At Travel Patterns, we have a high value for celebrating, encouraging, and showcasing small businesses. Yes, we do this because we are a small business, but also because we believe in the importance of championing people who make the brave decisions to take heart and take flight with their dreams! Also, our team is also continuously inspired and encouraged by the courage & creativity, we have seen in entrepreneurs who are showing up every day, just like us! We know from experience that running a small business isn’t just about a product or a service, but it is also about the story of a person and their family, the legacy of a craft, and the furthering of a passion. This is why we decided that we were going to do our part to showcase some of the small business (both near and far!) that inspire us and tell the story of the people who created them.

Our first entrepreneur is Aaliyah Taylor of Exalting in Beauty. We were first introduced to Aaliyah’s jewelry and our team went crazy of her bright & fun designs. After we researched (stalked) Aaliyah on Instagram, we knew that she would be the perfect person for our first feature! We are so excited to introduce our Take Heart Tribe to this amazing women and the beautiful story behind what she does.

This weekend, Saturday June 26th, Aaliyah and Exalting In Beauty will be our Pop-Up guest at our brick & mortar shop! You can get all the details for the event HERE.

Welcome, Aaliyah! Tell us about yourself:

Aaliyah: My name is Aaliyah Taylor, Founder and Designer of Exalting in Beauty. I am an artist that lives for bright colors and designs. I am a native of Birmingham, AL, where I create handcrafted ear candy made from Perler Beads.

The inspiration behind my jewelry is non-conformity and freedom. The goal behind every design is to lead every person to feel unique and beautifully different in my jewelry. Each pair of earrings that I create are purposed to bring joy and to enhance and exalt the unique beauty of God’s creation.

My passions outside of art includes sewing, reading YA and Non-Fiction books, binge-watching Nollywood films (Nigerian movies), and spending time with my mom and friends. It’s always just been my mom and I, so our bond goes beyond the mother/daughter archetype; we’re friends (Best Friends!). She is an artisan and jewelry artist, utilizing leather and wire to create some amazing wearable art for your ears. I am who I am today because of her.

How did you get your idea or concept for your business?

Aaliyah: The idea to create jewelry from Perler Beads came by browsing through the shelves of Hobby Lobby! It was 2012 and I was a freshman in college, and I wanted to create different types of art, other than the art that was assigned to me in school. I remember staring at the Perler kit, and the waves of summer camp memories filled my mind and the joy felt from creating pins and bookmarks using the beads. Through trial and error, Exalting in Beauty blossomed and flourished into the business it is today!

What is unique about you that is incorporated into your business?

Aaliyah: I am the tangible evidence that colors and vibrancy can shift the mood and mindset of a person. When I first started Exalting in Beauty, I was solely focused on creating pieces based off trends and what can make me money the quickest. The jewelry was limited, and it didn’t fully represent me.

When I took a break from creating to focus on “me”—delving into healing my inner self—those key steps of self-reflection, led me to immerse myself in colors and patterns that poured itself out onto my art and my jewelry. I’ve witnessed so many people moods shift, just by looking at the jewelry and the colors. My favorite line that I love to hear people say is: “Your jewelry makes me so HAPPY!”. My heart always burst from the love.

What is a risk you have taken in your business and was it worth it?

Aaliyah: The risk: STARTING. 

I didn’t look at Exalting in Beauty as a business until the beginning of 2019. Since I started making jewelry out of Perler beads, I viewed it as a hobby, a craft that can help put a little money in my pockets. I undervalued myself because I didn’t see the worth and value of each piece. Fear of the unknown and failure paralyzed me in putting effort into building my business, and even looking at it as a business. When I was able to put words to those fears and realize how much stronger I am over them AND how much people love and supported me—I couldn’t help but to take that step forward. One step became three, and so on—and now we’re HERE!! Yay!

How do you celebrate wins in your business?

Aaliyah: Food, dancing, and giving back! Each win is celebrated with a crazy, offbeat, dance (including tears) and a trip to any of my favorite restaurants. I’ve faced hardships, lack, and homelessness, and I’ve learned to give in those seasons of losses and victories. I can’t celebrate winning without giving back to someone, sowing back into their lives.

What do you love about being a female entrepreneur?

Aaliyah: The relationships I’ve gained. I can absolutely say with confidence that if I was not an entrepreneur, I would not have been able to connect with other empowering, bold, successful, female entrepreneurs. I’m still new to this entrepreneur life, so I’m clinging to the wisdom and insight of other female entrepreneurs and learning to embrace the ever-changing moments in this small business life!

How do you engage your local community in your business?

Aaliyah: Before I started selling jewelry online, I would go to different hair and nail salons (any that would allow me to showcase my jewelry) and talk about my jewelry. Most times, the conversations would shift into storytelling—each person becoming sages and instilling wisdom, personal experience, and lots of “keep going” and “never give-up” affirmations. It was in those moments when I recognize the need to stay connected—no matter where I go—with my community.

I stay connected through vending opportunities, volunteering with the Magic City Art Connection, assisting with creating children’s art programs at my local library, or just talking with teens who desire to be entrepreneurs and artists. My community in Birmingham lead me to be who I am today, and I’m absolutely honored to be from BIRMINGHAM!

Take Heart. Take Flight.

Our motto - Take Heart. Take Flight. - calls us to courageously search for who we were meant to be, to break free of the fears holding us back, and to boldly pursue the daring adventure set before us. How are you living this motto in your business & life?

Aaliyah: Wow! I live this motto through daily surrender and submission to God. I believe that if I never took those moments and those breaks, to seek out healing and to “find myself”—I know for a fact that I would have given up and made the choice to stay stuck and broken. Surrendering and submitting to my fears and anxiety, led me to waste time and stay paralyzed in complacency. I couldn’t keep living that way. So, I made the choice to LIVE.

I live and build my business in the fact that everything that I do and everything that I am, is intentional and for a reason bigger than me. The losses that I face, the mistakes that I make, the failures and the triumphs—all have an ordained purpose. Do I still get scared? Yes. Do I still feel stuck sometimes, or not enough? Yes. But I fight every day to make sure I do linger and settle in those thoughts and not be held back by fear.

Connect with Aaliyah & Exalting In Beauty:

Instagram: @exaltinginbeauty

Facebook: Exalting in Beauty

Website: www.etsy.com/shop/ExaltinginBeauty