I came across a Twitter page called Curly Hair Vegan back in 2019 and started following immediately. I’m a big foodie. I love to cook and go to new restaurants; so every time CHV would pop up on my timeline I would be like, “wow, I can smell that from here, I definitely need a plate” or “omg, that smoothie just looks like it tastes like heaven”. A few months prior I had just completed my first year of pescetarianism and constantly was looking for more vegetarian/vegan meals to cook! Now, fast-forward to us getting close to the end of 2020 and I had the pleasure of chatting with Briana Aniysa, the amazing boss-ass entrepreneur and new mommy, who is the founder of Curly Hair Vegan and Sol Healing Shop. Briana is extremely talented, showing us how to incorporate better foods into our lives, making handmade jewelry, and expanding her brands while her audience joins no matter what she takes on!
Veganism isn’t for everyone but Briana knew back in 2015 it was for her and she never looked back! Being able to eat healthier and not harm animals? That was a win/win. This isn’t a lifestyle Briana would ever try to push on anyone. She said herself that since all of our bodies are all different, we have to always do what works best for us but she does want to encourage people to include more vegetables into their daily lives. It’s so important to get those greens and nutrients into your body on a regular basis.
With changing what Briana was putting into her body, came other major changes to her life. She began to heal herself, no longer having to deal with the depression that was once a huge part of her world. While healing, Briana became more in-tune with herself, who she was as a woman, more open-minded, and was even speaking up for herself with ease! All around, she was a better person, and who doesn’t love that for themselves? Being so happy with the life she was living and being a food lover, Briana started sharing her vegan recipes on her self titled blog. A friend of Briana, someone who inspired her as an entrepreneur, suggested that she create an E-Book with some of her recipes. This had not even been a thought but with the constant support she was receiving just from posting the recipes, she figured why not! When her first E-Book was released, she easily made a few thousands of dollars and was blown away. Briana was so ecstatic about the number of people who genuinely enjoyed what she was cooking up and that they wanted to try it too!
The recipes weren’t going anywhere but Briana knew she wanted to expand CHV. “Everybody Hates Chris” was one of the funniest shows ever and was based on the life of comedian Chris Rock. If you’ve watched it, one thing you know is that Chris’ mom was never afraid to let anyone know her husband had not one but two jobs! Briana described herself as being the same way, letting people know her husband was on his grind while she worked part-time. Her Curly Hair Vegan business was boomin’ but she had always known she wanted to become a full-time entrepreneur and work for herself.
When making transitions to her lifestyle, Briana learned about smudging, charkas, crystals, and started to dive deep into wellness. Smudge sticks, which are bundles of herbs that you burn for different benefits, was something Briana had already been creating as a personal hobby. Since it was something she enjoyed doing and it made her feel good, she wanted to share that beautiful energy smudging brings to others. With expanding her brand, Briana wondered if people would actually buy the sticks but her friends assured her that they would be a hit! Now she makes Love Wands, Chakras Sage, and so many other smudge sticks that her customers are fans of. Along with the smudge sticks, Briana added crystals to her site. Her favorite crystal is Amethyst and visually, it’s one of the most eye-catching crystals of them all. It has always helped Briana with trusting herself and getting down to the root of her feelings. Briana recalls finding a random Amethyst on her dresser when she first began learning about crystals and it’s been her right-hand ever since.
Everything Briana does has always been organic and in divine order. Organization and arrangement are key and just being on this journey of natural revolution was something Briana could feel for her life. Her audience, people who started off following along because of her recipes, grew with her and continued to love her food but also loved the wellness she was bringing! Like a flower, the expansion of the brand continued to blossom, with handmade crystal anklets being created in 2019. The Icy anklet is a favorite of Briana’s, while mine is the Chakra’s anklet. This anklet has a tiny crystal for each chakra and you can literally feel the energy close by you as you go through your day!
Just recently, Briana decided she wanted to separate her vegan lifestyle recipes from the healing tools and created Sol Healing Shop. The word “Sol” has many special meanings for Briana. Sol means sun and we as people along with the tools we use to heal ourselves are all charged by the sun. It is also the nickname of her beautiful newborn baby girl! Briana wants Sol Healing Shop to be a space where you heal your soul and she gives us a bunch of options on how to do that. I’m constantly going back and forth with my wallet about why I need yet another piece from Sol Healing Shop! The chokers, the anklets, the rings, I mean everything is just so unique and you can feel it was crafted with love. I bought two sound bowls that I use every morning during my sacred morning routine and it just adds that extra warmth to my soul to start my day. It’s as if Briana just knows the pieces you need because they always come out or are restocked exactly when your soul truly needs it! From healing home decor to healing tools and healing jewelry, the Sol Healing Shop is such a vibe.
Curly Hair Vegan and Sol Healing Shop won’t be the end of Briana’s amazingness, she has a full vision all mapped out of the smoothie shop she’ll have in the future. This won’t be your regular smoothie shop either. While you’re sipping your green smoothie or organic beer at the bar, you can also shop crystals that’ll be placed throughout the store and spoken word nights will definitely be a thing! This spot will be super cozy with tons of plants and good energy flowing all around. Briana has no doubt that this will come to fruition and I’m right along with her! I love to see a Black woman aligning with her purpose and getting paid! I’ll for sure be visiting! Briana is such a huge inspiration, dabbling into everything with Curly Hair Vegan, Sol Healing Shop, being a wife, a mom, and just being a Black woman, period! I applaud her for being so bomb and can’t wait to see her businesses continue to flourish & all her dreams come true!
Make sure you’re following both CHV and Sol Healing Shop on Instagram and Twitter! Below are the links!
Instagram : @curlyhairvegan / @solhealingshop
Twitter: @curlyhairvegan / @solhealingshop