Feminist Founder: self love tool chest
Helping you to Embrace the Sh*t out of your Body, Brain, and Self!
You, YES YOU, are a powerful, beautiful goddess being! Can't see it? Not yet! If you don’t practice self-love and body acceptance, it can be really hard to believe that you're worthy of love and attention.
Self Love Tool Chest brings you tools that are not only 100% unique to our shop but also seek to empower you to love yourself, build confidence, and combat anxiety.
View more at www.selflovetoolchest.com
NIA PATTERSON (they/she)
Is a well-respected Black and Queer mental health advocate, social activist, artist, content creator, podcaster, and business owner. She is the creator behind @TheFriendINeverWanted and artist behind @SelfLoveToolChest. They are also the host and producer of the Body Trauma Podcast you can listen to here and also on Instagram @bodytraumapod. Their work is mainly centered around the Eating Disorder Recovery, Fat Activism, LGBTQIA+, and Self Love communities. Nia is passionate about advocating for people in marginalized bodies and seeks to bring resources to those who do not readily see representation and healthcare for themselves.
Q: Three words to describe being a female founder?
Nia:
Honored
Exclusive
Grateful
Q: What sparked your interest to start Self Love Tool Chest?
Nia: I have no better way to say this but Self Love Tool Chest (then The Dapper Dolphin) was started in the middle of a hypomanic state due to being untreated for Bipolar II. I was in my first prolonged hypomanic state and the outcome was that I started a business in about three weeks. However, what actually sparked the desire to build a sticker business was that I was absolutely obsessed with stickers and planning. (Can provide photos if you want). They took up hours of my day. And it was an escape. So I started out planning to just make stickers for myself and my planner to cut down on cost. It quickly (as in hours) turned into me deciding I was going to create a business and sell my stickers on Etsy. A really good question is “why did I reinvent The Dapper Dolphin from a sticker shop to Self Love Tool Chest, a mental health and self-love accessory shop.” The answer to that is that in the summer of 2020 I just felt stifled by my previous business model and I wanted to branch out from what I had been doing. I was very into creating digital art and I was more closely embracing my queer identity and I wanted so much more color and fun in my brand. And so I ended up rebranding The Dapper Dolphin To Self Love Tool Chest so that it felt more like me and my brand as opposed to something I had created years before.
Q: What is your daily affirmation?
Nia: I don’t have one specific affirmation usually. I have things that I say to myself but the fact is that often affirmations bug me and I don’t particularly like them. However, I will say that I often tell myself “I’m okay” and “Good job at me.” I knew a girl in treatment who would sometimes say “Good job at me” to give herself credit and I picked it up from there and I now say it to myself. And I will frequently tell my friends or other people “Good job at you!” as recognition of someone’s work! That’s why at the bottom of the Positive Snark affirmation card deck box it says, “Good fucking job at you.”
POSITIVE SNARK // An Affirmation Deck for Sarcastic Realists
Q: How do you use the power of your business to empower your community?
Nia: My number one goal is to inspire. I want my products to inspire. I want my art to inspire. I want to make people laugh. I want people to see my products and not feel alone. So I would say one of my top goals is to encourage people not to think they are alone in the world and instead to empower them to do the amazing things they are actually capable of. My brand is curated to speak to those people who in particular need to be encouraged, empowered, and spoken up for.
Q: Tell us about your new product launch: how did it come to be? Where did you get inspired to create it?
Nia: I actually started this project back in 2019 as an affirmation deck for people in “nontypical” bodies. The aesthetic was completely different and the affirmations were different from typical ones but also still cheesy and not at all what they are now. It wasn't until last year, in 2021, that I decided to revisit the affirmation card deck idea and actually create the product that I wanted to create. I spent a lot of time thinking about long-form affirmations which were not as common in decks that I had seen. And I also specifically wanted them to be truthful and realistic and sarcastic very much like me and my brand. I felt like the deck might truly speak to some people who were struggling with positive self-talk or struggling with positive affirmations. That's where the project came from. The biggest barrier from the get-go I knew would be the finances. Because it costs about $5000 to manufacture an affirmation card deck. So even in 2019, I knew that I was going to have to run a Kickstarter for it. On top of that, I did several months of legwork: getting samples of the product, finding people to do the photography and the videos, and doing all of the behind-the-scenes work in order to bring the Kickstarter to life. I'm also really excited because I got to partner with a local Black artist to do the box cover design and the back art for the cards. I am all about supporting other creators who are in marginalized bodies and have amazing talent that just isn't in the world as much yet. So check out @painted__wolf too and her art!
Q: What is one bit of advice you would offer to young feminists looking to start their own business?
Nia: Do it. I am all about figuring things out and getting your business up and going. It’s so easy to throw a portfolio together on Instagram. Even if you don’t have the money for a website or Adobe pro, you can do a lot on just social media by itself.
The number one thing that kept me from starting my business for the longest time was the financial aspect of it. I was adamant that I didn’t have the money to create a business or to start one. I didn’t have a small loan of a million dollars to boost my business off the ground. So I never tried.
Now, I understand that the first lesson of entrepreneurship is finding the money to fund your business. For me that was asking for the appliance that I needed to start cutting stickers for Christmas in 2015. Without that I wouldn’t have been able to start my business. And it was only $250 but I didn’t have that money and my family was able to get that for me for Christmas instead. And then I used it for years in my business.
Q: What does being a feminist mean to you?
Nia: Being a feminist means that you are forward-thinking. That you are respectful, inclusive, and caring. It means that you are fed up with the system in the way that it is now and that you’re willing to chip in to help change it.
I used to think that feminism was only for women. And I used to think that feminism was a volatile word. I’ve learned so much in the last several years about what being a feminist truly means.
In reality, I was raised by two staunchly resolute intersectional feminists who ingrained the principles of feminism in me from birth. I just didn’t know at the time that was what was happening. And I am so grateful to both of them.
🤝 You can support Nia’s Kickstarter Campaign here ⬅️
Follow @thefriendineverwanted and @selflovetoolchest
View more at www.selflovetoolchest.com and www.niapatterson.com
