Archelle Bernard started Bombshell Factory in Monrovia to employ women from poverty backgrounds, raised $70,000 on Kickstarter, and survived Ebola and COVID by pivoting to masks. She talks about African wax-print history, comfort-first design, and how fashion unites across cultures.
Questions this video answers
She moved to Liberia in 2011 and started Bombshell there.
Monrovia (on top of her store).
About $70,000.
Mango Rags (opened in the ground floor of her family's building).
They pivoted to mask making.
Chapters
Hey, it's episode number 331. And today's conversation is a deeply personal one. And I think it's a big conversation that we all need to continue to have in our industry. I'm so lucky today to be joined by Archelle Bernard, who is the founder of Bombshell. And if you were at the Boutique Summit this year, you heard Alison, our opening speaker from the Alison show, talk about the beautiful dress she was wearing and the awesome woman who who handcrafted this dress custom for her with a team of women in Libya that do all the manufacturing for her. Today, our shell and I have a conversation about her business, about designing, about manufacturing and importing and surviving Covid. But even deeper than that, we have a conversation about race and about black women and brown women and white women and all women being able to come together through fashion and exactly what that looks like in our industry today. You guys, Archelle is a ray light, and I am so thankful to be able to share this with you today because I think it's a way to bring all of us together and to unite not just us and our community or the people in your community and our industry, but even our world around what fashion means to every single one of us. I hope you enjoy this episode. We'll see you inside. Let's talk about your business strategy and the juicy details of what actually works. From mainstream fashion to fashion on Main street and the entire ecosystem behind it. How do we scale your company and do it with the balance and the happiness that we all seek? Let's hear from those insiders, experts, and strategists that actually make it happen. I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub, and I can't wait to chat. Guys, welcome back. I'm Sarah. So pumped because this is a super cool connection that we have this week. For those of you that were at the Boutique Summit this year in Atlanta, our opening speaker was Alison Faulkner of the Alison show, and she, I felt like, was such a great, energetic start to the day. Like, she is a one in a million person that I'm so blessed to say that I've met. And in her talk, she brought us on this journey that she's been on with her body and her lifestyle and and tied that into a great story and a message about fashion and the opportunity fashion has to build confidence and just to help us become new people, new women. And in that time, she told us a story about this really cool brand based in Atlanta. Correct. So I am thrilled today to have Archelle on the show. The founder of Bombshell, who was the designer behind what Alison was wearing on the stage. And that was an integral part of her story.
Story.
And, Archelle, you have a beautiful story yourself. So I'm so pumped to have this conversation to you today about fashion and about unification behind fashion and all the cool things we can do together. So I would love for you to start. Welcome to the show. Tell us a little bit about the brand and how you got started designing.
Thank you, Ashley. I'm so grateful to be here. Also talking with you as well. I've been looking forward to it all month. Literally, when they were like, we want you to do the podcast. When I saw you guys at the Boutique Summit, I was like, we can talk today. So they're like, okay, we'll give it some time. So I'm so grateful to be here. Bombshell started when I moved to Liberia in 2011, and I moved to Liberia to be the West African Oprah Winfrey. And I wanted to be this lifestyle journalist, and I wanted to wear African clothes every time I did my videos. And I quickly learned there was no real market for lifestyle journalism in Monrovia. And as I would wear my clothes around town, people would want to order my clothes. So I initially started it, the company, out of the back of my pickup truck. I would just drive around dropping off dresses, you know, showing different clothes, showing different swatches. I would go between my tailors who would make the clothes to customers, and I would just be driving around town in this big white pickup truck, just hauling dresses. And for every one dress I would sell, I would make three. So that's really how the business started to support itself was just. I didn't really know what was the math I should be doing. So for every one dress, I could make three more. So. So about a year later, I opened my first boutique. It's called Mango Rags. I opened it with a partner who sold menswear in Monrovia in the ground floor of my family's building. And that boutique is still there, so I'm very blessed to still have that. And we had to close after a year of business because of the Ebola virus. So Ebola really hit Liberia very hard. We had to close down, and I ended up coming back to the States to stay with my mom for a little bit and just do some soul searching. I traveled at that time. Nasty Gal was just opening their retail store, so I went to LA to see what that felt like. I went to Colombia to see what local shops felt like, and I Just wanted to get a vibe or a feeling as to what I should be doing, because I had made myself this really cool girl with really great dresses, but I hadn't done. I'm literally watching my country suffer from abroad, and I'm not doing anything to help anybody. So I realized that if I wanted to be a person who earned their keep in this world, I had to figure out how to make my business, not just for me, but a more social business. So went back to Liberia after Ebola, after the hard part of Ebola kind of had subsided, and I began work. I think I had like $5,000 total, and I began to build this factory. And at Bombshell Factory, which is located in Monrovia, on top of my store, we hire and train women from backgrounds of poverty to sew clothes that we then sell online. So we launched that company on Kickstarter. Actually, we raised about $70,000. We were in the New York Times, and all was great, you know, for some years. And then I came to America to receive an award from my alma mater. And then Covid.
