[00:24:34] Speaker C: It's the learning how to sustain it, how to figure out what is actually going to work for your business in order to be profitable.
[00:24:40] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:24:41] Speaker C: And we do have to realize like, okay, this is. We've done the easy part. Now I've got to do the hard work. Figure out what is actually going to keep.
[00:24:50] Speaker B: And letting go of what you think is your dream is hard.
[00:24:54] Speaker A: That part.
[00:24:56] Speaker C: Isn't that how God works?
[00:24:57] Speaker B: That's some deep work right there.
[00:24:59] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:25:00] Speaker C: Because he's like, sometimes I didn't tell you to do that. Like at the end of the day, we be coming up with these bright ideas and we have to realize that's not in alignment with what God wants for us. And we can really get like twisted sometimes that he's. He's steady pulling things away from us and he's with us the whole time.
[00:25:17] Speaker A: What they say make him laugh by telling them what your plans are. Right, right.
[00:25:20] Speaker C: Like I didn't say nothing.
[00:25:22] Speaker B: Right.
[00:25:25] Speaker A: But. But also having a brick and mortar is so difficult for a lot of people and especially during these times right now. Wink, wink.
But I wanted to come back to something because I know that this was highly publicized for you, is that you have been vandalized so many times where surrounding non black owned businesses were completely unscathed. So tell us about that experience and what that meant and how did you rebuild from that?
[00:25:51] Speaker D: Oh, thank you for asking that Queen. What people don't know. And oftentimes what I still don't talk about, I still get really bad phone calls. Really?
[00:26:04] Speaker A: Who hates wigs?
[00:26:05] Speaker C: Cowardly. Like, who hates wigs?
[00:26:08] Speaker A: It'd be different if you was over here selling bitcoin. But she.
You trying to make people look cute. But yeah.
[00:26:13] Speaker D: And we, we are a place, we create safe spaces. And I just say that God has me. I continue to walk in faith that I'm gonna continue to create a safe space for everybody and just continue to hope that community shows up for me.
And people who vandalize me, and they do, they don't look like me.
[00:26:37] Speaker C: Cowardly.
[00:26:38] Speaker D: Yeah. Very, very much so. Queen. And it's hurtful to see it, to see the N word scribbled on tables. And even with Rockwood leaving it out there for months, they don't know the trauma behind that. You know, having it on tables for months or so. And then even to have your signs.
They stole my mother's. And I'm trying not to cry about it.
They stole my mom's sign.
No.
With her face on it.
And nobody else's sign gets tampered with.
And to know that whatever.
I've seen death up close, personal, I've taken care of people who've done hurtful things to me that don't look like me. And I love on them the same and taken care of their families through caregiving and hospice and will continue to do that because this is what God called me to do. And I will love them the same even as they enter my store.
I will be the change. I will be the vessel.
But it's hurtful, and I look at it as. Hopefully he doesn't give me more than I can bear.
I ask myself, why, you know, why does this happen to me with my space being so small? But this is why we are queens, right? Because we can take something so small and make something so big.
And our hearts are full. Yes.
That's what a queen does, is they multiply.
And including you guys, we are safe spaces, y'. All. Seeing if you need a safe space, look for a black woman.
[00:28:34] Speaker A: Listen, that's so true. That is fast. And we're tired.
[00:28:36] Speaker C: Can we just speak to that, though? Cause, look, we tired, you know, look.
[00:28:40] Speaker D: For a black woman. Y' all hungry.
[00:28:41] Speaker A: Look for y'.
[00:28:42] Speaker C: All.
[00:28:42] Speaker D: Baby, I got your.
That is true, though.
We don't care what you look like.
And although I've been hurt and, you know, they've hurt me, through the grace of God, I'm still standing through no sales. I'm still standing through nobody buying wigs. I'm still standing. And God has showed me that I'm still standing. I'm still here. The store is still here. And I'mma continue to still donate and give wigs and serve my community.
[00:29:16] Speaker C: Yeah, Weapon forms.
[00:29:18] Speaker A: That part. Yeah, that part. I love it. We going. We going to get happy again. We done got. We got.
I was like, hold on. I had to take a pause for a second. But, no, it's okay, because this is real talk. This is like, what business is about. Like, being an entrepreneur. It's not always, like, the wins and the successes that everybody shows on social media because, yeah, that looks good.
[00:29:41] Speaker C: That's the part that people get.
[00:29:42] Speaker A: That's what that is.
It's not about setting your own hours and waking up and you feel like it because, you know, because that's a misconception. But, you know, it is these moments where you feel like you're gonna have to give up or you feel like the whole world is against you, or you done spent your last dime and your spouse is looking at you like, I don't know how long we gonna do this.
[00:30:03] Speaker D: That part.
[00:30:03] Speaker A: But it always gets better when you are passionate and when you're a steadfast and when you do. And y' all are examples of that, and I love that. And because of this, ma', am, celebrity wig stylist. You got products being promoted by the queen Linnell herself.
Oh, my goodness.
Tell us about, like, what it's like to see celebrities rocking your stuff.
[00:30:30] Speaker D: God is good. And I know I keep bringing God up, but again, without him, none of it's possible.
Celebrity Queen Lunel was one of the first and continues to back Kelly's. I just got an opportunity to see Queen in Las Vegas.
[00:30:48] Speaker A: I saw the photos.
[00:30:49] Speaker D: Yes, yes. Just got it. And you know, she gives the most amazing advice.
[00:30:56] Speaker C: I bet her she gives me anti vibes.
[00:30:59] Speaker D: Oh, yes, yes, baby.
[00:31:02] Speaker A: She gives them funny anti vibes, too, because she.
