First impressions of Mashallah Ghouleh are colorful, fun, original and her personality definitely perfumes a room. She is an outstanding accessory designer that is modern/minimalist jewelry with a timeless aesthetic, for all age groups. Her jewelry is definitely original and she makes her own pieces! She is the proud owner of MASHALLAH, a cute boutique in Pilsen Chicago, you definitely are going to have to google map and check it out A.S.A.P
Mashallah always had a love for accessories, she loves wearing 5 necklaces along with 15 bracelets as it defines her style. Accessories pulls the outfit together. She continuously was in touch with the fashion industry, being exposed to her aunt who working in the fashion industry. By being exposed to her aunts craft and knowing her aunts work, was her life, Mashallah knew something in the realm of fashion could be attained
At first, she thought of getting into designing clothes, but quickly realized that she did not have a full passion for it. Though, she was a fashion stylist for may years, but did not take much interest into sewing or making clothing patterns. She loves playing with clothes, but not making them. She would not mind collaborating as the ideas are there, execution is another. When Mashallah left her stylist profession, she was already playing around making jewelry and expressed to her husband, Mark, this was something she was going to do - usually when she decides to do something, it is all or nothing. Though, she confessed working as a fashion stylist, when payday would come around she would spend all her money on going out and wardrobe. She did not have the means to invest in herself. She found a way to manage on a shoe string budget, as getting a loan or an investor was not an option. She wanted her business to be hers.
One day Mark, incorporated "Designs by MASHALLAH" and gave her the paperwork. This piece of paper showed her, he believes in her and the rest is history. At the end of October 2011, she started running the business through her master bedroom suite, in order to build her brand, for 5 years. On August 1st 2016, the master bedroom suite got promoted to a boutique in Pilsen, Chicago. Having a storefront gave her the availability to meet her customers and build a face to face connection.
Her inspiration for jewelry is what she loves and it has no shelf life, timeless pieces. Her life has been shaped in a way where her profession and personal life is complete blend. She surrounds herself with like-minded people, as there is always room for collaboration.
A day in Mashallah Ghouleh's shoes, generally starts off early in the morning with coffee, a cigarette and her phone to set the day. She plans a list of things to do for herself or her team. The first two hours of her day are usually dedicated to her. She will then make her way to the boutique, make jewelry, organize, having great conversations and around 12pm to 1pm you can sometimes catch her hanging out with her fellow neighbors having coffee in the courtyard - they are all artist. She goes with the flow and sometimes the to do list can be for another day, as she can not control elements of great opportunity that come around. There's no telling when the day will end. Her work schedule is strict during the day, but it can always end up as Taco Tuesday business meeting.
Her view on success is wise, it's not about the fame and fortune, money does not bring happiness, but the lives touched on that journey is success. Also, what she is able to do with her time and controlling it, is success. Being able to go on trips in various parts of the world, she claims success. Her friends and family believing in her, is success.
Not much has changed since Mashallah became MASHALLAH, her friends still claim she is the same person she used to be. Same personality, out-going, fun, colorful, knowledgable and always wanting to live in the truth. Her changes are positive, she gains more knowledge everyday, but internally, Mashallah even said it herself - " I haven't changed, I'm a complete bitch!"
A piece of advise from Mashallah, "Start small, make an impact on your future everyday. Be mindful of your target audience and how to meet their needs. Lastly, not to be afraid to compromise today for what you can gain tomorrow."