Ah, yeah.
So I. I got stuck in the States, and I was trying to figure out how we would pivot, so I grabbed. I mean, I. I spoke. I was always in contact with the women at the Bombshell Factory, but, you know, summer season vacations, this is how we're making our money. And all of a sudden that has kind of dried up. So we pivoted to mask making. We made a good bit of money doing that. And then George Floyd was killed. And I was like, I'm going to reach for my big dream. And I opened my first US Based boutique in October of last year. So it's almost one year. But I. The mall, the property where my store is, I think was also very excited to see how to really reflect the changing Atlanta community. And so I'm excited to have been a part of that. So I just took you through, like, almost a decade of my life, but really how fashion has really saved my life and helped me bring others along for the journey. So I'm just so blessed for all of that.
Yeah, that. That's a lot packed into, like, four minutes of your life.
Yeah.
Yeah, man. So let's. Let's break down a couple pieces of that. First surviving Ebola and then surviving Covid and being able to keep these women employed. I just. I don't want to lose how important that is. How did you manage those ups and downs and also being separated from them during this time? And I'm assuming Covid you know, had to be a factor for them as well. And the concerns. Were they able to stay working during this time time. And you importing during this time, or how have you kept that all running?
Yes, absolutely. Ebola. Ebola was unique because it really only attacked our region so the rest of the world could come and help. Right. And Covid leveled everybody. There was nobody who was spared, no. No particular country or region or anything like that who was spared. So what I will say is, because I'd gone through Ebola, I knew that things would still get back to normal with COVID So I wasn't as scared to make the big jumps or leaps. Right. Because a lot of people would say opening a retail space during a pandemic when people are not really going out is a big risk. And yes, it is a big risk, but also I think that's when small, small companies should take the big risks is because, okay, what have you really got to lose? But you have so much to gain.
Yeah.
You know, and so for me, the heart of my company is really to make a better life for everybody who is involved. I want people to love working with me. I want people to see their lives change in ways that they never could have even written or imagined. And so it's. Every step of the way has been, are my team, are my girls safe? I always. I just. I call them my girls, but they're women. But are my girls safe? Are they happy? Are they able to pay for things? Are they worried about things? And so, you know, a large part of what we do and why we do what we do is just to make sure that we're continuing to help everybody improve on their lives. So Covid last year did not hit our region as hard as this Delta variant has this year. And so we just continue to try to practice those things where I say, you guys, I need you to take this as seriously as you did Ebola. And they all hear that because we all saw people die from Ebola. So when I say I need you guys to take this that seriously, they get it, they feel it, and we are less resistant when it comes to that.
Yeah, that's a big, big step. Something you said, you know, talking about jumping in when there's risks. That's what small businesses do. I. I think about, like, the stock market. Right. When do you buy the stock market? Not when it's high. You buy when it's low. Right. You buy when it's low. You buy when it's crashed and everyone else is getting out and you're the one that's running in and you're buying. And that's kind of what small business is right now. And. And you mentioned, even after George Floyd, like that inspired you to follow your dream and to step into this is what I want to do, and this is what I want to give back. I think about business today and how much it's changed. Right. Small business owners that are flocking to the market today because they're inspiring to do something different, but with social good. Talk to me about how you see the future of this industry changing with brands like yours who are so dedicated to giving back and to serving with purpose. Where do you see that going, and do you think that's essential to brands today?
