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

Nika, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I created this art series that combined dildos with handguns to poke fun at gun culture while raising awareness by pointing a finger to society’s mishaps. As I began to display the series, I got lots of incredible feedback, one day a friend of mine approached me and said “you should make this functional.” I looked her square in the eye and said, what do you mean by functional? Thus the Trigger Happy Toy Line was born.

In the beginning, I remember working long hours in art studios to make ends meet. Even though I was working a job, I was also working on my business at the same time. I would sculpt with my hands while constantly creating new ideas and ways to move the business forward. With such thrilling inspiration and delight, the work that came out of my hands was natural and seamless,

I remember taking my first business class at Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment, which supported women in underserved communities in starting small businesses. It was the first time that I had ever been in an environment where I was able to put structure and guidance around the things that I was taking on.

I walked through downtown Oakland to file my paperwork. I remember leaving the office with my fictitious business name statement and my business license, and all the other documents, beaming with joy. Then I walked to the newspaper to publish it so that it would be official. I got to the Oakland Tribune building only to discover that it was now a historical landmark and I wouldn’t be able to publish my fictitious business name there. It’s worth a good chuckle now, but at the time it was a lot of extra sweat equity. When I filed my paperwork, it was one of the happiest days of my life, I knew that I was official. At that moment I became real in the world of business and in my mind.

I spent years developing the prototype into a functional sex object. Studying anatomy, going through various iterations of angles and parts, and how things should look and feel to the body. It was an incredible journey in designing this. I had no idea where it would take me but I’m sure glad that it got me here. while developing this business, not only did I have to have an understanding of business, but I had to have an understanding of anatomy, design manufacturing and chemistry. I spent many nights awake and engaged in some portion of the company.

After working with designers, 3D Modeler‘s manufacturers, and everyone else in between, I received the box of my very first prototypes. I lit up with joy they were all the different colors that I got to select from and see which ones I like which ones I wanted to continue with, and it was the most fun, I immediately ran around, yelling I have a bag of dicks. That’s what I said “I’ve got a bag of dicks”, laughing the whole way. You can only imagine the amount of dirty jokes that gets told around my office.

When I created the art series, I never thought that I would launch it into a full on business, but once the idea arose, it was such a logical path I immediately sat out determined to learn exactly what I needed to know to have my business succeed. I had no idea the kind of work it took to develop a product from a prototype into a larger production system.

Nika, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a classically trained fine artist specializing in figurative ceramics and portraiture. My work drives home complex, layered and controversial narratives that challenge socially and culturally normative viewpoints around race, gender, gender based violence, shame, sexuality, class, religion and how fear creates prejudice.

I am also the owner and founder of The House of Cherrelle, a social enterprise that empowers people in the areas of health and sexuality. I host The ‘It’ Cast: Real Talk on Sex, a community outreach podcast that increases diversity in conversations on health and sexuality. My work empowers and inspires people across all cultural backgrounds; by breaking down taboo, to create a world where all people feel loved, honored and respected.

In 2008 I developed an art series called Dual Compensation. In this work, I took dildos and handguns, and crafted them together as a representation of overcompensation. The dildo represented compensation for the penis and the gun represented compensating for power and dominance. Contrary to popular belief this series had absolutely nothing to do with masculinity, but gender toxicity as a whole. I was really acknowledging that in this society we all strive to be the top of the totem pole based on this one archetype of gender expression. This art series led to the creation of The Nikita sex toy.

The Nikita is a gun handled dildo with an insert-able vibrator that combines the concept of a pistol grip with soft curves and pulsating rhythms, it is designed to be used from a multitude of angles, and is incredibly ergonomic, making it easy for people who have dexterity challenges like myself, and may have trouble holding objects at particular angles, for an extended amount of time.

Over the next several years I spent time developing the first product while also becoming very knowledgeable in the realm of health and sexuality. I began to discover that the missing information around sex in my life was a commonality amongst multiple groups of people.

