We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hawa Ibrahim a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Hawa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I started my handmade jewelry business at the end of 2020 while I was raising my first daughter. I had already been creating art starting back in 2011 and continued off and on over the years. I wasn’t aware of the medium polymer clay until I came across an entire community on Instagram using one hashtag. I got really excited about all the ideas I could come up with to create wearable art. Polymer clay is very durable and flexible. I was able to incorporate textures, doodles, and prints into my overall designs. I was even able to use other mediums with polymer clay, such as alcohol ink, acrylic paint, paint markers. When I was starting, I watched a lot of YouTube videos to learn the fundamentals and basic techniques. Over 2 years later now, I could say I’m slowly finding my voice or feel not just as a handmade jewelry maker, but as an overall artist. I’m forever grateful for all the support I’ve gotten over the last two years, online and in person. Nothing is possible without the help of a community.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve always been creative. It could be art, sowing, making a new dish, or even decorating an entire house. I started my art journey in 2011 as I mentioned and it was briefly right after I had lost my father. Art was therapeutic for me during the hardest few years I’ve had to endure. That changed my perspective on a lot of things. Initially, I was doing portraits of my favorite artists and a few abstract/ mixed media pieces. I was attending college at the same time so I would spend my free time creating. I did that for a couple years. After I graduated from college, I spent less time on art and it took its toll on me mentally. Maybe even spiritually to an extent. So I thought I’d test my ability as a creative again in 2020 while in quarantine. I had time and new found inspiration in my daughter. I knew I wanted to create handmade jewelry, but I originally was interested in using epoxy resin. I’m not sure how I stumbled on polymer clay, but I was so happy that I did. I took 6 months to try out different brands, and experiment with different techniques until I came up with a few collections in that span of 6 months. March of 2021 was when I first posted a picture of every pair I’ve created, and sold over 70% of inventory in one night, through my Instagram. If it weren’t for that night, and selling most of what I’ve created, I’m not sure where I’d be today. September of 2021 is when I decided to launch my website. I always wanted a website where I could showcase all of my creations in one place. I’m hoping to have more than just my jewelry on my site. That way, my customers/clients will have variety of things they can see, purchase, or admire. I offer art commissions and custom handmade jewelry along with my jewelry collections. Those who are interested can get more information on my website. I soon will have my past art pieces, and in the future, my home decor pieces available on my website. What sets me apart from others, and mainly why I’m proud of about myself and my work, is that I’m original. I take inspiration from nature and my life journey. I find motivation to do more in being a mother and remembering my mother and father’s journey to get to the States. My ideas are uniquely mine, and I haven’t seen anything like what I’ve created elsewhere. I have always stood by being authentic and unapologetically myself. I hope my audience can see that in all of my work and how I truly value everything I create.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Many people don’t understand the struggle of migrating to a new country. Navigating from an African culture to American culture was shell shocking. The first few years growing up in the States was hard for me personally. I didn’t speak the language, and had no awareness of my surroundings. I didn’t realize it until now, but I think that’s when I started to struggle with having anxiety. It wasn’t apparent at first, until right before graduating high school. I didn’t have a mentor or anyone to help me navigate through life, or even my career honestly. I had to figure it out on my own. I wasn’t sure where to start, or how to ask for help. From these struggles, I was forced to become independent, and self sufficient. From these new found strengths, I’ve created a life, and a brand that I can be proud of.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I’ve had to unlearn is that to never be easily influenced by your surroundings. I felt the need to change my major the first quarter of my freshman year in college. I wish I had stuck through with my initial major, which was to study graphic design, and not international studies. I’ve decided to change my major because of familial pressure, and peer pressure to centering my focus on getting a job after college. I didn’t think graphic design was going to be profitable at the time after I discussed it with family, and friends. What I had to unlearn was following advice from family and friends. I’ve learned to trust my intuitions, and instincts.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.salweity.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/salweity
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087955957218&mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@salweity15

Image Credits
Comfort Photography