[00:31:04] Speaker D: Okay. And she is a real one when I tell you. A real one and a hard worker and a great supporter and a queen that, you know, who is even beating the odds, walking the walk, talking the talk. I mean, I can reach out to her and I can ask a question, and she genuinely will get back to me. She genuinely, you know, if I'm on her live, she'll shout me out, and she doesn't have to do that, but she continuously. She called me on the phone, and it's like, you got good product.
[00:31:35] Speaker C: You.
[00:31:36] Speaker D: You got good. Keep going. I see you. I see your movie with Tabitha Brown, you know, all of those things, and she sees my hustle, she sees my grind, and it means the world to me. So for her to be rocking me, getting. Rocking me, getting behind Kelly's. It means the world. And she loves us as. As caregivers.
And she. Ambrosia helped me.
[00:31:57] Speaker A: Oh, did she? Y', all.
[00:31:58] Speaker D: I can't decorate for nothing.
[00:32:00] Speaker C: Y' all.
[00:32:01] Speaker D: Right here.
[00:32:02] Speaker B: Queen right here. So what I did, I used to make gift baskets. So Valentine's big thing, like painting, custom paintings and jewelry and things like that.
[00:32:10] Speaker A: Sound like a promo plug to me.
[00:32:14] Speaker B: I don't do the baskets, but when we were next to each other, she's like, girl, I need to put something together. I need to put. I was like, we got.
[00:32:19] Speaker D: We get it.
[00:32:20] Speaker B: We pulling stuff from the shop. We pulling up gift baskets. We putting all this stuff.
[00:32:24] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:32:25] Speaker B: No, we don't. We gonna package this up. We gonna send her beautiful gift basket.
[00:32:30] Speaker D: And I couldn't Amber. Y', all my decorate skills.
[00:32:35] Speaker C: Not everything is our ministry, sis.
[00:32:36] Speaker D: But it's okay, baby.
You'll be mad with trees.
[00:32:42] Speaker B: You style my hair.
[00:32:43] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:32:43] Speaker B: Okay. But I'll do your part. Now let me get you a good wig.
[00:32:45] Speaker D: Right?
[00:32:46] Speaker A: Right.
[00:32:46] Speaker D: Now, when we talk about a wig, that's my niche. Okay? Don't ask me to decorate nothing.
[00:32:52] Speaker A: I love it. I love it. I know. I seen before you had even posted or reposted her with one of your mugs, the glitter mugs. I seen it, and I was like, I got that. I got one like that. I was like, that looked just like Ms. Callie's stuff. And then I seen you repost, and I was like. I was like, oh. I was like, cher. Click share. Click comment. I was like, that was so dope to see that.
And then now you've got wigs and movies, and I seen you with the queen, Tabitha herself, standing side by side, and she was promoing. That was dope.
[00:33:25] Speaker D: Yes. And that was, again, the manifestation.
Praying and writing it down. I encourage anybody, and I'm gonna be the first to say I never really did that. And then me and Ambrosia, we talked about it, I think, going to a photo shoot, and I was like, I'm in a transition. God has me in a transition. She was in a transition.
And I just. This journey of writing it down and.
[00:33:47] Speaker C: Speaking it two and two, if I'm not mistaken, it does say write it down.
[00:33:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:54] Speaker D: And. And then next, you know, there was. Yeah. And. And then celebrity Nick Few gave me my viral wig.
[00:34:03] Speaker C: I live.
[00:34:04] Speaker A: Yes.
Yes. Because all of this. Listen, honey, listen.
[00:34:10] Speaker B: He was hilarious.
[00:34:12] Speaker A: We gonna have to, like. We're gonna have to add some of these. These reels and these videos to the social media, because y' all have to see some of these videos. You're gonna be like, oh, she. She's doing it big. And they.
[00:34:24] Speaker C: She definitely is.
[00:34:25] Speaker A: I love it. I love it.
The queen, Ambrosia, tell me your biggest win. Like, what is. What has been your biggest success in this. In this journey?
[00:34:33] Speaker B: Kind of. Kind of what I mentioned before of taking the advice.
[00:34:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:37] Speaker B: And it working.
[00:34:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:38] Speaker B: Was awesome. Also, this summer, I was able to open my art studio in downtown Gresham for in person paint parties. And that was a big leap of faith, Especially after having a storefront and going back to a storefront, but realizing that, okay, now that I've built up clients and now that I need to the space, my husband's like, you've had the garage for too many years. Your family is reclaiming the garage.
[00:35:07] Speaker A: He said he wanted. He want a man cave. And he was very upset.
[00:35:10] Speaker B: He still. He still own me. Okay.
[00:35:13] Speaker A: I'm telling you, it's raining.
[00:35:15] Speaker B: The kids need their garage so they.
[00:35:16] Speaker A: Can play, they can paint. They can paint. Listen, that part, they always paint. Always.
[00:35:23] Speaker B: But yeah, would say just taking that advice was big for me and making that leap of faith to open up my storefront. It's still a leap of faith. It's still about figuring things out every day. And once you try something, it doesn't always work the same way again. And that's where your faith kicks in.
I have a Bible study at my church. My church happens to be like, three blocks from my studio, which was another for me. Literally three blocks. And on Tuesday nights, we do Bible study. And I was just, you know, with the crew, like, hey, you know, I'm opening my studio. They came and they blessed it and they prayed with me. And it's just been a faith walk for sure. But finding people that know the industry and know the business and being able to learn from them and take those hard, like, those that hard advice, like, no, you need to stop doing this because it's draining you or you. Or this is not working. You've been. Yeah, you put five years and it's like an abusive relationship.
That cycle that happens where you get that thinking. I put this much time in it.
[00:36:24] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:36:25] Speaker B: Oh, I put, you know, I put this much money into it. How can I just leave this?
If I do that one more thing, it'll work. But you got to be able to adjust and adapt and see what is healthy.