Oh, I love that. I love that question, Ashley. I think that more and more, we're excited to wear things that truly represent us, not just in the color or the cut or the style, but also in knowing that it was made in a safe environment or knowing that nobody was harmed or just us being those change agents through our clothes. Because that is one of the easiest ways that we can express ourselves is through our clothes. And I think that it's so exciting that as people, even people who I met at boutiques at the summit, you know, who were interested in buying our clothes, it was because the story really resonated with them. How exciting is it as a business owner to sell a product because you get to tell the story of how it was made. And I always try to encourage customers or my followers on Instagram, I always say, you know, when you're leaving the house one day, do a glance over of your outfit and make sure there's at least one thing you can tell a story about, because that story is a reflection of you. It's a reflection of the things that you prioritize, the things that make you excited or the things that really that you're passionate about. So it's like, even if it's. I'm wearing this vintage jacket that I found while I was in, you know, in Aspen at a. At a thrift store in Aspen. Like, you know, that tells something about you, as opposed to, I'm wearing this thing that I was targeted for when I was on an app, like, on scrolling through Instagram. You know, it just. I think that as we look for more ways to support ethical and small and sustainable, these are the things that are kind of showing our character. And it's really exciting that there's so many ways that we can do that.
Yeah. You know, as I think about the thousands of boutiques we work with, right? And they're always having this conversation about how can I encourage my customers to support more small businesses? Like, what's the thing? And I think you just hit it on the head. And I think every single boutique owner listening or brand owner listening has the opportunity to get on Instagram every single day and share that component. Like when you leave after shopping with me, whether it's in store online, you can tell a story, right? I got these necklaces from this woman who handmade them in North Dakota and her husband had Alzheimer's. And you know, here's the all the things, right? Because that word of mouth is what drives traffic back to those small business.
And those are the things people want to buy, the things people want to keep, the things people want to rewear and rewear and rewear. If you buy something from my store and you only wear it once, you're not going to be out there. You know, people aren't going to be able to stop you and ask you about my garment. I want you to wear my garment five, six times. I want you to wear it. When you're going to a festival and you're going to see hundreds and hundreds of people, I want you to stop traffic because you're going to. All those people are going to be interested in where you got it from. And I want for you to have a great story to tell about it. Oh, I got it from this really cool African store at Ponce City Market. And then next time they're at Ponce City Market, they're going to look for that really cool Africa. But if you're just wearing a jacket from Zara, no story number one, when by the time that person gets there, it's not going to be there, you know, Number two, you don't really have a story about it. I got it from Zara. You know, the end.
Number one, Pond City Market. Is that where you're at? Because that is the.
Yeah, I'm at Pond City Market on the side.
I love that place. I want to have an event at Ponce City Market so bad.
Well, come, let's do it. Come, come do it at Bombshell.
Well, talk to me more stories and tell me more about African fashion as a whole. So my first experience like really getting to see a lot of African fashion behind the scenes was there's this big, like an off price distributor in Dallas that serves a huge African fashion market. And I can remember walking through just like touching and feeling like, oh my gosh, these prints are unbelievable. Like you cannot find these Prints anywhere else. They're so gorgeous. And Alison's dress that you made from her, Same. Like, if you've been on the Hubs Instagram, you've seen it. Tell me the story behind that. And we were also talking about Alison, this, like, blonde woman wearing this, like, beautiful African piece. How can she continue to tell that story? Like, what. What do we need to know to make sure that this is like an interracial celebration of African fashion?
Absolutely. Oh, I love it. I want everybody to come to the party. You know, when you come in Bombshell, you see this big sign that says all are welcome because I want everybody to know. And it's got, like the different color peace sign hands, because all are welcome here. We can find something that will look stunning on everybody. But when I was growing up, my family came to the States as refugees from Liberia, and we moved to a very, very. It was. We were the only black family in the neighborhood. And my mom would come pick me up from school in the carpool line and be wearing head to toe African print, right? And it was, like, so embarrassing. And I. One day she was supposed to pick me and my Girl Scout, Girl Scout troop up. And I said, mom, could you please wear jeans and dress normal like the regular moms? And she was like, here I am thinking I'm dressing all nice to pick up my child and I'm embarrassing her, you know, so it's always our joke, because now I've made this African fashion my life. And none of us will leave the house without wearing something African, you know, but the key is really making sure that it's comfortable, it fits your lifestyle, and that you're not dressed in a costume. You know, with Allison, I pick specific colors. She can do the pinks, the teals, the greens, the blues. These are things that make her look great. Maybe everybody is not a red and yellow big bird print type of person, but as long as you find things that really light you up, that don't make you look like you're wearing a costume, you'll be good. I think that it's so exciting that there are so many small African brands. So you can always connect with the maker, and we can always help you find something that will make you look good. You know, find a maker that you trust. Trust who's not just in it for the money. Because for me, if we sell this one piece to you and you never wear it, I didn't need to sell it to you. I want all my customers to wear the clothes over and over again because that's the only way our business is going to grow. So I'm really excited to always find the colors, the shapes. We don't do any zippers. We only do elastic cuts and wrap cuts because we want things to be so extremely comfortable for you that when you're like, I want to feel good and look good at the same time, you're reaching in your closet for your bombshell. So that is just so important to me, and I think it's important to everybody.
