Hello Beautiful and Capable Humans, 
We wanted to share some new merch and a few shows that might help us examine American history and present day, systemic oppression, from the angles of those who have experienced it.

I'm sharing because I'm often told how those in our circle don't understand systemic oppression. They struggle to see how their life is privileged, and how they have benefited from racist systems, and if they can understand it, they hope to begin to have an impact on the problems that exist in our world today. 


First of all, for those who come seeking knowledge, understanding and a way forward, I have to say that I appreciate your trust. If we are indeed seeking a better tomorrow, we have to start from a place of honesty. So, thank you for being honest and for trusting me. 

Second, I need to issue this reminder (for me as well as for you) that I don't have all the answers. While I have benefitted from my background in peace studies, international relations, communications, and philanthropy, I don't have immediate solutions. However, I do offer being a companion to those who are willing to walk down this road and find a better way forward for everyone involved.

I believe sometimes what we need to do is listen to everyday people tell their stories. 
I am not coming forward with an agenda. I am coming forward to share because the topic comes up too often and because I have a lot of people who openly do tell me, they shop from us because they want to find a way to "do more" while here. They are not just interested in passing through the earth but they don't always know where to start. Before I ever recommend anyone get on a plane and go do good elsewhere, I always point out we have a hurt nation, that we love, and that we can work on. Charity will begin in our backyards. It's a huge problem to address, but we are capable if we decide to be.

So, feel free to reach out for a virtual cup of coffee or tea if you'd love to talk about the views offered in these productions further. The truth is that as a nation, we need to find a way to start talking about these issues that "quietly" plague us.  We need to address them from a place that allows us to address their existence and potentially work on local efforts that birth a better way forward. I believe you can't address the present without understanding the past. This is why I recommend Turning Point on Hulu.

There's always this thing we do as Americans, we thank servicemen and women, there are also plenty of opportunities for us, as everyday citizens, to work on efforts within this country that encourage brotherhood, equity, kindness, togetherness and so much more. Being a patriot is for all of us.

Through this post, let's work locally and expand, as we heal, and provide room for healing to others. The truth is that as a nation, we need to find a way to start talking about these issues that "quietly" plague us.  We need to address them from a place that allows us to address their existence and potentially work on local efforts that birth a better way forward. We need to re-examine our history and what we have been taught. I believe we can't address the present without understanding the past.

As you watch, consider these things to help you listen: 

• What questions do you have?
• What did you not understand?
• What did you learn that you didn't know before?
• How did you feel as you listened to their stories? 

I'd love to hear from you as we learn, share, and begin this work together. 
​
Happy New Week. 
Stay healthy and safe. 
The LHo Team 

PS: We added a picture of one of our interns from Kenya/ The East African Community planting trees. We promised to plant trees as you continued to shop us. Becca would like you to know the fruit trees are being planted.

She goes to old places
She goes through boxes she locked away
She locked them away because she felt they were landmines 
She feels over the ink that covers the papers from those years
She lets her hands feel over everything 

She closes her eyes 
She was so scared then 
She is older now 

In those old places locked in plain sight
That is where she goes to sit with her thoughts
No guests have been invited for tea because she now knows how people tend to be
People will bring you flowers after and rarely ever before
People will say they want to connect with you, and then break you after the connection is made because they were broken before
People can never just let a flower be
The only attendees she needs at this gathering, are the ones that matter
So there she sits, with her shadow, sunlight and dust   

She opens her eyes 
She was so scared then 
She is free now
(You can listen to the audio version below on Twitter)
.
I like hearing why our clients select what they select from us. I like listening to why a particular piece has to go home with a client. I think people, as themselves, minus all we think we have to be, are interesting. So I wrote this for all of those that stop by our booths. I wrote it for those that have such depth to them, but no one to share it with in a meaningful way that will allow them peace while passing through this place. Some days it feels like stumbling upon unsettled dust. Those brief interactions are authentic, beautiful and priceless to me. I feel like certain purchases and pieces are the loud speaker and audience most of us never get to have in this life, wrapped neatly in one. 

