Today we’d like to introduce you to Mishae Khan
Hi Mishae, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Bold&Kind is a love letter to the woman that’s trying to be everything to everyone at the same time. Often at the expense of herself. That stops here.
I call myself the accidental designer. Bold&Kind started because I needed a way to bridge what I was learning in therapy with the moments I needed those tools the most. My rings became that bridge.
Here’s what happened:
Once upon a long time ago, I started getting panic attacks for the first time in my life. If you’ve never had them, they’re f***ing scary.
At the time, my career at Google was picking up, things were moving a mile a minute and my personal life was falling apart. At work my role needed me to be the positive face of a large cross-country team. At home I was trying to be everything to everyone and leaving myself entirely off the priority list. I loved my job and had been working towards that kind of role for so long the stakes felt enormous. But my family needed me too. I couldn’t figure out how to balance the two. Worst of all, my self-talk was terrible.
“I’ve got it,” was my mantra as I signed up for extra roles at work. Takeout containers at home felt like marks against my self-worth while my mind screamed and screamed at me: You’re not doing enough. You’re a terrible wife. Why are you overwhelmed by this? You’re selfish for thinking about saying no. Just drink more coffee. Take some advil. Power through it. It’s like this for everyone who’s ever made it. You want to make it don’t you?
I didn’t want to let anyone down. But I was lying through my teeth. The boxes were getting checked but I was falling apart. My expectations of myself were the heaviest thing I carried.
One day on a work trip, I ran a red light. It was a near miss that stopped me in my tracks. That’s when I raised my hand and started getting help.
That year saw me go to therapy for the first time.
Bold&Kind was born because I understood the concepts my therapist was teaching me, but I couldn’t make myself put those things into practice in the moments I needed them the most. She taught me about mindfulness, the practice of coming into the present moment to stop the tidal wave of overwhelm. But I could never remember to do that when I was going about my day. I’d stay stuck on an autopilot that wasn’t good for me. Saying yes when I meant no. Being so hard on myself.
I needed something in my face that I couldn’t get away from. I tried post-it notes but folks could see them on my desk. I tried a calendar reminder, but I snoozed all of those. My answer was my rings. Being a lifelong jewelry lover, I started wearing my rings as a secret promise to myself. A cue, hidden in plain sight. A little nudge to breathe in the moment, to pay attention to my self talk and stop being so hard on myself.
I’d see my rings and notice what my inner critic was saying. So I started catching it. Stopping it. Letting myself breathe. Giving myself grace.
I believe ambitious women know how to go after their goals, but need a little nudge to be good to themselves. They know how to be bold, but need to work on being kind to themselves. Us. We are too hard on ourselves.
Now I design pieces from the words I need to hear when I’m being too hard on myself. A counter balance to the words of my inner critic.
Last year, Conde Nast found me. Bold&Kind started appearing in British Vogue, then Glamour UK and Vanity Fair. It’s been a wild few months. & here we are.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This was an experiment I ran on myself.
I’m still learning the art of copy, finessing my message and getting in front of the camera.
Everything I’ve done, I’ve taught myself and that means things have completely imploded in my face multiple times. For example, I had to go through two factories before I found the one I’ve been using for years. I had to make terrible designs that fell apart and had to be scrapped before I made the ones that are in British Vogue now.
It’s been an adventure.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m in the middle of a career pivot.
After nearly a decade in tech and training, I wrapped up my 5 year career at Google in 2022. My nascent creative career has had some early success but I have a long way to go.
I can see where Bold&Kind needs to be so I’m focused on putting one foot in front of the other every single day. This is the phase of my life where I bet on myself and my ability to make a difference in this world.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
1) It isn’t that serious. Nothing we do needs to be a panic-inducing call or email. I’m not saving lives.
2) Being good to myself enables my best work. Downtime is critical for creativity.
3) Being present is powerful.
Pricing:
- sorry what do you mean here?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://boldandkind.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boldandkindjewelry/
Image Credits
Product photography: HoneyHoneyMedia
My photos: Amanda Shear