I have always been someone who has been able to talk about sex and sexuality in a free and non-judgmental manner. For the people I work with this creates a safe space to be themselves. One day out of the blue something said “you should do a podcast” and that was one of the biggest evolutions my company has had.

The “It” Cast: Real Talk on Sex is our community outreach podcast, a platform that focuses on eradicating sexual shame & ending gender based violence by increasing diversity in conversations on healthy sexuality. We are committed to transforming the way people relate to sex and sexuality by creating thought provoking discussion forums that focus on healing shame around sexuality. We host community events that provide tools for having happy, healthy, engaged lives.

My work overall focuses on health and sexuality. We are empowering people to enjoy and celebrate who they are. Allowing others to be exactly who they are. The mission of my company is to empower everyone to enjoy their sexuality. Meaning that humanity as a whole has the right to personal self expression without the threat of violence, death discrimination or abandonment. This work is about transforming the way that the world views sexuality.

I have gotten a lot of blowback for having a company that works in the arena of sexuality. Because sexuality is so taboo people immediately assume that it’s going to be something salacious. My work really focuses on moving through shame, healing, trauma, and allowing people to open up and experience the pleasure that they deserve.

One of my greatest loves is private coaching. Many people have come to me saying that they feel that they are wrong, broken or different and they are often in pain. Together, I get to look with them at being with those parts that will really make a difference in beginning to heal who they are for themselves.

At my company we value:
Play – Being willing to have fun with freedom and ease
Creativity – The willingness to express oneself
Diversity – The collaboration of people from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds
Health – Celebrating the right of health for everybody
Community- We are better together.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A big lesson that I had to unlearn as a business owner is that you can’t do it all alone. I was someone who was taught to be highly competitive and driven to succeed. In all of the individual competition, one of the major things I missed, was learning to play well with others. I had a limited capacity to see others’ input as valuable, I thought I knew how to do everything right and would do it to save a dollar.

I would learn how to do it instead of hiring a professional. I learned, not as quickly as I had wanted to, that is one of the most detrimental ways to approach business. It takes away from the ability to move swiftly and be creative in your own right.

Once I let go of needing to control everything, I discovered that it’s possible to accomplish exponentially more with the team than I could alone. I had to let go of controlling every little detail I had to let go of making sure that my version of perfect was going to be exactly how they would do it.

And the beauty of it is that I get to bring a standard of quality while they get to create and envision and play. They bring me things that I never would have imagined on my own that do wonders for the company. That allows the team to have that kind of freedom also provides agency and accountability.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

The best way to keep morale up with the team is to let them do what they enjoy. Not trying to fit a round peg into a square hole, or trying to force someone to do admin when they’re really built for a design.

As individuals we will often take the jobs that we can get to make ends meet whether they are suited for us ideally or not. That can lead to a substantial amount of misery. I don’t believe in work being miserable, so I don’t force people to do things they don’t like to do.

The same thing applies to me as the owner. When I first began expanding my team, I realized that I needed to hire people to do the things that I didn’t like, didn’t understand, and was ill equipped to do. As those things started coming off of my plate, I could feel the stress lifting. There is a saying that “the fish rots at the head.” Well, if your team has low morale around work, you may have low morale too.

I continue that practice today as my team grows gaining lots and lots of relief. Every time someone is lit up by taking something on that feels good for them.

Teamwork is the best part of running a business. It’s about building systems within systems, and when the whole team moves together in the right direction, success is eminent.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.NikaCherrelles.com, www.TriggerHappyToy.com, www.MarnikaShelton.com
• Instagram: @NikaCherrelle, @TriggerHappyToy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marnika.shelton.1
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marnika-shelton-the-house-of-cherrelle/
• Twitter: @NikaCherrelle, @TriggerHappyToy
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nikacherrelle
• Other: Patreon: www.patreon.com/nikacherrelle Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/NikaCherrelle [email protected]