Hello fam, 
Sigh, how are you?
How is 2021 treating you?
So, by now, many of you understand how we use this platform. We don't only connect you with styles and treasures from around the world through fashion and foodie experiences, we also use our platform to: ​

​

• Share stories that help people see the other side of an issues that divides us (basically, we help people connect across cultures and divisive lines)  
• Create a SAFE space for growth through honest conversing and activities

We listen to A LOT of documentaries and news while working.
We decided this was one worth sharing as we finalize our order for Cayman Islands (thank you Cayman for shopping small business and for all of those that have fallen in love with our work. We source beads from around the world and it is amazing to hear our pieces are a hit "across the water"). 

Now, New York Times Presents is available on Hulu. They cover various subjects from episode to episode and each episode is roughly an hour long. Breonna's story is one of very many across the US that wore us out in 2020 because the sun rises, but it's as if certain people are going to live out a certain experience while others toil and almost fall apart. The sunrise is not the same across the board and the difference often stems from manmade and man-allowed turmoil. It's gotten to the point where, at least for me, it makes me feel sick to my stomach and as if the solution needs to arrive from the divine spaces because when mankind is offered the opportunity to do better, we often choose the path that will ruin or neglect others because it's a shorter distance to walk. I have written about this before and it almost feels like choosing to set ourselves on fire. Why do we choose to set ourselves on fire? Why do we choose not to care, not to act and not to dedicate our lives to shade trees we will never sit under? Why were you given life? Was it just for you or did The Universe that allowed you possibly hope for more? These are the things I think about. I think we all need to think about these matters. On certain days, it really does feel like we are digging our own coffins and not in a way that is simply about passage... we all know at some point we have to transition to what is next... this digging doesn't feel like that. It feels a little darker and a little heavier and the peace we think we will attain on the other side isn't available. It's almost like the mess we create, we will have to fix in this life. I want to apologize for the morbidity of these thoughts, but that wouldn't be honest. I'm not sorry. These are things we do need to think about.  

Here are things to consider as you watch the third episode on Breonna Taylor: 
1. What do you know about Breonna Taylor?
2. Where did you get your information from?
3. How many other incidents can you name that sound similar to this one?

• If not, are you willing to research? 

4. How would you deal with a situation like this occurring in your family?
5. Do you have friends of color or that are culturally different?
6. Have you sat down with them to understand what the average day in America is like for them?
7. Have you checked to see what life is like for them after our 45th president or how they are treated by other Americans that might not look like them, sound like them or dress like them?

If you do really want to converse over these subjects, do leave us a comment on here. If you have another way of getting in touch, please do. 
 
Otherwise, we wish you light, love and kindness. 
Take care of yourselves (and your neighbours) and may health be yours
The Empowerment Initiative 
(Emily wrote this piece )
Below is a preview of the documentary AND we will not add anything for sale to this blog post because as mankind, we need to spend time reflecting and deciding. 

Better yet, should He?
What are we individually doing to reduce turmoil in the pockets of the world we inhabit?
​
These are the things I wonder about, as I add each bead to each piece. 
Some days, God responds, other days, He wonders with me too...
As much as He made us, I think we baffle Him. 
I also think He toys with re-manifesting on earth like He used to, or so colonialism told many of us, so we can try and align ourselves with usefulness again. 

Mankind, we took on freewill but forgot to ask for the instructions on how to apply it to life and now we exist in the often muddy and cycling waters of peace, love and chaos.

Writing and creativity is a vault that hides many secrets. 
This piece can be about various different issues we all experience from day to day in life. 
It's just ink. 
Take it as that. 
Bounce ideas off of it. 
Respond to it. 
Write responses. 
Enjoy it and take care of yourself and those you can in 2021. 
Cheers
​The LHo Team (The Empowerment Initiative). 

