ABOUT US
Celebrate Yourself, Have a Waist Party
Because, every time you tie a strand on you are celebrating yourself...right at that moment.
Women are taught to hate our bodies. And that hate is supposed to intensify if we have children, gain weight, get older, become ill, blah blah blah.
Adorning and beautifying ourselves is a way to celebrate our incredible bodies the way they are. This body made and carried a whole human. I have the marks and scars to prove it. This body ran half marathons. This body mastered challenging yoga poses. This body cared for my mother when she was sick.
I am supreme!
Wearing Waistbeads is a huge part of us asserting our womanhood, in all its forms...
A declaration we make to the world, our lovers, our friends, OURSELVES that WE. ARE. ENOUGH.
When I started this, people expected me to go deep into the Chakra talk and the color meanings and such. I actually can talk all that talk. I practice yoga and made yoginis out of a rambunctious group of amazing little Black girls. BUT there are tons of us doing that.
I wanted my thing to feel fun and full of light.
I wanted it to be a celebration of all you extraordinary women who keep the world turning.
None of this moves without us.
So “Waist Party” isn’t just some catch phrase that sounds good.
It is the essence of what The Waistland strives to do.
I celebrate you and encourage you to celebrate yourself…at any age, stage, shape, or size.
You are enough.
MEET THE MAKER
My name is Jameelah. I love unicorns, want a dragon, believe in miracles…create Waistbeads. I was given my first set of Waistbeads in 2003. My friend, Ozzie, brought them back from Ghana, explained the history of them, and tied three strands around my waist. For the first time, I was able to look at my body WITH admiration & WITHOUT shame. I was hooked. I didn’t know that day was the beginning of my journey towards loving, accepting, and celebrating myself.
I began going Uptown (Harlem) to purchase Waistbeads from the African brothers. One day I looked at my Waistbeads and told myself “I think I can figure out how to make these.” I headed to a few craft stores, bought a bunch of supplies, and taught myself. Through the trial & errors, stopping & starting, feeling doubtful & fearful, I learned to persist and prevail. I made Waistbeads “in secret” for a few years. Then, my son was accepted into an expensive prep school and I didn’t know where the tuition money would come from. My love for him was stronger than my fear of starting. So,I bet on myself and The Waistand was born.