[00:36:34] Speaker C: Yeah. And release that control. Like you were even saying before, too, sometimes we're so in control of the outcome.
[00:36:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:40] Speaker C: We're trying.
[00:36:40] Speaker D: Trying control.
[00:36:41] Speaker B: Right.
[00:36:42] Speaker C: So you have to learn how to absolutely relinquish that control.
[00:36:45] Speaker B: It doesn't work. And you throw a fit like a.
[00:36:47] Speaker A: Toddler, you get what you get.
[00:36:51] Speaker D: I don't call you to do that. Right.
[00:36:53] Speaker B: Or it's time to.
[00:36:53] Speaker D: Or that seasonally.
[00:36:56] Speaker C: That worked at the time. Let's say that, you know, it wasn't based on, like, losses, but, like, that worked at the time.
[00:37:02] Speaker B: Now times Are different. I gained the best business bus.
[00:37:08] Speaker A: I love it. Queens support queens, and that is beautiful. Yeah.
[00:37:12] Speaker B: I've gained so much, so it wasn't a loss.
[00:37:14] Speaker A: Okay, I'm gonna ask a question, and y' all might decline my question here, but y' all done spoke about church and religion so much. I know these saints be cutting up. Tell me the funniest experience you've had with somebody in your business.
[00:37:32] Speaker D: They'd be cutting.
Oh, well.
[00:37:36] Speaker A: She's like, hold on.
I need to tie a little extra, make sure I don't get in trouble when I go back to church.
[00:37:43] Speaker D: Well, I'm too old.
It be.
[00:37:47] Speaker A: Oh, y', all, please stop.
[00:37:51] Speaker D: Please stop with that. I'm too old.
[00:37:54] Speaker C: You mean that you're too old? Yeah.
[00:37:57] Speaker A: Don't like to wear that wig.
[00:37:59] Speaker D: Oh, baby, I'm too old to wear that.
[00:38:03] Speaker A: Better put that color on.
[00:38:05] Speaker D: You only as old as you feel.
[00:38:08] Speaker B: Right?
[00:38:09] Speaker C: Right.
[00:38:10] Speaker D: Stop aging ourselves. Yeah. And stop.
[00:38:13] Speaker C: Like, says who?
[00:38:14] Speaker A: Right?
[00:38:15] Speaker C: That part, just because it's outside of what people have declared should be right for you, but you need to be able to own whatever it is that you're doing.
[00:38:24] Speaker A: And have you, like, witnessed someone saying that and then you put a wig on them and they have, like, that trans. To that. That moment where they just turn to somebody totally different?
[00:38:32] Speaker D: Yeah, I love that. Yes. Because that's. Step outside the box.
[00:38:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:36] Speaker D: Be different.
[00:38:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I love it.
[00:38:39] Speaker D: Be different. Do what somebody doesn't expect you to do. Right. Do it for you.
[00:38:44] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:38:45] Speaker D: You know, oftentimes I've walked in places where people was like, because pink is not my favorite color.
[00:38:51] Speaker A: Really, ma'? Am.
For those of y'. All. For those of y' all listening, listening on all of our. All of our streaming platforms. If you're just listening, listen.
Even our producer is like, ma'.
[00:39:06] Speaker C: Am.
[00:39:07] Speaker A: Now, those of y' all watching on YouTube can clearly see that she be rocking the pink. I mean, and flawlessly.
[00:39:14] Speaker D: Thank you.
[00:39:14] Speaker A: But for those of y' all not listen. That are listening, not watching. Pink wig, pink jacket, pink pants. She got pink feathers. She got pink sparkles, pink glitter pink. Pink brooch and pins. She got pink everything. So listen, pink purse, pink lips. Like, tell me you don't like pink.
[00:39:32] Speaker D: I love pink, but it's not my favorite. My favorite color is actually red.
[00:39:36] Speaker A: Oh, no, I love red.
I won't say why, though.
[00:39:40] Speaker C: Yes, red is my.
[00:39:42] Speaker D: Me and my husband's favorite color is red.
[00:39:43] Speaker A: I love it.
[00:39:44] Speaker B: So why do you wear pink?
[00:39:46] Speaker D: I wear pink because pink represents my daughter, Baby Kelly, and my store is pink. My logo is pink. Yes, Queen, like Queen said, it's a branding. And branding is very important people. You people have to remember who you are.
[00:40:01] Speaker A: Yes. Let me tell you, she is the queen of branding. I'm gonna tell. I have a funny story where I said, this lady is insane. Okay? So my day job, we had this thing, it was a black marketplace. And I tell this story all the time. Because I was like, I gotta be very clear in our instructions next time. Because if not, this woman gonna take up half the building with her stuff. So we had a black marketplace and it was like black businesses, they came, they, you know, pop. It was like a pop up event. We had a panel discussion. It was amazing. It was wonderful.
[00:40:29] Speaker D: Yes, it was.
[00:40:30] Speaker A: We told everybo, you got one table, two chairs, right? Now most businesses will accommodate, you know, they have different setups for different places, right? So they'll be like, okay, I got a table and two chairs. Okay, I'm gonna bring a tablecloth, I'm gonna bring a stand up banner. I'm gonna bring a couple stands and things and call it a day. We had 22 vendors in that building. And it was the way the space was, it was tight.
So I told Queen Charlie, she said, I said, you got a table and two chairs. She's like, cool, got it. I was like, I'm gonna have some extra stuff with me. I said, cool, no worries, everybody has extra stuff.
When I tell you this lady rolled up, her and her husband, wonderful support system, by the way. Cause he'd be at every event. Thank you. She had two extra tables, she had some chairs. She had a whole back wall that had hooks and hangers. She took up an entire corner and I looked at her and I said, oh my God, I've gotta move people around to make sure we can fit everybody.