Yeah, I love that comfort has to be everything. Tell me. I have a question about the Prince. Every. Every culture has a story. I would love to know, like, the history of those prints being so vibrant. Like, is there a cultural, like, meaning and story behind that? Or give me more history. I would love to hear.
Well, as far back as I can remember, the. What we call, we call it African wax print. And a lot of it started by being printed in Holland, and for whatever reason, it came to West Africa. And it's a very durable cotton. Cotton being breathable and durable. And the kind of work that we do in Africa, we need clothes that will last us for some time. So in that way, it's just traditionally been. I've seen some prints on some garments that my mom had made in the early 80s. Those same prints are still floating around the region now. So it's really exciting because it's timeless, it's high quality, and it's just beautiful. And also, I just find that our culture being so vibrant with, you know, being tropical weather, bright foods, colorful people, bright music. Like, the bright clothes just fit, you know? And so I think it's just another extension of our culture that is very exciting. But also, as we want to be a part of global fashion, it's so important that people see this as an option of things that everybody can wear. You know, it's not just French people who wear Louis Vuitton. So in that same regard, if we would like to be part of the conversation, I would love for people to wear African print and say, yes, I'm from California, but I love me an African print skirt.
Yeah, I love that. Have you started to collaborate with boutique boutiques and sell wholesale into boutiques, or what does that relationship look like for you now?
So the first boutique that I ever sold in was Nubian human in D.C. and I went to their store. They're one of the stores that I went and visited during Ebola. They had just opened in newly. They were rebuilding a neighborhood in the south side of D.C. and they had just opened in an Art center there. And I was so intimidated, actually, you know, it's so crazy because I look at boutiques and boutique owners as if I'm not part of the community. And I'm just like, why would anybody want to sell what I have? You know, I really do get a lot of imposter syndrome about my pieces. And when I met that founder and she. When I met the founder of Nubian Human, she was like, your clothes are beautiful. Why would anybody not want to, you know? And as I continue to meet other boutique owners, they say the same thing. So sometimes when you're in the space that you've always dreamed of, you still can't get out of your head. But I. She was like, send me a line sheet. And I was like, I had no idea what a line sheet was. So I had to get on Google and be like, okay, what's a line sheet? All right, I see it. I got on Fiverr. I was like, who can make me a line sheet with my pieces? And then she made her first order. And my first order, I think was for like $3,000. And you could have. It was like a check for a million dollars. Okay. And I was just so honored for that. So I've sold. Now, I have had to date three wholesale clients because we've done a lot of direct to consumer with just our online sales. But we've had her in D.C. a boutique in Bradenton, Florida. Very random. And then we have a consistent client in Bermuda. So again, that's why I love that fashion just really is the unifier. Because these are just places that I've never even seen myself being able to sell. And it's like, wow, there are women in these cities that love our clothes. That's exciting.
Well, there's going to be thousands of boutique owners that listen to this conversation, so hopefully you'll get an opportunity to meet some more too. If you have been a part of the boutique hub for a while, you are familiar with Costa Threads. Costa Threads Wholesale is a graphic T shirt company started by two moms on a mission to spread goodness one tea at a time. And not only do they provide unique and high quality graphic apparel that's designed and printed and shipped in house, but they've also created a close knit, authentic and personal environment with their customers. I am telling you from experience, because I'm in the group, they promote authenticity, confidence, love and happiness with their relationships in the industry and with their apparel. Check them out, my friendsosthreads. Com. But I wanna continue this conversation Cause you said something to me, I thought was really interesting. When we were talking about being at the Boutique Summit, you were talking about walking into the room and being like.
Oh, man, there's, like, a lot of.
White women in this room. But you said, what a unifier. Like, fashion is such a unifier. Tell me about that experience for you and just kind of how you see this fashion industry melding together.
