We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rochelle Hendrix a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Rochelle , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
I thought long and hard for my business name to be universal so I would not have to limit my craft and the tools I wanted to provide. I began to ponder on my spiritual experiences and what they had felt like. With all the information and the connections I was receiving, I was in a euphoric trance. Then it came to me “you’re wasted on spirituality” I said to myself. I then thought, this name has to have a play on words so I changed the spelling of wasted to waisted so it could hold more than one meaning. I then added spiritually at the end and I fell in love. And this is how Waisted Spiritually was born.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hello beautiful people my name is Rochelle, I am from San Diego, California and I am the creator of Waisted spiritually. I design handmade waist beads that will help beautify your body and have been designing since May 2020. Waist beads are tools/jewelry that are worn around your waist and hip regions to adorn your body, track your weight, set intentions and so much more! Waist beads originated in Africa and are used in many ceremonies like birth and weddings.
Waisted Spiritually came about during my spiritual journey. I was doing my research on the diverse field of spirituality and found myself connecting dots to unanswered questions. I was in love with all the information and validation I was receiving and decided to continue this journey. During my research, I discovered waist beads and what these gems had to offer. I was amazed by how this African technology was used on young infants to track their growth to ensure they are at the proper birth weight each month. They are also given to young girls for rites of passage and even used as a communication tool, where wives wear a certain strand during the time of month to communicate to their spouse without having to use words.
I created my first strands while I was going through a dark period in my life. I was not happy with myself, and where I felt I was going. I secured the strands with the intention to be patient with myself, trust the valley I was experiencing and to adorn and appreciate my body. I began to see a change in myself I had never seen before. I was sure that the beads didn’t do this solely yet they held me accountable and kept me mindful of my set intentions. I had no idea that this would become my business. My focus was on my healing journey and loving myself again. However after seeing what waist beads had done for me, I could not be selfish, I wanted to share this tool with everyone. I had set a goal to lose weight and shed insecurities that were controlling my thoughts and life. While wearing waist beads I was able to reach a lot of the goals. Waist beads were one of the many tools that helped me achieve what I desired as I had to do the work as well.
My inner voice and intuition told me this was my calling. I was here not only to serve but to help others heal and that is when I knew I wanted to turn this into a business. My Passion has always been helping people help themselves, so I did not question the message I received, instead I honored it and began designing and assisting. I am so proud and honored to know that I am helping people in building their bridge on their new path. Waisted Spiritually has allowed me to make connections with different energies from all walks of life and that is the gift that keeps on giving.
Our Mission at Waisted Spiritually is to empower and align your souls’ purpose with hand-crafted tools that will help navigate and guide your spirit through its personal journey of discovery, self-love, worth, acceptance and pride!
Waisted Spiritually specializes in education, self awareness and love and with each strand there is love vibrating through. I want to be the glue that bonds and connects your intentions to your soul’s purpose.
Waist Beads represents: Femininity, Body Adornment, Spirituality, Mindfulness, Healing, Body Empowerment, Artistic Expression, and Sensuality
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part about being creative is that you get to express yourself through different vessels. You are the author and you get to share a story on your version of a canvas. When you are creating you unlock this power and feeling that is amazing and then when your creation touches someone else it’s a gratifying feeling. Being a creative means you have no limitations and with this freedom brings power.
Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?
On June 11th 2022 I was presented with an amazing opportunity to sell my waist beads in a local Sea Moss Juice Bar called Fuel Thy Cells. They are the only store in San Diego and the first to present me with an offer like this. I am so grateful and I felt this would be a great opportunity to reach more clients, and to also be able to connect with them face to face. This opportunity has been amazing and with continued networking experiences. Twice a year there is a block party thrown for local small businesses to come together for a cause at the juice bar. Here I am able to meet vendors and assist people that have a connection to waist beads.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.waistedspiritually.com/
- Instagram: Waistedspiritually.com
- Facebook: waistedspiritually
- Youtube: @waistedspiritually4378
- Other: [email protected]
Image Credits
Image credits @Waistedspiritually