You can shop our latest designs, creations and finds by clicking on each image. Enjoy.
​Remain up to date with our latest creations and finds by following us on Shoptiques: https://www.shoptiques.com/brands/love-s_hangover_creations

Happy New Week, 
I've been driving across America and I noticed a few things. 
I noticed that we went from Halloween to Christmas decorations in a heart beat.
I am not calling any of you out, including my big brother, my sister-in-law and their kids lol. To me, I took it as a choice to see the positive. 

A LOT has happened heading into 2020 and throughout the entire year.
Personally, there have been global hits as well as personal hits. Why not celebrate what is coming instead of feeling confined and actually stuck?

Given all that has happened, I decided it was time to bring back some more wholesome blog posts. 
Our minds and spirits need to be refreshed and cared for just as much as we need to care for our bodies and those we love. 

If you are online (Instagram) and wanted to connect with a yogi, consider Fatimaeliza Gonzalez. 
We like that she adds some personal reflection to each challenge/ routine. 

Hello Lovelies, 
We bumped into a story we wanted to share.

Traveling with a few of you (to East Africa) allowed us to reconnect with a lot of our East African upbringing.

Being on the ground reminded us just how much East Africans recycle, reduce, reuse, rot/ compost and upcycle.  We are actively returning to our East African roots/ values that remind us: waste not, want not. The saying was a constant reminder in school and at home. If you live to waste, you will eventually get to a point where you do not have. Be conscious of your usage as you are only a visitor passing through these earthly streets. Just as you are passing through, leave a world for those that will visit after you. East Africans are very much philosophical thinkers and we have been for centuries. That's why some of our traditional garb is littered with proverbs and sayings.

Now, as we reconnect with our roots and find new avenues to reduce our waste footprint, we wanted to share an exciting story from IKEA that we thought quite a few of you might appreciate or would like to pass on because we all know that one person that is IKEA obsessed. Remember, we are forever learning, growing and connecting and this felt like a push in the right direction from a big business brand. It felt like the kind of push that might normalize discussing sustainable living ideas. 

Here's what you need to know: 

• According to BBC News, The Swedish giant, IKEA, will as of next month, launch a scheme to buy back some of your unwanted  IKEA furniture. 
• Under the plan, it will offer vouchers worth up to 50% of the original price, to be spent at its stores.
• The "Buy Back" initiative will launch to coincide with Black Friday in order to make sustainable living more attainable. 

This is GREAT news for the planet and for us, as a small social enterprise that was always BIG about reusing, it helps us become bolder about reducing our waste footprint (BBC BUSINESS, 13th Oct 2020)

Our shopping bags and shipping materials are now 100% upcycled. You might receive a jacket you purchased from us in Kate Spade packaging. We're upcycling and a lot of our customers and friends are ready to assist with this decision.

On average, we ship out thirty five packages a month (except over the holiday season and all the way to valentines day when our online orders triple) and if we are doing our normal circuit of pop ups, we have a sale every 1 1/2 -2 minutes. Instead of creating demand for new trees to be cut down so we have enough packaging and bagging material, we've just started collecting from our customers and friends. We're choosing to use what's already available in the community so that we can reduce our waste and especially plastic footprint. This is just one of the ways we are choosing to do our part as an organization. For more, visit this link: "About Us" . 

And we know, it might seem strange that a small business would write about a big business, but we are all winning in this instance. When we all do what we can, we all win. If we were more focused on caring for each other and this beautiful world we share, we'd find there can be enough resources to meet all of mankind's basic needs comfortably. 

Below, are a few pieces from us that include salvaged and upcycled beads/ creations. Others are included because they are eco-friendly. Click on each image to purchase it on Shoptiques and if you need to ask us questions etc message us: +17656060777. And yes, you can meet us to pick up pieces you are interested in. If you don't spot anything for you, please share this blog with a friend that might (sharing is caring). 

So in the future, should you see we've described a bead or finished design as salvaged know that either our suppliers or our team was working to reduce our waste footprint as an organization (contact us to find out how. Yes... we'll go into detail and no, you're not bothering us).