[00:41:20] Speaker C: I've never seen her do a chair on two chairs.
[00:41:23] Speaker A: No, never, never.
Listen, she listen. And I said. I was like, part of it was like, I was irritated. Cause I was like, oh my God, I gotta, I gotta move. We gotta move people. And like, people was looking like, I got a table and two chairs and.
[00:41:38] Speaker D: She got a whole back half of.
[00:41:39] Speaker C: It, a whole storefront.
[00:41:41] Speaker A: Listen, but what I so respect about it was, is that you're not gonna tell her how she's gonna brand her product and her merchandise. She has a way and a standard of excellence that she does business, that she's gonna show up as herself every single time.
And if you don't like it, too bad because she's here. She paid her fee. And it is what it is.
And you gonna buy these products, you gonna buy these wigs and these little lip glosses and these purses and everything else.
But I respect that so much because it was like, she's on par with her brand.
[00:42:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:42:10] Speaker A: And it was so funny. But, girl, you had me sweating bullets that day.
[00:42:13] Speaker D: I'm so sorry. But, Brandon, I often tell people, one of the things that is key is branding. The first thing that people are gonna see is your brand.
[00:42:23] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:42:24] Speaker D: And how are people gonna remember who you are is your brand?
And that's key. And one of the things that I studied and who stood out for me was Rashida from Love and Hip Hop.
[00:42:35] Speaker A: Oh, okay.
[00:42:36] Speaker D: And I remember. I think it was. I was speaking, and somebody next to me that was speaking next to me was like, oh, she's ghetto. You know? And I was like, well, one thing I love about Rasheeda is she. She had multiple business.
[00:42:51] Speaker A: She was a great businesswoman.
[00:42:52] Speaker D: That part, you see a small snippet of her own love and hip Hop. But I looked at her as this beautiful black queen who had multiple business, you know, and entrepreneur and hustle grind.
[00:43:06] Speaker C: And there's no confusion about what Rashida does.
[00:43:09] Speaker D: Confusion about what she does in her hustle. And I love that. And I knew exactly. Branding. And she had a vending business, real.
[00:43:18] Speaker A: Estate, hair, all these things.
[00:43:20] Speaker D: And I was like, her clothing line, storefront, you knew. And I was like, okay, I got it. And then, so brand. You got a brand. Brand, brand. If you don't know my name, you're gonna know my logo.
[00:43:32] Speaker A: That part.
[00:43:32] Speaker D: There we go. You don't know those colors.
[00:43:35] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:43:35] Speaker D: You don't have to know my name, but I want you to know my colors.
[00:43:38] Speaker C: Right.
[00:43:39] Speaker D: You're gonna know my bling. You gonna stand me out when your kids are passing by? Your parents might not know me, but your kids is going to catch my bling. Mommy, I want to go to that booth.
[00:43:47] Speaker A: That part. That part.
[00:43:48] Speaker D: So those are things that I encourage, even our young entrepreneurs when we're educating the kids and the young youth, is find something that it doesn't have to be your color, but what will stand out and be different.
Don't blend in with everybody else.
[00:44:02] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:44:03] Speaker D: That's right. So thank you, Queen.
[00:44:05] Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you for setting this example and also giving me a lesson in being clear and concise about my instructions.
Like, you have 10ft of space.
[00:44:17] Speaker D: That's it.
[00:44:19] Speaker A: That's it. That's all. You know what I do.
[00:44:21] Speaker B: Tape on the ground.
[00:44:22] Speaker A: Listen, put that on behind.
[00:44:28] Speaker B: Each other at all the events so that we can.
[00:44:31] Speaker A: We can share space.
I can see. I can see there's a couple of.
[00:44:37] Speaker D: People that request to be next to me when we do. When I do vending events.
[00:44:40] Speaker A: I can see that. I can see why.
[00:44:43] Speaker D: Cuz I'm big on energy.
[00:44:45] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:44:46] Speaker D: Hustle. You got to be me And Ambrosia. DC rings.
[00:44:50] Speaker A: Fearfully and wonderfully made. Amazing brand.
[00:44:53] Speaker D: So good branded. And one of the things we all just collaboration, which is important.
Vi.
[00:45:01] Speaker C: Important.
[00:45:01] Speaker D: Y. Yeah.
[00:45:03] Speaker C: Brand.
[00:45:03] Speaker D: Brand.
[00:45:03] Speaker C: Brand.
[00:45:03] Speaker D: Your entrepreneur's brand.
[00:45:05] Speaker A: Yes. Take notes, y'.
[00:45:06] Speaker B: All.
[00:45:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:45:06] Speaker C: Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room, when you know.
[00:45:10] Speaker A: Right. Right. Recently rebranded. Okay.
It's a lot of work. I tell you what. I didn't. I know I don't have a. I mean, I have a business podcast, but.
[00:45:21] Speaker D: That part I said.
[00:45:23] Speaker A: But, like, you know, like, it's my personality as a brand. But when I watch Charlisa go through her rebrand process, I felt like I was going through it with her. And I love how you guys support each other because it really does take a village sometimes. Because the. She was going through it. I was like, oh, okay. I'm glad that my brand is what it is, because I'm pretty solid right now, but now I know what to look for. And I, like, I watch people around me and I see how you guys move and how everything happens, and I'm like, okay, I'm taking these notes here, and I'm making notes. So all of y' all listening to, watching, and make sure y' all taking notes, because they've been dropping gems this entire episode. This whole episode.
[00:45:58] Speaker B: That's also why it's important to, like, work with each other and collaborate with us others. Like, don't be afraid to help someone else. Don't be afraid to help market somebody else. Especially sometimes it feels like, like, nobody wants to support each other. Everybody wants to be on top, or it's like some type of competition.
If you win it, I'm winning.