Yeah, I think, you know, again, going back to growing up as a refugee and not always knowing which spaces I would be welcomed in. So when I walked into Boutique Summit and I see all these really stylish, but all white a lot blonde women, you know, that are my peers, but still not knowing if I fit. Like, am I the awkward African girl? You know, and not being sure and walking in, but knowing that there's Alison on that stage wearing our dress. And so I always say, in this life, we need champions and cheerleaders. And here she is giving her talk, and she's wearing this gown. And she. It was a gown that. When I was like, I hope she likes it. This is what I would want her to wear. But she may think it's too much. You know, it's like, head. It's like complete gown in African print. She might feel like it's too much. And for her, she felt like that was exactly the way she wanted to be communicated. That is what fashion does. Because this dress that I designed, she absolutely should have so many things in her head, like, I don't know if I can, or is it appropriate, or all these questions. But no, what fashion does is it shows you. It lights you up. Like, those styles that just light you up and make you feel like this is the best representation of me. And so here I am walking into a room. It's kind of like that first day of school. You don't know anybody there. You're like. You're like, I don't know where I'm gonna sit in the lunchroom. And having a champion on stage wearing my dress really did so much for me. Feeling comfortable, walking into the space and seeing how beautiful she looked. And then also talking to so many people afterward who maybe never thought they could see themselves in a dress like that. It really made me feel so comfortable. And I'm like, this is fashion doing the Lord's work. Okay.
Yeah, I. You know, I totally agree with you. And gosh, I mean, across. Across ages, across cultures, across so many different. So, I mean, if I saw somebody who was not native to my culture wearing those things, I'd be like, yes. Because now you get to go tell the story of what does it mean to wear cowboy boots, like what Ralph Lauren did for Western, right. Across all cultures. To me that that's what fashion does is it celebrates history, it celebrates who we are. And to me that's experience I saw you have. And what a beautiful, beautiful, what a beautiful opportunity.
It was so wonderful. Also just connecting with different people. At Boutique Summit was one of the people that I talked to at even the phone charger station was a woman who owns a boutique in the town where Breonna Taylor was killed. And so we're talking about our experiences during that same time, right? Like during that same year. What is it like as a business owner? And our perspectives are different and also the way that we had to pivot as business owners who want to save our companies, you know, is different. It's all different. And it's like I'm learning, you know, she's like, we did a lot of local drop offs or pickups or, you know, there were just two months in there where I was like, we're just not going to be able to open, just be out of respect or out of respect for our community or out of, you know, just preserving and protecting ourselves. And so here we are, two women with one thing in common. We're both boutique owners and we both had boutiques last year and our situations were so different and we still have so much that we can learn from each other. You know what I'm saying?
Yes, I love that. I think on all topics, right. I think about the hub as a whole and what I see inside the hub. Now granted, there's extremes on both sides where maybe people don't want to see eye to eye or feel isolated. So let's just like cut that, let's cut the extremes out for a second and talk about everybody else who's maybe more in the middle. To me, watching what happened in the hub as everyone had these collective experiences, whether it was George Floyd or Covid or Afghanistan now or like all these different things that are happening to me, what a unifier that experience has been because we all are in different parts of the world. We all have different experiences with exactly what's happening and we all maybe have political different viewpoints on what's happening. But to me, if you're open minded and want to see the world from someone else's point of view or walk in their shoes, fashion, and to me, the hub has been a way to bring people together to learn from one another, even if it's not just how to run your business, but it's socially and culturally, what is the other person experiencing? And how can I learn and grow. Grow from that? I know my perspective on a number of topics has shifted because of the experiences I've had with people different than me in the last year through fashion. Would you agree? Same thing.
Fashion also illustrates exactly where we are at every time in life. So think about COVID time, and everybody was at home. Fashion is fashion evolving. And kind of illustrating 2020 is the fact that sweatpants had a huge company that crocs are having a major time right now because people are having to go back to work, and they're like, I choose comfort. Are honestly so much more important than we ever. Than we even give ourselves credit for, you know, so we have these conversations with our clothing, and that's why things like the summit are so important, is because then we can also have these conversations with each other. So then, you know, I'm leaving the main hall, and I'm going to lunch, and here I am with my tray, and I'm having that same experience again, where I'm like, I'm walking into a room of women I don't know, and I don't know who. Where to go. Like, I'm in the lunchroom, literally, like, I don't know where to go sit. And so I sit down with two boutique owners from an oil city in Texas, and we're all talking about how we're trying to understand our market, right? But also at the same time.
And.
And we both opened, I think, our boutiques within one month of each other, but in these two complete different cities. And we're trying to figure out how to understand our market. But the market has changed so much, you know, just based off of what's been going on. And so the. The beauty of it is I get to see that any problem that I'm having, it's not just me, it's everybody having these same things. And we. We all have these shared experiences or we're in the same shared time in life right now. And so just being able to build off of one another, it's so it's invaluable, really.
