Runway Curls Boutique recently held its official grand opening in metro Atlanta, which showcased a multitude of natural kinky curly wigs, virgin bundles, and even dolls with naturally style hair. The day was full of celebrating hair textures, curl patterns, and overall looks.
Entrepreneur and TV personality Mushiya Tshikuka, the founder of Runway Curls, endeavors to help women and young girls love the person they see in the mirror despite the world’s beauty agenda. She shared one way she did this through her natural hair doll brand, My Natural Doll.
What was your inspiration behind the dolls and how has it impacted the community?
Every time I went to get dolls for Christmas, I couldn’t find dolls that looked like my girls. I would either find dolls who were bald, whose hair was made out of yarn, or whose hair was bone straight. None of my kids have hair as they do. All were born with a lot of hair and a lot of this … kinky, wild and gorgeous hair.
After building up my girls and telling them how beautiful they are, I refused to sabotage that by giving them a White doll that didn’t look like them and start creating complexes within them. So … I told the girls, “we are going to make dolls.” I made them [part of the] process of building the doll. I wanted them to also see that if we don’t have something in life, we make it, we build it, and we create it.
That was the inspiration because I wanted our little girls to look at a doll who reflects who they are. When children look at a doll, it tells them this is how they want to look or this is pretty. It’s a seed, the doll is just a seed and so that seed has to reflect the flower we want to grow.