[00:46:20] Speaker A: Out of town.
[00:46:20] Speaker B: Tell them, I'm your assistant. I'm coming with you.
[00:46:25] Speaker D: And I'm big on that. I am so big on that is one of the reasons why I. When I opened and I started, I was like, if somebody asks me something, I will share, and I tend to overshare. And God is working on me on that.
And I'm learning at the age of 48, not everybody is. And I was. I was telling Ambrosia, not everybody is happy for you. And I don't know if you guys.
[00:46:48] Speaker C: Expect that's a tough feeling, but not.
[00:46:51] Speaker D: Everybody is happy for you. And at the age of 48, and I was like, really? Like, I'm just now learning that because I'm happy for everybody. The spirit and how I move you. Winning, Queen. I'm winning because down the line, you're gonna be in a position to say.
[00:47:04] Speaker A: Come on, Queen, let's get it together.
[00:47:06] Speaker D: And then I'm gonna be in the position to say, come on, Queen. I remember when you looked out for me. So then you never know. And then I'm like, okay, Queen had me. Let's go. Let's go get it. Let's get this back together.
[00:47:19] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:47:20] Speaker D: As I roll with this journey and as I'm starting to elevate, I'm remembering, like, it's okay to collab. And as I've been traveling and going to these different events and have I've been given these opportunities and seats at the table with different celebrities, and I'm looking at these beautiful black queens in Dallas and Atlanta and, you know, rural or Detroit, these beautiful queens in the hair industry.
Same industries, right. Getting a bag together ain't no competition here. I'm still trying to figure it out, and I don't know what that is.
[00:48:02] Speaker C: It's a scarcity, and people get so.
Yeah, exactly. People get so caught up in whether we do the same thing or that there's so little of us that I've got to hold on and hoard on to my little piece of my pie that I feel like I've claimed. And I wish that people didn't necessarily think like that. I faced that same challenge when I was growing my hair show that everyone was like. I'm like, it's not a competition.
It's not a competition. We are literally highlighting each other because at the end of the day, we can win together.
[00:48:34] Speaker A: Right.
[00:48:34] Speaker C: I. I think it's. It's all a matter of mindset. For some reason, people have bought into that. I can't win with you.
[00:48:42] Speaker A: So.
[00:48:43] Speaker C: And. And they're also suspicious when you are too gracious and when you are like, no, I really legitimately want to see you win that part. I'm not trying to backdoor you or.
[00:48:54] Speaker A: Anything like that, you know, So I.
[00:48:56] Speaker C: Think it's just a matter of continue showing up the way that you do. Authenticity is going to win every single time. And those who are there for the ride, they gonna hop on. Those that aren't, they gonna stay exactly where they are.
[00:49:11] Speaker D: You know, I often tell there was a Queen. When I was doing Shark Tank Summit this past month, there was a queen that. Because I don't like being in big rooms, believe it or not, I love a good pop up. That's my safe space. But where God has had me in these rooms, I'll be like, oh. Because people are so judgmental because they see how I'm dressed. And they was like, oh, she's just trying to get a attention.
[00:49:34] Speaker A: Like it's a gimmick.
[00:49:36] Speaker D: I'm just in my brand.
[00:49:37] Speaker A: Right, right, exactly.
[00:49:40] Speaker D: And I'm promoting, you know, that part, that part. Promoting. And I knew I. I knew I had. Me and Tabitha Brown were going to be promoting the movie Gotcha unexpected Christmas, November 7th.
And there was a queen that I met there, and I was still trying. God was telling me, you do this, this thing by yourself, not with your husband.
And this queen had an extra ticket, right? A VIP ticket. And I said, oh, Queen. Her name was Queen Jazz. And I said, oh, Queen, can my husband get your. Your extra ticket? And then she's like, yeah. And I was like, okay, so we go over to get the extra ticket. Now, mind you, God said, you doing this by yourself, right? And so we go over to try to get him the extra ticket. They said, oh, no, we can't do that.
And so I was like, okay. So I had to do this by myself. But I didn't tell anybody why I was there.
So me and Queen Jazz, she didn't know why I was there to promote the movie for unexpected Christmas. And so then I didn't want to tell. I just wanted to see. But we got to talking. She owned a hair care brand, some beautiful hair growth oils. And I was like, oh, Queen, let's have you come into Kelly's custom half wigs. We put your oil in the store. Let's collaborate.
[00:50:55] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:50:56] Speaker D: And she's like, yeah, let's do it. Let's, you know, when she's in California, let's talk about it. Let's do the connection. Long story short, then lo and behold, you never know when you say, okay, I want to collaborate. Because then now she ended up. I said, come on, Queen, let's go meet Tabitha Brown together. So then she got to also promote her brand with Queen Tabitha Brown. So you never know with your collaboration and your connection. She didn't really know me. We just met that day. But you never want to miss out on an opportunity on who you connect with.
[00:51:34] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:51:35] Speaker D: When you think, oh, no, like how.
[00:51:37] Speaker C: You were, she would have been stank towards you.
[00:51:40] Speaker D: Right.
[00:51:40] Speaker C: Herself out of an opportunity out of an opportunity.
[00:51:43] Speaker D: And then she. Then she's like, oh, my God. And she was so. Thank you so much. Oh, no worries, Queen. I believe in that. It's just like me and Ambrosia, we collaborate all the time. Queen, come on, let's go.
Queen, let's go.
Our strength, your strength, her strength, my strength. Let's pull together. Let's get this bag together.
[00:52:01] Speaker A: Your strength.
[00:52:02] Speaker C: Let's get this coin together so we can all win.
[00:52:04] Speaker D: I'm all about.
[00:52:05] Speaker A: Let's all get it. I love it.
[00:52:07] Speaker C: That's all I want to do.
