Waist Beads by Sewra

First, a few basics

My name is Sewra Kidane. My business is called Waist Beads by Sewra and I was born and raised in New York City.

What’s your story? How’d you get involved in your hustle/hobby/business? How long have you been doing what you do?

I got into waist beads kind of by accident. I just had my heart broken and everyday was just black and horrible. My best friend used to make waist beads and I would go to her room where she had this picture of just her hands intertwined in her waist beads on her waist. I asked her if she would make me one and I remember asking her a few times. This last time I asked her she said, “No, make them yourself. You need a hobby.” I don’t think I got offended by it, but if I did I got over it quickly. I don’t know how to do something on a small scale when I do something; I just go all in it. I immediately – never having beaded anything before, or knowing anything about tools – looked up bead stores and just started buying a bunch of beads and tools and stuff like that. I bought a book and figured out how to do it and I’ve been doing it since 1999. That was the first time I sold them. My best friend, the one who told me to make them, she’s an artist and she used to vend. I would just hang out with her at the festival. This one year she said, “Your waist beads are really nice you should sell them.” And they were really simple; there wasn’t a lot but I sold some! The next year I really thought about how to make them stronger and I just evolved from there. I think in 2000 I officially premiered as a business.

What are some resources you’ve found invaluable to your work?

As far as materials, I always keep my eyes open. It can be anything anywhere that would catch my eye – from a pendant or a bead or a vendor selling mixed beads. I always have my eyes open for supplies and things that I can use. I have a couple of favorite stores that I go to, but it’s like I have no choice. There used to be a whole bead district in Manhattan but it started shutting down several years ago. My absolute favorite bead store where I could spend all day in and would leave covered in dirt because I was climbing the cells – it closed. I have beads leftover from that store that I don’t want to use, but I don’t really need to keep them.

How do you get the word about about your hustle?

It’s been word of mouth. I have a good following in New York because that’s where I always am. [My customers] would tell their friends and so on. I think it was also good timing because no one was really doing waist beads when I came along. I mean, people were doing them, but nobody had a website and was selling like that. It was very local. I just came in at the right time and now they find me. But it’s been word of mouth, pretty much, and then when people would search online they’d find me. That’s how I started finding other people in the United States and then they would start telling their friends. I don’t know how, but all of sudden I had a group of women from Maryland. I know one woman from Maryland, and I don’t know if they all came from her, but all of a sudden there were a bunch of new Maryland customers and that was pretty cool.

Where do you find your inspiration and/or motivation?

A lot of time it’s from magazines. I’m a magazine junkie! I love magazines! I look at the colors and any type of color combination and tear [the pages] out. Or I would see a piece of jewelry that I liked the design and reworked in my design, because I liked how it all looked. Also, a lot of ethnic jewelry inspires me to modernize it and put my own spin to it. I love Egyptian, Indian and Native-American and African jewelry, too. But my eyes are always open. I remember was watching a movie and I saw someone wearing a necklace that I really liked. I kinda reworked it, changed something around and made it into a waist bead. So I’ll see colors on TV and in nature, when the trees start changing. Those color combinations will start me thinking about something. My eyes are always open.

What are some challenges to your dreams? How do you deal with them?

As a small, indie business, you are the person that does everything. A lot of times the business side shuts down the creative side of what you’re doing because you get bombarded with paperwork and administrative work. You can’t even get a second to sit down and be creative. That’s happened to me and it came very close to a point where I considered stopping everything and selling everything and not selling waist beads anymore. So what I did was close my store and I didn’t do any orders; I didn’t do anything but be creative. And it helped.

What are some things you wish you had that would make your work easier?

I wish I had an assistant! That would be cool! It comes down to structuring my creative time and I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to have to say on Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday, you bead on those days and the other days you do paperwork. Sometimes I may not be feeling it on that set day and I don’t want to do that. I’m just trying to get with the flow and not stress over it. And if I feel myself stressing over it, I really have to step back and take a breather.

How has this so-called recession affected the way you conduct business?

The recession has affected my business. There’s a bead sale that I go to and I have to put myself on a budget to make sure I don’t go overboard. I have to make sure I have enough capital to pay my everyday, basic bills in case I don’t get enough orders that come in.

Which people or organizations do you look up to? Why?

I don’t really seek outside help; I’m not a member of any bead organizations. I look at other vendors at the festivals I go to and their level of dedication. I admire how they get their hustle on. Some people are ready hardcore about their hustle; they’re good sellers. I’m not a good seller; I’m not gonna try and convince you to buy my product. But some people have an art and know how do it without making it seem like they’re convincing you to buy it. I admire those people.

What is the work you’re most proud of?

I made a nine-strand waist beads which I really like how it came out. I actually want to make more of it. That one was cool because I used one color and different hues and it all worked out. If you would have looked at each strand on its own, it was a very simple design, but when it came together it made some kind of complication that flowed. It’s called Mighty Aphrodite.

What are you working on currently?

Right now I’m working on a new collection of semi-precious stones and metal, 14k gold. So, there are no glass beads and it’s pure energy. So I’m working on that. I’m used to working with really small beads and now I’m working with different sized beads. I’m trying to come up with different patterns so it’s not the same pattern in different stones. It’s coming along. I previewed a couple styles at few sales and I got a good response from it. I wasn’t sure I would get a good response because this is a recession and these are high-end pieces. These pieces are $100 and up and I’m excited about the response.

What is your dream project? Where do you plan on going with your hustle?

I want to have regular wholesale orders. I wouldn’t mind being in more spreads, fashion spreads. I was in cosmo and envy smooth girl and complex.

How has your dedication to your hustle affected your personal life?

It definitely affected my social life. A lot of days I’m in the house beading all day and all night. It came to a point where I felt a little drained and I said I had to stop unless I was gonna run myself into the ground. I have the waist beads as full time and then what I went to school with as full time. Balancing the two is very tricky.

What is something you know now that you wish you’d known before?

I wish I had incorporated myself sooner and not waited so long to take care of all that business stuff. I don’t regret that I did it when I did, but I did a few steps too many that I shouldn’t have done. Everything worked out in the end.

What is something you’ve learned on your path that you would share with anyone just starting out?

Whatever product you make, pay attention to quality. If you’re asking a certain price for your work and your quality doesn’t match the price, you won’t have a consistent following of customers. Especially now, people look at the quality of a product. Is it made well? Is it constructed well? Is it gonna hold up? I know I look that because I’m not gonna pay for something that looks flimsy like it’s gonna fall apart.

Also, look to see if anyone else is doing what you’re doing or what you want to do. And if someone is, how can you stand out from them and be different? What is it that you have that will really make you stand out? Try to brand yourself. If you brand yourself, people who come before or after you will associate whatever that is with you and not anyone else. It’s like how people refer to tissues as Kleenex but Kleenex is a brand. If you brand your product in a way that you stand out and people recognize you for that.