Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nadiyah Mahmood. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Nadiyah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I knew as a child sitting in class drawing on the margins of my notes that I was probably going to be some sort of artist but I didn’t expect to be a mehndi artist! I was just as surprised as my parents were when they noticed I was buying so much henna powder and supplies.

During my late teen years, after building some mehndi drawing skills and making progress with my henna paste mixing, I decided to start opening myself up to the idea of providing services for currency and sell natural henna cones. I didn’t want to provide a service using chemical products from the store. Providing quality product and service is my top priority. Now there are plenty of henna artists that use natural henna in the States, however, a goal of mine is still to make natural mehndi (henna) more accessible so the public has safer options for temporary body art.

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

During my adolescence, mehndi (henna) had been a significant part of my life as we would apply designs on our hands for Eid celebrations and wedding parties as part of our traditions. It wasn’t until around age 13 that I started drawing mehndi myself, playing around with different patterns and lines and circles.

Back then it was hard finding good henna artists who used natural henna so we would get the mehndi cones from our local South Asian grocery shops, which were prepackaged and factory made with chemicals so the quality wasn’t there but it was what we had growing up.

By age 19, I had made many attempts to make my own natural mehndi paste, each time being a disaster. Whether I was missing ingredients or added too much of something to the mix, too runny or too thick, the stain wouldn’t turn dark like I had hoped. Eventually I started to see progress in my mehndi batches achieving the right consistency. The stain would turn out bright pumpkin orange gradually turning mahogany red over 2 days. Just right!

At that point, I was able to start taking my first bridal sessions and mehndi parties for South Asian and Arab functions which are some of my favorite jobs to do as being part of someone’s special day can be rewarding. The fact that your art work will be part of those memories is a true blessing!

Owning your own business is no cake but starting out and taking those baby steps, building your skills, clientele and experience really helps. You just have to have the patience and faith in your brand. They say Rome wasn’t built overnight, the same goes for starting your own business. Don’t lose sight when you don’t see immediate progress, these things take time. Don’t quit your day job either until you know you’re stable enough to take on the responsibility of being a full time business owner.

The main thing that has helped me is staying consistent with posting on social media and finding new ways to stay engaged with followers and viewers. I would say majority of my clientele comes from social media as well as doing henna at public markets and private events.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Despite having a decent following and clientele with the experience I have, there have been times where I’ve felt helpless and vulnerable especially in the beginning stages of starting out as a young woman owned business.

In some instances, being taken advantage of by some individuals expecting you to lower your prices or barter for free or cheap services/products. Sometimes this could be from individuals within your own community which can be tremendously discouraging and stressful when trying to stand your ground. Keep standing firm even if you’re rejected for work, eventually when you start building a following and clientele by being consistent, people will notice you mean business.

Opportunities come and go but your peace in mind needs protection. Being a creative is supposed to be fun so you choose your clientele and who you work with. Don’t stress yourself out by taking a job that was already iffy or demanding from the start.

Anither helpful tip is to look at other creative and artists as networking and connecting rather than “competition.” This creates a bond which can later become your own little community. Having connections builds bridges, and yes it is true that not everyone will be your friend per say, however, having small business acquaintances isn’t a bad idea when networking.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

The struggle is real! Apart from having fun as a creative, there’s a lot of pivots and bumps in the road to establishing your business. Sometimes your private life gets in the way of your creativity.

I’ll be the first to admit that there have been times where my mental health became a serious issue for my business especially in 2020 when Covid-19 hit. All of my future events and appointments had to be canceled or postponed. No money was coming in to help us. Then personal issues arose and I got really in my head about things. I stopped posting on social media as much and went ghost for most of that year. I almost thought about dropping my business altogether and just going back to a regular 9 to 5. My henna powder vendor in India had stopped selling for a while so it was hard to get my hands of some quality luscious green henna powder.

Suddenly in the midst of things, I had a revelation. Towards the end of the year, I told myself to push through it somehow. I think the encouragement I needed was seeing so many people messaging me in Instagram and Facebook asking if I’m still selling henna cones because they miss it. Not wanting to disappoint, I started out slow again taking a few local orders here and there. Meanwhile a couple of my TikTok videos went viral and I started getting more orders in on Etsy.

Occasionally, I still go through a few swerves on the road but I know everything will balance itself out in due time. I’m only 26 so I’m trying not to stress it. It’s all a journey, we can’t expect everything to fall into place right away.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadi_nam/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nadinam1/
• Other: www.etsy.com/shop/NadiNAM1

Image Credits
All photos shared here are credited to Nadiyah Mahmood and Rashid Khan (husband to Nadiyah)