Meet LaDestinee Williams

LaDestinee, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
Pinterest, hashtags, Youtube! I really (do) take some time socially and scroll through ideas, photography, inspiration boards etc.. to find creativity. As a small business owner, there are days were (it is) overwhelming to be creative and have validation. So personally, I like to vision things before I complete them.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am North Memphis Native and proud Memphian! A self-made small business owner. A recent graduate of LeMoyne-Owen College with a degree in Social Work. I am a active volunteer; always eager to help, learn, or work with different people or groups to improve in areas that need assistance in! But what I do creatively is assist women and girls to embrace their personal journey through waist beads and accessories!

I am the owner and creative director of Waisted Aura! Waisted Aura, was manifested in the middle of the pandemic – 2020 and launched at the beginning of 2021. It took me 6+ months to research the origin of waist beads, to start a rough draft of my business plan, and perfect the craft of making them. Eventually, I switched over to outsourcing my inventory due (to) time management (issues in creating waistbeads). Now I specialize in handmade waist beads/accessories; made by myself and sellers from Ghana & Nigeria.

(With Waisted Aura, we) want to build a safe space for girls and women to love the body that they are in, but also to pour into themselves freely. We are paving the way for any body to be #unapologeticallywaisted. We want to bring appreciation to positive body images without judgement and promote a comfortable healthy lifestyle.

You can find us doing weekend (free) walk-in fittings! Check out our socials @waistedaura to learn more to set up a appointment!

We are always at local events throughout the city of Memphis!
July 22nd 2023 we will at HiTone for Trapxart! The event is 10pm til 2am. Check out their Eventbrite page for more details! We also have a discount code “waistedbydess” to get 5.00 off your ticket!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three areas of knowledge I’m currently working on is perspective, perseverance, and faith! Throughout my growing pains, It is important to have a peace of mind regularly. The journey is never easy but I’ve always learned a lesson from whatever life throws at me. With having experience in the field of social work; having a strong, open, and different mindset is important. Find something that you enjoy and love doing whether it’s art, simple vacations, solo activities, self care (it doesn’t have the most expensive stuff either)… we all have to persevere in hard times, change our perceptions and have faith in ourselves and the universe!

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am open to collaborate with any up and coming brands or businesses ! From nutrition, clothing, crafters, artist, volunteers, fitness/health wellness, nonprofit organizations, charities, local businesses etc. For Waisted Aura, My plan of action is creating a safe space for diversity, wellness, and to provide resources! I am extremely grateful in advance to connect with others who are interested in the same ideas! If you’re interested please reach out! You can always contact us through our email or social platforms.