Yeah. Can I ask you a really blunt question on this topic? So I. You know, you had said at the beginning, man, I hadn't heard about the boutique hub until the summit. And I think about, like, the market space, right? There's groups. We have a lot of. Actually, we have a lot of all cultures in the hub, but primarily, we do have a lot of white women but there's also communities of a lot of black, brown, you know, different cultures that are just boutique owners and no white women. How could we do a better job of bringing all of those people together? Because we're all trying to learn the same thing. Like how, how could we do a better job of unifying just you having this experience of walking into the summit. What could we all do to better learn from one another?
I definitely think that, you know, the first idea I had when I walked in and I was chatting with these women is I feel like it would be really great if there were more inter city, like pop up swaps. I know that. I know that.
Yeah.
Roll with me here. If I am, I'm at Pon City Market and I was the first black clothing store at Pond City Market. But the way that I even became interested in that space was because the there was a vendor there who was sold vintage clothing and she had invited me to do a pop up right in her space. And then I've done pop up swaps with other people in other places in Atlanta, but just in that sharing resources with each other as a neighbor. Right. As a sister, as like my homegirl also from Atlanta or somebody from Texas being like, this is my sister in boutique ownership who's also in Texas and I'm going to open up my clients to her and then I'm going to go and she's going to open up her clients to me and we're just going to swap that because in that we're going to have the conversations about the things that have helped and inevitably boutique Hub is going to pop up in conversation and that's going to be something that will have been shared with somebody who never would have heard of it before. Or it's like my normal clients that will come because they hear I'm hosting this really great vendor from wherever she's from. We'll get to know her, we'll start to follow her on Instagram, they'll start to interact. And it's like we just have to do more sharing spaces and knowledge starting with the people that are around us rather than thinking we. Everything is just so grand and big. We have to take those small bites. Yeah. You know, it's like, how do you eat an elephant? I think. Is that the saying? I always know it is.
It's one bite at a time. I said this to my daughter yesterday and she goes, mom, that would be be true, except it's illegal to eat elephants. And I was like, okay, well, she.
Knows better than us.
But yes. You can only eat it one bite at a time.
Yeah, absolutely. Because we've done. We did a pop up swap with East Fork. They sell pottery. And so we're in their quieter neighborhood meeting their quieter clients. But still there are things that those clients like that we offer. And then East Fork comes to us on a Saturday. We've got a DJ going, we've got all this stuff. And then my clients are like, I would like this dress, but I would also like this mug to drink my coffee out of. And it's like, these are ways that we are helping each other because we're both still making money, but also we get to chat. How is business on your side? What are the things that you've learned about this quarter? What are your goals for next quarter? And then also, what are the resources that you're using that I can also learn from? So I really, truly think that we have to start looking out for our homegirls who are near us, because that's the only way that we can, as a sisterhood, grow strong.
You know, I love that. I love that small, like, pieces of collaboration that we all have access to. You know, I. I'm a big believer that something good comes from every bad situation. And if I think about, like, the chaos that we've had the last two years of our lives, there's been a lot of bad, Right? But to me, conversations like this and the ability to affect change on such a, like, small, intimate level, that just grows. Whether that's a racial conversation or it's about social good and the women that you employ that are. Are manufacturing your garments, like, to me, all of this is the beauty that's come out of the ashes from the last two years.
Oh, God, yes, Ashley. Like, I feel so privileged to that people. You know, I feel like people have always been curious about African culture, African clothing, but maybe they've been too shy to ask questions about it. And so now we're opening up to each other more. We're like, I want to talk about this, or, you know, and especially for somebody like me who came to America, didn't understand why white women wash their hair, right? Like, I. These were questions for me when I was younger. And when I. I remember the first time I learned how to wash my own hair, I was in like, the fifth or sixth grade. And this girl was like, so how have you been bathing all this time? Right. But because we had never had conversations about what we do in terms of beauty, right? I never knew that it was different. I never knew. And now my kids, when I have kids, they will have people who are more understanding of what, what they wear, what their practices are like, what they eat, you know, because we've been able to share that with each other, you know. Yeah. Traditional dishes are no longer going to be something that I hide, you know, it's going to be something that I share because I know that people are interested and not out of a judgment space. It's out of true curiosity. And maybe one or two things will help make somebody's life better as well. So I'm really excited to see how things evolve.
Yeah. I love hearing you say that, that you're excited to share because I think one of the reasons I know for me specifically, and again, I'm totally going to say because I grew up in North Dakota and it's such a small place. Right. I.