Lastly, we included a video from Ghana highlighting one social entrepreneur that is making bicycles from bamboo and in the process, creating dignified sources of income for others. How are you going to reduce your waste footprint in the remaining months of 2020? Here's the link to the rest of the IKEA story: please feel free to read the rest of the article (it's a 2-5 minute read depending on your reading speed). 

Love yous,
Wishing you HEALTH, safety and enough
The LHo Team (The Empowerment Initiative).  

​Do you know how the food you consume makes it to the grocery stores you shop from?
Do you know what farms supply your local grocery stores?
Is it possible to find out? If it's difficult to find out, should this be the case? How can you change this? 

There are a lot of subjects that we, as minorities, discuss in private. As part of our Forever Learning Series, we want to bring those subjects to our customer base. We will continue to present the information under a social ethics lens (this also means I am a heavy friend to have and a heavy dinner guest. I am also a heavy person to consume adult beverages with because I like to reflect and other people engage in social gatherings to decompress.
I just wanted to give a heads up because a lot of customers have actually reached out to dialogue with me... of which I appreciate. I digress).

What do you know about immigration to the United States?
How many immigrants do you know well personally?
How much of their story do you know and understand?
How many other minority group families/ individuals do you know well? 
Do you know who stocks your grocery store shelves at night?
Do you know how much any of these groups earn?
Do you know how many hours a week they work?
Do you know how they ended up in these fields? 
How does that compare with your story?
Do you believe in mission work? How do you feel about those who you might assist on missions coming here to better themselves? 
Have you been on a mission trip? What social justice/ equality issues have you tackled within America? 
.
Earlier this year, a former and fellow business owner and I had a lengthy discussion about our roles in the community as minorities that might be looked up to as leaders as well. We both concluded that one of our greatest sins had been silence. It made a lot of others believe, and yes... this was vocalized to both of us on various occasions, that a lot of the social justice cries we see across social media and in the news were made up, came from whiners and were given by those who just didn't want to pull themselves up via their bootstraps but instead might have preferred a handout. We just wanted our businesses to thrive. So we lay low and remained silent even though today, there are businesses I know I can't walk into in Noblesville, Indiana.

Currently, the other business owner stepped down and I turned our business into a small social enterprise because we want to do good as we turn profits. We now fall under the NGO and nonprofit banner (nonprofits do make profits, the money is simply directed to various causes and efforts across various communities selected for impact).

We want to empower. We want to inform and we believe, as an organization, we have a moral responsibility to all our customers and visitors to create a more enriching experience that allows for growth through various channels. 

Please join us in reflecting and do feel free to share what you might discover as you reflect. 
There shouldn't be shame associated with growing and/ or becoming a better human being. There shouldn't be shaming when it comes to inquiring for knowledge purposes (Kiswahili proverb/ African philosophical view). Admitting our faults becomes that much harder when there is shame surrounding the process. Be humble enough to notice your ills. Be humble enough to remember you will continue to make mistakes too. Forgive yourself (and others) and then become better. To fail to do this is to fail to worship That Which Allowed Us being. E. A. Wasonga

PS: We added a video from Insider News (eight minute video with subtitles) and a few sweet deals. Most pieces are $10. Happy shopping and sharing (click on image to shop design). 

Hey there foodies, 
We have our dish for this week LIVE. 
You can place an order on our foodies page. 

We are giving you vegan curry on rice with grilled chicken and a side of kachumbari. 

Given that my adviser had been an avid world travel, he allowed me to craft out my college experience with as much international exposure as I wanted (and still graduate on time). He was so dedicated to making sure I had the experience I needed that some of my classes, that were only available biennially and that he taught, he offered to teach me in private in his office when I returned. That allowed me to travel abroad (really, go back to Kenya and enjoy the familiar tastes and sounds of East Africa for a solid seven months) but also, explore my media studies from an African (and also Commonwealth) lens. There, he gave me access to GOLD. I believe a lot of what we are struggling with, on a personal, financial, emotional level, someone or a group of people somewhere in the world already has an applicable solution for. However, we are so busy exercising various versions of selfishness, being territorial, judgemental, unwilling and unfair to release ourselves from bondage. Being abroad for those months allowed me a whole other collection of perspectives, not just from my professors and how education is fashioned abroad, but from the students and the various discussions and cultural experiences I would have missed had I remained in America. 

