Daily Inspiration: Meet Genghe Carmichael

Today we’d like to introduce you to Genghe Carmichael.

Hi Genghe, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Art was always a part of my heart! That’s the beginning of my story. I was raised in Oakland, California, where Black history is incredibly rich. The Black Panther Party was a prominent organization in the community and both of my parents, who are from Washington, D.C., were very Afro-centric and pro-Black. They created a foundation for me that was rooted in self-expression and creativity!

Growing up, I was surrounded by art exclusively created by Black and Brown people. When you walked into our house, there was a Kente cloth runner rug that laid in the center of our hallway. Off to the right was our bathroom, which housed a painting by Diego Rivera! Moving into our living room, my mom hung an enlarged, framed print of the cover art for Ntozake Shange’s deeply empowering “choreopoem,” For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf. As a little girl, I was enrolled in art classes, attending a prestigious Alvin Ailey Dance camp on UC Berkeley’s campus at Zelerbach Hall in 2002. I was also a part of various theater programs at my middle and high school. For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about uniquely expressing myself through fashion, theater, dance, hair, makeup, and currently, business! Creativity is just a natural element of who I am as a person and I celebrate that in as many ways as I can! I attended Columbia College Chicago right after high school, where I studied Fashion Business. The motto of my college was, “Create Change” and subconsciously, that has always stuck with me!

I remained open to the various components that the fashion industry offers. After college, I began frequenting New York City where I would have the amazing opportunity to assist with different NY Fashion Week (NYFW) shows such as Pyer Moss and Betsy Johnson, just to name a few. I was also a contributing writer for a magazine where I interviewed Baba Jagne, Laurieann Gibson, Destiny Jones (rapper Nas’s daughter,) Sevyn, Miguel and more! I have T.J. Rudy to thank for that opportunity. As I was also responsible for selecting women’s and men’s fashion trends that were published and available to the masses for style inspiration. There’s great reward in remaining open to the entities within the area of art that interests you! My love for the colorful and exciting energy of NYC makes me so grateful to add those opportunities onto my creative journey and career!

I had locs since birth, throughout my childhood and into my adolescence. On occasion, it crossed my mind that I wanted to cut my hair. When I got to college, I finally did my very first “big chop” which put an end to my lifelong loc journey. But it also started a new natural hair journey for me too. I began wearing different hairstyles as I enjoyed the versatility that I had with my kinky hair to do just about anything! But, the one thing that I often struggled with at the time was the actual health and cared for my hair. Transitioning from the natural state of having locs to a free-form state of kinky hair was an adjustment. It took me a while to figure out a hair regimen that worked for me and once I did, I stuck with it! I discovered that my hair was like a plant and that all it really needed was water, oil and TLC! My hair needs to be trimmed every three months, deep conditioned and kept in a protective style, more often than not. Ultimately, what was going to preserve my hair after doing my routine was a satin bonnet, simply because of its endless benefits! They retain moisture in your hair, prevent breakage as well as maintain twist-outs, braid outs and many other hairstyles. With that in mind, a light bulb definitely went off in my imagination!

And so, during the beginning of the pandemic (a perfect time to start!) I began making and sewing colorful satin bonnets by hand to help other women maintain and protect the magic of their hair! I love being able to create directly from my own thoughts and ideas, choose the fabrics (which includes a beautiful Kente cloth fabric, which is near and dear to my heart!) the colors, functional designs as well as custom modifications. With perseverance, creativity and self-belief, here I am today, in sunny Los Angeles, California where I currently reside, owning and operating a satin hair bonnet business! My company is listed on Etsy as Hair Bonnets By Genghe, and it continues to grow and flourish!

The exposure to many different artistic experiences that I gratefully had early on in my life lead me to have a passion for fashion and business, to always be open-minded, determined and of course, creative! Above all, I gained an interest in entrepreneurship which has allowed me to encompass all that I love and enjoy. I also celebrate myself for taking the leaps and bounds to create my own business and go after my dreams! And I pride myself in always encouraging and supporting others to do the same in their own lives as my tribe does for me!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to growth and expansion as a mom and entrepreneur is difficult at times because I do everything by myself; from providing excellent customer service, sourcing fabric, cutting and sewing to packing and shipping my bestselling hair bonnets (my satin lined kente cloth bonnet and my pink satin lined velvet bonnet). Overall, I have to take into account that my number one priority is my seven month old son that I love immensely; and take care of all while managing my entrepreneurial ventures. Right now, I’m learning to maximize my time in order to maintain my hair bonnet business and my “Gutta Girl” t-shirt collection. I created this unique design with a play on the word “Gutta” to empower people to listen to their gut intuition. My Gutta Girl t-shirts serve as a reminder that your gut instinct will never lead you astray. I struggled with deciding to launch my “Gutta Girl” t-shirt website in 2019 because at the time, I was still learning to listen to my inner voice and be guided by my own intuition; instead of second guessing myself and being misaligned by outside influences! When we’re called to do something, sometimes we have to take action in the moment, see it as an opportunity to build on our idea(s) and learn as we go! That’s exactly what I did and now I’m at a place in my life where I confidently make decisions by using my gut instinct, my first mind, my inner voice. When I allowed myself to be led by my gut to create the “Gutta Girl” t-shirt collection people were very receptive of the message behind “Gutta Girl.” Starting a business is a big deal and there will be obstacles along the way but take that leap of faith and start anyway!

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I view risks as an opportunity to learn, teach others and gain respect! In business, it’s imperative to take risks! When I decided that I wanted to take the initiative to be my own boss, I was aware that it would initially require me to come out of pocket to fund my businesses! And that meant that I could either lose out on money or earn more than I invested! In the process of starting Hair Bonnets By Genghe and the Gutta Girl t-shirt collection I learned more about discipline, consistency and grants! All of which, were beneficial to myself and my businesses! The disciplinary aspect of business taught me to work first and have fun later because doing things in that order actually made me feel good and accomplished! Rather than feeling uneasy and anxious which, we often feel when we procrastinate to do things. On top of that, being disciplined lead to my consistency in receiving business and fulfilling orders! I made sure to do something that pertained to my businesses everyday as well! And from there a flow of work was created simply by sticking to those orders of operations. So take risks and create structure for yourself because planned preparation prevents poor performance.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@genghe.shop
• Website: www.Etsy.com/shop/genghe www.guttagirl.shop
• Instagram: @bonnetsbygenghe @genghec
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bonnetsbygenghe/
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCjtdfl-ysAP5zFKroh5fXOQ

Image Credits:
@dexterbrownfoto @angiestarstudios