Self-care is defined as taking action to maintain or improve one’s own health and/or taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and well-being. In Belltown, Acacia Colson has created a new space where self-care, wellness, and community are intentionally rooted in every aspect of what her business offers Seattle. In honor of Black History Month, OED is a dynamic entrepreneur restoring seattle Attendees will learn more about her story, business, and vision. Self-care plaza.
Please tell us about yourself and the story and mission behind your business.
I’m Acacia Colson. Owner and creator of Badder Body and Self Care Square. I created my first body butter out of pure frustration after going natural with my hair. Although it was originally intended to be used as a hair product, I quickly realized that the product also had benefits for the body. After selling to friends and family during financially desperate times, I used my skills as an asset to improve myself and provide people with products filled with jazz and pizza like never before. I decided to do it. After collaborating with her Stefani from Soap’d by Fani, it became clear that people can actually use body care products that are stylish, unique, and good for you, so we decided to check out her The, a hub for self-care products. We created a Self Care Square. A local manufacturer’s brand. Through the Economic Development Authority’s Seattle Restoration Program, we were placed in a Belltown location, and through our partnership with Chiara Hall of Mahava She Moss, the Self-Care-Her Square spirit truly came to life. Settle Restored has truly unlocked the potential of self-care squares. For me, there is nothing more rewarding than healing a community at scale. We really feel like The Self Care Square is on its way to doing just that with this space. Self Care Square is a true self-care platform where you can participate as your authentic self, feel welcome, fill your social meter at events, and build relationships with the community around you while enjoying self-care products and programming. It is the base of At its core, Badder Body and The Self Care Square’s mission is to encourage healthy self-pleasure through products and experiences.
Why did you choose to start and run a business focused on self-care products and services?
I chose to start and operate a business focused on self-care products and services to meet my own needs, which in turn attracted people with the same needs. When I saw how many people needed the fix I created to meet my own needs, I immediately took on a mission to meet the needs of as many people as possible. I can’t bear to see people suffer.
What makes your business unique?
Self Care Square is full of life. It has energy and style. It embodies the feeling of being valued, valued, special, important, heard, and felt. Self Care Square is the people who bring it together and the hands that create things with love for healing. It’s an open, flexible space that allows you to do what you want, when you need it. We host game nights, we host life coaches who breathe life and inspiration into our community foundation, and we see the look on people’s faces with pride and accomplishment when they create something they’ve never created before. We facilitate workshops that will make you shine. We bring together people who perhaps would never connect otherwise.
From your perspective, do you think self-care is important for the Black community in Seattle, and the broader Black community?
Self-care is so important to Black communities everywhere. In my experience, black people have high expectations for themselves in all walks of life. Many of us have been taught in school, work, etc. that in order to be properly evaluated and compensated “fairly” we must be better than everyone else in the room. We are rarely encouraged to take a break and check in with our own emotions. Also, if you make your own choices, it will be perceived as selfish. One of the leading causes of death for Black people is heart disease, which includes risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and congestive heart failure. Black people need time and space to take care of themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. For us to grow, self-care needs to become part of our culture, both individually and collectively.
How does your business encourage and promote self-care in your community, especially the Black community?
Self Care Square is a very safe space for Black people. We were in the heart of Belltown and entered a space that I initially thought was the complete opposite. Our spaces allow everyone to be themselves and take care of themselves and each other, and oftentimes it feels great to be in a room full of Black people. “Black” environments with music, food, decor, and amenities are rare in Seattle, and we purposefully created the space. This space faithfully recreates the culture in which we live through the environment and programs we offer.
In addition to our products, our biggest commitment to promoting and promoting self-care in the Black community is a program my husband and I created called “The Corner” with the purpose of being a sacred space for Black men. . As she talked with her husband about mental health, she realized there was a lack of resources to unpack the racial trauma that Black men need. Only black men can truly understand where black men are coming from, yet I couldn’t find any black male therapists in my Google search results. As a result, we developed “The Corner,” an inversion of where some black men typically get into trouble. Instead, a corner of the self-care plaza is a place where they can come together and feel safe, supported, respected, heard, understood, and felt. The Corner is a place her husband doesn’t have outside the home, and hopefully, like My Body Butter, it can attract people who share similar needs.
What have been the biggest successes and challenges for you and your business?
My biggest success is to keep doing it every day. I teach my baby girl every day that life is her own, that she can make her own decisions, work with crazy people, learn from her mistakes and ultimately become better. I’m teaching you. Currently, I am facing the biggest challenge in my business. This is our first time operating a store in such a space. It’s hard to prioritize the right things, serve efficiently, take care of the social needs of your family, and take care of yourself. It’s hard to juggle everything while being flexible enough to roll with the punches.
What are your hopes and dreams for yourself and your business?
My biggest hope and dream for my business is to somehow build an economically prosperous ecosystem in Ghana. I don’t know if you know this, but women in Ghana make shea butter with pennies. I want to be part of the solution by paying a fair wage for the production of shea butter and other resources that could help women, such as women-only homes and communities. I would like to have two homes. One is in Ghana and the other is in America.
What are some ways the city can support your business and other local businesses to thrive in Seattle? Especially Black-owned businesses.
The City is committed to making our businesses known to everyone, locals and visitors alike, encouraging the public to take advantage of small business services, and creating opportunities like Seattle Restore that give small businesses tools. You can support our business and other local businesses by supporting small businesses in . They won’t be able to stand up on their own.
What else would you like to know about you, your business, or your services?
The Seattle Restored program got us this far and really showed us how impactful this space can be. It’s time for us to take flight. We’re looking to bigger and better real estate in the future. Come visit us at SelfCare Square and enjoy our services, or donate to building improvements at our new location with a gift card at TheSelfCareSquare.com, Venmo @TheSelfCareSquare, or email Acacia@BadderBody.com , help us reach the next step.