So, I am writing this now because it's necessary. I am writing this because we need more voices that have different perspectives and we need more voices that impact smaller circles across this nation. 

I realize I live in a nation that I appreciate and that I call one of my many homes. 
Here though, as much as an education and then a college degree determine various factors in life... we forget what all that education is for. It's not just a process. It's a process with purpose. 
Here, history is based on opinions and not researched facts here, in this America I love and call one of my many homes. 
Science is ignored and based on political views and not researched mainly because a lot of times, what I bump into is a lack of know how on where to go for information. As everyone is out studying various fields and going through various forms of education, it is important to birth lifelong learners. 

For all the math I studied and all the science I took in and even classes like art (especially between Kenya and Botswana and my final science courses in my American high school) there was not just here is X, Y and Z... we also spent a lot of time proving and investigating what we were learning. 

Here is an example from my Science and Agriculture classes in primary school (elementary school in Kenya).  
Transpiration: (of a plant or leaf) transpiration can be described as the exhalation of water vapor through the stomata.
"plants lose more than 90 percent of their water through transpiration" (definition was gathered from Oxford Languages)

We not only wrote the word down, we were taught where the term stemmed from. What two or three languages married each other to birth the word. 

We then spent a lesson or three, once the chapter was over, proving that what he had learnt actually takes place. In the case of transpiration, we used plastic bags. We tied a plastic bag over a few leaves on a tree or potted plant for a few days and when we returned a few days later, there would be liquid in the bag that had touches of green and brown to it. We hadn't had liquid in the bag before. The liquid was now there. We wrote what we observed and proceeded to the next subject matter and even took time to ask our teachers various questions in relation to transpiration. 

Education isn't just about stating facts. The more we research, the more we learn about facts. This is why Pluto was downgraded into a dwarf planet in my lifetime and this is also why we (as a human race) discovered that plants could also use artificial light to produce food (photosynthesis). I remember the agriculture class I was in (it was 2002) when our teacher made us aware of what researchers had now discovered. 

​Education should empower us to think critically, learn how to research facts and weigh truth. The moment education becomes about parotting (especially unfounded information), we are then living on dangerous breeding ground.
​
I live in a country where the media is not understood, the way I had to take years and years of classes to understand how it works and why it matters. The media, also through it's own doing, has turned into a source of entertainment and is no longer founded on passing of unbiased information.

The media ethics courses I had to take, are disregarded because networks are no longer unbiased and thus exist under the oppression of political agendas and for ratings that bring in financial backing.

This is dangerous. I could list a zillion and one reasons why this is dangerous or I could simply begin to share pieces I think will help those who frequent our platform, have another outlook on matters. ​

I did not realize what role our presence in the community played until I was invited to a dinner where we discussed immigration. I was invited to help decipher what was real from what was not. I was an immigrant. I had become a citizen. They had known me for a long time and valued my presence in their lives. They felt with me, they could share their truth about what they believed when it came to immigration and why the path to citizenship was sacred. However, there were so very, many views being shared across various media platforms and a lot of them were opinion based. A lot of the channels brought in experts and naysayers to shout at each other and had stopped informing because ratings, ratings, ratings. So we spoke about DACA. We spoke about the green card which should no longer be termed as a lottery. We spoke about my life back home. We spoke about international students. We spoke about the path to citizenship and how some were left out. 

