Source: Qasim Ali / Courtesy of Shia Douglas
Shia Douglas is on a mission.
While conversing with me over the phone, the 31-year-old is busy putting the finishing touches on her website, Wife of Creation.
“Accept my apologies for kind of being a little scattered right now,” she tells me while attempting to multitask.
She’s giving it her all because she has to. Wife of Creation, the unique name coming from a piece of literature called the “Healing Prayer,” is a “holistic lifestyle and maintenance brand,” as well as “a consumer brand that offers an array of products and services.” It will provide a variety of things, from skin and hair care products to home cleaning items and sustainable clothing items. On top of that, health and wellness services will be offered.
As she shared with me, it’s her baby.
“I’m super excited about it,” she said, going from occupied to passionate when speaking about the site, which launched Wednesday, October 28. “I’m very hands-on. Wife of Creation is an extension of my healing. It’s my purpose. It’s my calling, and I’ve only come to find this through life experiences.”
Douglas’s experiences for those who know of her, include being the baby sister of multi-platinum singer Ashanti. However, there’s a lot more to the entrepreneur, fashion designer and creative, and having people automatically attach her to her sister’s accomplishments has admittedly been a lot.
“People look at me as Ashanti’s sister and they think I’m supposed to have life figured out. That added to stress in my life and my mental health,” she said. That’s something that is out of my control, though. It’s something I’ve had to learn to cope with and deal with growing up, the pressures of society.”
“It is important for me to have that dynamic where we are known as sisters and siblings in the public eye, and also have our sister relationship within ourselves, but then also have our individuality and be respected as individuals in the public as well,” she added.
She is confident that respect will increase as she grows her holistic lifestyle brand into a major force as a platform. The site is inspired by the journey she has been on, which has involved her seeing and trying many things, and overcoming a lot of pain.
The Essential Body Oil Candle ($35) is one of many products, among many other things, that will be provided on the newly launched site, Wife of Creation.
“I like to say, ‘Your story shapes your purpose.’ And for me, some of the things that I’ve been through, some of the things I’ve experienced, are what have led me to birthing Wife of Creation,” she said. “Everything I learned along my journey in terms of my mental health, seeing my mental health therapist, having a Reiki practitioner, all of these things that I’ve obtained, I’ve literally integrated into this brand.”
One big life event that led her to this point, to cultivating this brand, is leaving behind an abusive relationship. Douglas revealed that experience in a stunning video she created and released on her birthday, which was the first time she publicly spoke of Wife of Creation. She shared harrowing images from that time in her life, the loss that occurred because of it, but also shared inspiring images and messages about how what you go through shapes your purpose and helps you move forward.
“It took a lot of courage. People don’t really talk about that experience or go into depth with the trauma that you suffer after an abusive relationship,” she said. ‘You suffer from PTSD. Literally, it’s like you’re coming out of the army because of not only the physical aspect but the mental aspect. That’s why I’m genuinely so driven towards this initiative with Wife of Creation.”
“Everything I’m speaking on I’ve lived through and I’m doing and I’m continuing to do because no one understands the healing journey never ends. You evolve and ascend to another level of consciousness. You grow. But in terms of healing, it’s a continuous thing,” she added. “So sharing the video for me was a release. It was a release and a relief and it was necessary for me. It wasn’t about anybody or anything else but me, which is why I released it on my birthday as a gift to myself. It was to release me from those things that I’d been hiding from. To release me from the things that had been held over my head and had me ducking in life. I’m way more powerful and stronger than what I’ve been through and I wasn’t going to allow that to shame me. So I took control over my life. I took my power in that moment and that was a very important moment for me as a woman.”
The healing required to prevail over a situation like that was extensive for Douglas. Her day-to-day even changed as a result, but for the better. It was a turning point.
What she learned in the process is what she hopes to provide people through Wife of Creation. Services to help people practice self-care, from prioritizing their mental health to being more conscious of what they put on and in their bodies, and providing products that will aid them in doing all that and more, was important to her. Douglas also says professionals in different areas will offer content and individual one-on-one sessions for users. Mental therapy will be offered, as well as nutritional guides from experts and detoxes. In addition, there will be customized experiences for those who may have certain health issues, from fibroids, to diabetes or something as simple as desiring assistance in weight loss. It’s about bringing a holistic lifestyle to your daily regimen.
For Douglas though, Wife of Creation, more than anything, is a safe space. It’s an opportunity for people to obtain the tools to be the healthiest, happiest, authentic version of themselves. She can offer that because she knows the work it took to truly be the healthiest, happiest, authentic version of herself. She is hopeful that others will take advantage of Wife of Creation to do the same.
“The objective as I said is rooted in creation, cultivation and healing. That’s why we’re offering services in mind, body and spirit,” she said. “I want people to understand that it’s not a place that’s just for one thing or another. You may find yourself coming for one thing and maybe leaving with something else. That’s why I want to let people know that it’s a safe place for that and a place where you can learn and have resources to apply to your life.”
“The reason why I’m offering not only products but services is because I care about my community and where we are as a people,” she added. “My priority is our mental health. I really want to break that stigma that’s attached to mental health in our community. I feel that using myself as a tool and using my life experiences and revealing some of the things that I’ve been through has in turn been healing for me. It’s also created a space for other people to come to for this information being that I am a person that’s lived through experience. I’m not just selling and having a mental health therapist spew out things that I have no idea of what she’s talking about. These are things I’ve actually lived. These are practices, these are regimens, these are prayers, these are routines, these are nutritional tips and lifestyle changes I’ve made within myself that I’ve seen have helped me. I know that if other people have the access to the information, it would be able to help them also.”