[00:52:11] Speaker B: When I first started, there was a pastor and wife there, like auntie and uncle to me and my husband. And she was moving because her.
[00:52:20] Speaker D: Her.
[00:52:21] Speaker B: Her daughter is now a celebrity, but they were moving to help her with training and things like that. And they were like, oh, man. I opened this boutique. Here's a lot of, like, a lot of jewelry, a lot of, like, a lot of items. She was like, I'm just gonna, like, Lord just told me just to bless it. Like, just come to my storage unit and just take what you want. Oh, wow. Like, it was. It was awesome. And that. And that gave me a lot of, like, I had clothing and things like that, but they gave me a lot of of purses and jewelry to go along with my stuff to put into my shop that I was putting up by myself.
[00:52:49] Speaker A: She's good at it.
[00:52:51] Speaker D: She ain't over that long. Right, right, right.
[00:52:55] Speaker A: Right, right, right.
Like, just going to throw that out there.
[00:52:59] Speaker B: It was awesome. And so when it was time for me to transition from a clothing boutique to an art studio, and I moved all of my stuff out of my storage into that art studio and I had no room. I'm telling you, I barely had an aisle. Things was. I said, oh, Lord, I got too much stuff. And I said, what am I gonna do with all my boutique. Yeah, my boutique stuff. What am I gonna do? And I prayed about it. And I was at church and I was during prison worship, and I was like, lord, there has to be somebody I can bless. Like, who? Who is it that needs that? That needs that? And he put someone on mine, on my mind. And I was like, okay. I waited like two or three days. And I was like, is it really?
[00:53:31] Speaker D: Is it really?
[00:53:34] Speaker B: So I called her and I was like, oh, come to the new studio. I want to show you something. So I showed her all the items and it's probably about $10,000 worth of stuff for pop ups and things like double booth 10x20.
[00:53:43] Speaker D: Wow.
[00:53:44] Speaker B: To like, have a whole pop up.
[00:53:45] Speaker A: And.
[00:53:46] Speaker B: And I was like, yeah. I really.
[00:53:47] Speaker A: I.
[00:53:48] Speaker B: You know, I really. The Lord put you putting on my heart. And she's like, well, how much do you want for? I said. I said, girl, it's yours.
[00:53:52] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:53:54] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness. Just, like, broke down.
[00:53:59] Speaker A: That is amazing.
[00:54:00] Speaker B: Someone else.
[00:54:01] Speaker A: It blessed me.
[00:54:02] Speaker B: She was like, you have no idea. I was signed up for the jazz festival. I had to negotiate with them to pay that fee, and I had no inventory.
She said, I was asking what. She said, I know I'm supposed to be here. I know I'm supposed to do this. I only have $300. I got 250. They accepted that, but I don't have no inventory to really do a whole booth. And she said, I can't believe it worked out. Got her a U haul, packed up all that stuff. And I still check on her. And she still. I send people clients.
[00:54:28] Speaker D: They'd be like, you got that hat? You got that?
[00:54:30] Speaker B: I'm like, nope, my girl got it. And I send them you to.
[00:54:32] Speaker A: To her.
[00:54:33] Speaker B: It's. It's beautiful.
[00:54:34] Speaker D: It.
[00:54:35] Speaker B: It pays off. To be able to help others and be a blessing to others.
[00:54:38] Speaker D: We have to pay it forward.
[00:54:39] Speaker B: It's not just about everything is mine or everything that I'm doing, but you have to be able to give back.
[00:54:45] Speaker C: You do.
[00:54:46] Speaker A: And. And doing things like that, it's like you become an attractor of. Of good things to come for you. Right? Like, you don't. Like, you hold on to stuff and you don't share. Then you're. You're not. You're not leaving space. Right, Exactly. So I love that. Okay, we're getting down to the wire now, so we gotta talk about y' all support systems. Like, you have each other, but y' all got some husbands and some kids and some family members that I know pour into y' all and help y' all out.
[00:55:11] Speaker B: I know.
[00:55:12] Speaker A: I've seen your husband. He'd be over there ringing people up.
Yo, I said, he probably know more about wigs than I do. But.
But what does that look like for each of you? And then how to, like, who. Who is your biggest, like, supporter outside of each other?
[00:55:24] Speaker D: Obviously, my. My beautiful husband, Rayfield.
And I'm a real one.
Do we butt heads? Yes.
There's times that y'. All. We done had an argument right before we done got out and did an event.
[00:55:41] Speaker A: Right?
[00:55:41] Speaker D: And again, that's where you. You will it in. And I always say, it's not when you have the good times, it's when you can get through the bad times and when you can grow from that.
[00:55:50] Speaker A: That. Absolutely.
[00:55:51] Speaker D: I love him to pieces. My mama prayed him through. So before. Yeah. So before she transitioned, I was like, mama, what you doing? She said, I hush up. I'm praying for your husband. Oh, wow. And so short.
[00:56:02] Speaker B: She told you to be quiet?
[00:56:03] Speaker D: Yeah, she told me to be quiet.
[00:56:04] Speaker A: Said, we don't need Sierra's prayer. We need C's prayer.
[00:56:08] Speaker D: Exactly. So, yeah, she told me, hush up. And then few after that, I met my. Of course, met my husband. So.
So he is. He doesn't love. Like to do all the talking, but he is the.
[00:56:20] Speaker C: I don't think I've ever heard him say a word. I have been for years, at least. Since, like, a good 2000.
[00:56:26] Speaker A: It'd be just a total.
[00:56:29] Speaker C: Yeah, that's it.
That is it. He'll nod in the total.
I don't think I've ever heard that.
[00:56:35] Speaker D: Man say a word.
[00:56:36] Speaker C: But he's there front and center.
