We recently connected with Shayla Ansah and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Shayla, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
In 2019 I was searching for jewelry for my daughter, Madison. At that time she was turning 13yrs old and I wanted something that would not only be an heirloom but also something that would represent and embrace the beauty of her. I was planning to start a charm bracelet for her and as I searched for more ethnic options, I quickly saw that there were not many companies highlighting the beauty of Black and African cultures. When looking at one company in particular (that is well known for charm bracelets), I noticed there were not any charms that resembled or represented my daughter. I am not saying there was nothing out there but I wanted something that was of good quality and more importantly something that proudly represented Black Culture. So I went searching and couldn’t find anything that felt right. For instance, I found several Nefertiti pieces and of course, I want my children to know and appreciate our history, but honestly my daughter wouldn’t be able to fully relate or identify to a Nefertiti image and I wanted something that she could identify with now! Needless to say, not finding jewelry for her was very upsetting to me and it showed all over my face. Which is why my husband asked me “what was wrong?” I explained to him that this was really bothering me and nonchalantly he said ” you should just create your own”. So now at this point, I’m even more upset lol because my first thought was “that’s your solution?”! It just wasn’t the answer I was looking for. However, I allowed that simple yet powerful statement to sit in my spirit. After a few days, I realized he was right and that’s EXACTLY what I needed to do. So I began to put in the work. I took an old picture of my daughter from when she was about 8yrs old and had it made into a face silhouette (with tweaks) and then made it into a necklace. The “Maddie” was my first ORIGINAL design I had created and I absolutely loved it! I knew then that the universe, my ancestors, and above all God has definitely shown me favor and that was the birth of Shayla Ansah Collection.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Shayla Ansah Collection embraces the beauty of Black culture in the form of original and unique jewelry pieces. The full collection is 18k PVD gold plated (PVD; extra plating method for longevity), hypoallergenic, non tarnish and waterproof jewelry. We have silhouettes images with Black features and statement pieces that represent our culture. Most people see my logo and think its a flower, no its more powerful than that. My logo was intentional and is actually an ancient Adinkra symbol from Ghana, West Africa called Bese Saka. Bese Saka is a symbol of affluence, power, abundance, plenty, togetherness and unity. More unity and representation is truly what I hope to bring through my designs . What sets us apart from others, is that we are making modern quality heirlooms for a race of people that are consistently underrepresented. I custom designed and hand-picked all of the pieces in the collection and each piece has ‘SAC’ engraved into the jewerly to make sure people know they have my original jewelry! My designs are jewelry pieces we never knew we needed but truly desired and it’s only the beginning!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Wow, oh yes I can! Within 6 months of me launching Shayla Ansah Collection my ORIGINAL “Black Girl Magic” necklace was stolen! And I mean stolen! A company from China took pictures of myself off my website and posted them on their business page on Alibaba. I was devastated! I had no clue what to do and of course they were selling it for dirt cheap. I had already trademarked my business but I also knew China wasn’t regulated like here in the U.S. I did file a report through Alibaba fraud department but nothing has transpired because they still sale them. I knew creating something original and amazing was subject to being stolen however, I didn’t expect it to happen so soon; that was the biggest shock for me. Nevertheless, I gave myself a few days to be angry and process it all because after all I had more original designs coming out so naturally I was having some anxiety. Needless to say, I didn’t allow this to break me. God has gifted me with such an amazing idea and have consistently confirmed to me that SAC is my birthright to generational wealth, so there would be no way I would allow any outside force to affect me! Resiliency is necessary in building a brand and Shayla Ansah Collection success is inevitable!
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Pop up markets for sure! The absolute joy I witness when people see what I’ve created and the appreciation they show for my designs is so rewarding. Shayla Ansah Collection is my namesake and the markets allow people to actually see the woman behind the brand and I get an opportunity to engage with my TRIBE is powerful. One thing I love to do at the markets is ask my customer “can I put it on you?” meaning if they want to wear their necklace right now and almost all of them replay “ YES!” in such excitement and that feeling is gratifying! It’s one more reminder that I’m walking and operating in my divine purpose.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.shaylaansahcollection.com
- Instagram: @shaylaansahcollection
- Facebook: Shayla Ansah Collection
- Twitter: @shaylaansahcoll