We are now social distancing. 
​We have a blog that thousands of you visit (THANK YOU). 
So, here is a link from National Geographic that breaks down the 19th amendment based on historical accounts. It's a five minute read. I/ We, as a team, don't want to continue in the insanity we all seem to be practising. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. We keep barking at each other. Let's do something else. Let's return to the drawing board, as a nation, as humanity, and begin to research what we believe.

We invite those that visit our website to join us in thinking critically. What we research and decide (as citizens of the world) will determine the tomorrows others get to face. That is an important role to play. 
​
We also added a few of our dinners, a few of our latest looks so the team and our suppliers can continue to be paid and music that was written by a Ghanaian and Kenyan artists. I never thought music that spoke of our African struggles might ever be used to highlight struggles (even in part) that we would witness and face in The West. Here we are though. 
Take care of yourselves and stay healthy,
You, who is reading, matters to us. x
The LHo Team

Does institutionalized oppression continue in various ways currently? Why or why not? How did you arrive at the conclusions you did? Did you use a fair assessment of evidence to arrive at your conclusions? Are there other ways you might be able to view the issue? From relearning the 19th amendment from historical accounts, let's begin to become forever learners that think critically and hopefully, even ethically. 

Hey Beautiful People, 
How is your week going? 
I will openly confess I stood and cried about USPS. USPS not functioning (the way it should) impacts SO MUCH of what we do. I am me, I have found a solution, but I still needed to stop and allow my emotions room to be.

I took a moment to cry and then messaged a few people I feel shake things up across the globe. Confession complete, now, how are you doing? Are there any emotions you want to allow room? Make sure you allow them the room they need so that you can refuel yourself with better energy. 

As I pen about better energy, I also wanted to blog about what most of you might have noticed across social media. A lot of women are now posting black and white shots of themselves. Taylor Lorenz, covered the phenomenon for The New York Times, and stated... "The premise of the “challenge accepted” trend is that these photos promote female empowerment, and that nominating friends to take part in the campaign is a way for women to support each other".

I first noticed the images from a few of our customers in Vizag, India. Then, the tags started coming in. 

I didn't have the energy to post an actual image on Instagram (I have to use hashtags and I wasn't ready for all that action). I did however post a shot of me in our stories which I find way simpler to do. What about you? Have you participated? Do you think the campaign is useful? Do you think it changes or impacts anything?

Now, to go along with this theme of women supporting women, I chose songs that I feel celebrate women and sisterhood. Some support through lyrics while others support by having women just come together and SING. If you have any recommendations for this list, send them in. I listen to music while I do most of my life. Also, if you have any good recommendations from allies, send those in as well. I added Tarrus Riley to the playlist because he is the one artist I have seen perform live (I was in Dallas, Texas for business) and he invited people on stage to dance but he did not need the girls to do anything outlandish. When he saw one girl begin to dance a little to provocatively for him, he held her hand and asked her to step off the stage. She could have done WHATEVER she wanted to (I am in no way trying to censor her dance moves)... for me, it was just nice to watch a musician not expect it. It was nice to watch a man say, you can do that off stage, but let it not be because I asked you to come on stage. That wasn't part of the request. He just wanted company and hype on stage.

The song selection is full of older songs, but music to me is like wine. In between becoming grownup enough to travel from state to state for pop ups (alone... in a car or on a train), I found I didn't need the hippest, latest anything. I took comfort in either listening to thoughts through books, TED Talks, certain comedians doing stand up and/ or enjoying music that cemented a time in my life, a loved one's life or perhaps a song I bumped into while listening to a show. 

I was apparently no longer listening to music to prove anything. I select songs that in essence help me date and get to know myself, my thoughts and world views in a way. Music can do that.

I also added our latest designs because our team needs to be paid and the makers and interns that have gotten used to earning with us actually rely on that money to do portions of their lives.

​So here you go. 

​...and until the next post, try as much as you can to be kind and thoughtful of others, even if others are not thoughtful of you... being honest to yourself and the path you were chosen to walk in this life is all you are required to do. So, be truthful to that journey and you will find that the rest settles as you return to dust. 

Cheers,
​E. A. Wasonga