[00:56:37] Speaker D: Yeah. I just say this to my beautiful husband and to my sons. Thank you. I know I can be a lot. I know it's a lot of work, but he is the. The glue. He is the muscle that helps keep it.
[00:56:51] Speaker B: He.
[00:56:52] Speaker D: He works very hard. He works a lot of hours. And then to run the store, to sell a wig and to. To the ladies out there. I know y' all be shooting your best eyes to try it.
[00:57:04] Speaker C: Are you serious?
[00:57:05] Speaker D: But you know, you guys, I' ma just tell y', all, honey, shoot your best shot, baby, try it. You know, it doesn't but bug me.
[00:57:14] Speaker A: That's so beautiful.
[00:57:15] Speaker D: It does, Honey, shoot your best shot.
[00:57:17] Speaker C: Right, Honey, he ain't going nowhere.
[00:57:20] Speaker A: He love this wig.
[00:57:24] Speaker D: That part, you know, it doesn't bug me. A lot of women be like, girl, you be worried for what?
[00:57:31] Speaker A: Cuz he. If he's that easy, you done met him at my place, Right?
[00:57:35] Speaker D: Right.
[00:57:35] Speaker A: He helping support his woman he loves.
[00:57:39] Speaker D: He ain't going nowhere.
[00:57:40] Speaker A: The way she said. She said he ain't going nowhere. She said, I'm every woman. I put on the blue wig, the pink wig, the red wig. What you want today? I'm every woman.
[00:57:51] Speaker D: Okay, honey, Short, long. What you want, babies?
[00:57:56] Speaker A: What they say? Clack it right. We talking about clack it.
[00:58:00] Speaker C: Clock it right.
[00:58:01] Speaker D: This is clapping. Wigs is game changers.
[00:58:04] Speaker A: Absolutely. She done put y' all on some more game now.
[00:58:10] Speaker D: Y' all had that part. I know we. Look, I didn't. I didn't cry. But remember y' all had that podcast where y' all talked about the wig grip.
[00:58:16] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:58:16] Speaker D: How do you keep your wig on?
[00:58:18] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:58:19] Speaker D: Big grip from Kelly's.
[00:58:21] Speaker A: It ain't going nowhere.
[00:58:23] Speaker D: Ain't going nowhere, ladies.
[00:58:24] Speaker A: And she got videos to prove it.
[00:58:27] Speaker B: And everything.
[00:58:28] Speaker A: Listen. I love not listen. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.
[00:58:35] Speaker C: Dirty roses.
[00:58:36] Speaker A: Dirty roses for a reason.
Them wigs can be yanked and spanked and everywhere else. Ain't going nowhere.
I'm she said tested and tried. Okay.
[00:58:50] Speaker B: Why made me think of that song we ain't going nowhere.
[00:58:57] Speaker A: She said let me remind y' all why my husband ain't going nowhere.
[00:59:01] Speaker D: Left heart but yeah. So thank you, honey. Thank you to my sons. I really couldn't do it without him. He. He literally goes to work and. And stocks and the weight ambrosia. See. Cause honey I be tired y' all.
[00:59:17] Speaker B: After you're pouring out all day. New people and stuff.
[00:59:20] Speaker D: Packs up everything. He's the muscle and my son. It's the muscles they work all day and and then come and help with the store and the pop ups and thank y' all for extending me grace for when the store is closed that's important.
So thank y'. All.
[00:59:34] Speaker A: So yeah, I love it.
[00:59:35] Speaker B: Awesome support system. So yes. My husband in a different way because we got a lot of young kiddos too. So he is all. He's like I don't know any daddies with their kids as much Daddy day kids.
[00:59:47] Speaker A: That part.
[00:59:47] Speaker B: That part be having my daughters with me sometimes having the kids with me too. You can't have all three. Like have all three. So we split them up and we have awesome supports. So my in laws they do such a good job. They're incredible.
[01:00:00] Speaker D: I love them.
[01:00:01] Speaker B: We collaborate.
[01:00:02] Speaker D: Okay. The snacks are they still baking?
[01:00:04] Speaker B: We are a family of entrepreneurs. Okay.
My father in law.
[01:00:08] Speaker A: I'm going need some snacks big bag seasons in you know what I'm saying? About to be winter we got to hibernate.
[01:00:15] Speaker D: Called that pumpkin bread. Okay.
[01:00:17] Speaker C: That seven up cake make you shout.
[01:00:19] Speaker B: And then my sister in law has anchor within counseling the largest black owned shut the front door.
[01:00:26] Speaker A: Okay. Again Portlanders take note.
[01:00:29] Speaker C: The world is so small. I had no idea.
[01:00:33] Speaker D: So sweet.
[01:00:34] Speaker B: And so just having them to be able to. I know that my kids are safe. I know that they have a good support system. If there's birthday parties or things like oh man I have this event and so and so's supposed to be here. We come together and we. And we make it happen and then they bring the kids to me and come visit me and all this stuff. So we. We definitely collaborate with my husband. Yeah. Having a spouse that's supportive and not just, like. Not just going and saying, well, I'm supposed to do this, and then don't take care of your family and don't be there for them or don't. You know what I mean? But if there's something that he brings up, hey, we spending way too much money on this. This is our personal income.
You know what I mean? This is a lot. So being here with. To have those hard conversations and to be able to talk to each other about. That's hard.
[01:01:11] Speaker A: That's always hard.
[01:01:12] Speaker D: Yeah.
[01:01:13] Speaker B: Especially when it's like, well, I'm doing this, but it's all about. It's not all about me. It's a family. We're a unit, so we have to work together. It's not.
[01:01:23] Speaker A: All about, say, I feel.
[01:01:24] Speaker C: Like with us being creatives and things like that, I can imagine, like, you need that kind of like that. That calmer force that. That, like, behind the scenes to kind of reel things in.
[01:01:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:01:36] Speaker C: Because I can just see it's a lot of sparkle. But sometimes they're like, okay, now.
[01:01:40] Speaker B: Right, right, right.
About the numbers, too.
[01:01:43] Speaker D: Okay.
[01:01:44] Speaker B: It don't make dollars. It don't make sense. Listen, how long are you gonna do this for? And what is it gonna cost us is what he's looking inside. And I appreciate that.
[01:01:51] Speaker C: I really do.
[01:01:52] Speaker A: I love that. Okay, I'm gonna have to go back and listen to this entire episode because y' all didn't drop so many gems. We've had lots of entrepreneurs on here, and they've told their story, and they told their struggles and everything else. And it's been amazing to hear, like, motivational piece, but y' all literally were dropping resource after resource after resource. So y' all make sure y' all listen and go back to these show notes, because I'm trying to link everything that they talked about. I'm gonna have to listen real carefully because they was dropping bombs. Listen. But where can people find you? If they want to purchase, they want to have a party, they want to just. Even if they want to just talk and get some advice, if that's what you're offering. I'm not saying y' all should, but.
[01:02:27] Speaker D: You know, you could.
[01:02:29] Speaker A: But where can people find you?
[01:02:30] Speaker D: You can find Kelly's Custom Hat Wigs. My store location is. Is 458 Southeast 185th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97233. Also, my Instagram, Kelly's Custom Hat Wigs. Also, my YouTube.
Okay, tick tock.
[01:02:47] Speaker A: Okay, okay.
[01:02:48] Speaker D: Tick tock.
And then also Kelly's custom hat Wigs. My website, y' all shop the website. Also book a class. If you don't know anything about wigs, sign up for a class. It's very important to educate yourself. Don't just go out there and get wigs blindly. Don't get taken advantage of. We are a safe space for all people.
So support, support, support. We are the only black owned wig store in the Pacific Northwest. They don't make it easy for me to get these wigs as a black owned wig store. So I love y'. All. I appreciate y'.
[01:03:25] Speaker B: All.
[01:03:25] Speaker D: And to my entrepreneurs out there, continue to walk by faith bet on you and always remember it is okay to collaborate with one another.
[01:03:34] Speaker A: Thank you.
Yes, Queen Ambrosia.
[01:03:37] Speaker B: TheLamArtStudio.com is my website. TheLamArt Studio is my Instagram.
Please feel free to look at the website, look at all my services. So I do private parties, mobile. I pack up everything. I come to you. I set up up in your dining room. I set up in your church in event spaces. I've done 150 person paint party. I've done a two person private party.
I also collaborate with a lot of organizations. So if you serve our community and maybe you want to partner on a grant or maybe you want to bring art wellness to youth, young adults, or people in recovery or transitioning from homelessness, hit me up.
I'm all about that. I'm all about collaborating, figuring out a way to serve our community.
[01:04:21] Speaker A: I love it. Okay, well, y' all know Nick B. Is on her health journey. We're talking about health and wellness and all the things. So big, shout out to Nick B. Y' all can find her at nickbnickb on Instagram. And that's Nick with a K. So I gotta, I gotta say it like her. Okay, so make sure y' all check her out because she's been sharing her her health journey and how she's changing her life. Yes, me too. So we gonna keep this, this going. But Ms. Charlie, Lisa, where can they find you?
[01:04:48] Speaker C: You can find me on Instagram Milani by Shadowbox. That's M Y L A N I B Y C H A. You know, black folks got to throw their name. Yeah, it's C H A D O W B O X X. I'm also on Facebook under Milani Vegan hair and body care. And you can also check me out my personal brand, which is Charlis the Shadow Box Harris on Facebook as well. Or you can check out the website, y'.
[01:05:11] Speaker D: All.
[01:05:11] Speaker C: We just did a whole bunch of work on that website like you were talking about. So Milani beauty.com is where you can find all of the things.
[01:05:18] Speaker A: Yes. And you can find me and her reels. Okay. Cause we be cutting up in that salon, so. But. And if y' all haven't noticed, I'm sporting some glasses today. And so I do want to shout out the hepidem glasses. So they have a ton of, like, really unique frames. So these kind of give me, like, this comic book.
[01:05:37] Speaker D: I don't know.
[01:05:38] Speaker C: But this is giving Marvel character.
[01:05:40] Speaker A: Yes. I feel like Superwoman or something, you know? So I just, you know, we shouting out the glasses because I'm trying to get a sponsorship, y', all, so, you know, go ahead.
[01:05:47] Speaker B: Y' all hear that?
[01:05:48] Speaker A: Because I buy new glasses every season. I want to do a contest maybe, like, I should do a glass giveaway. Maybe y' all should. You know, we're gonna talk. We're gonna talk about that. So make sure y' all check me out. Y' all can follow me on all social media platforms. It's Leigh Laree L E I G H L A R I E. And that's on every platform. And of course, Dirty Roses podcast on every platform. Dirtyrosespodcast.com make sure you, like, follow, subscribe, do all those things. You can use code LEIGH L E I G H on the Milani website to get you a little extra discount. And I might have to work out something with Ms. Cowley because I'm trying to be a brand ambassador for the sparkles.
[01:06:25] Speaker C: Right? We need all the Sparkles.
[01:06:27] Speaker A: Yes, we need all. But thank you, ladies, so much for joining us. Thank you for imparting all this wisdom and sharing your stories, and I look forward to collaborating with y' all soon.
Y' all can catch us next time. Bye.
[01:06:38] Speaker D: Thank you, Queen.
[01:06:39] Speaker B: Guess what, Rose buddies, We are thrilled to introduce our new sponsorship packages. Be sure to hit us
[email protected] to.
[01:06:47] Speaker A: Inquire how we can showcase your brand on our platforms.
