LIMA — A new beauty supply store inspired by the late Lillie White, who owned Javen’s BBQ and Grill on Lima’s south side for more than 30 years, is selling natural hair products, accessories and extensions for women at the Lima Mall.
Lima native DaShanna McClellan on Thursday celebrated the grand opening of Lillie White’s Beauty Supply, located across from Old Navy.
McClellan, a registered nurse and patient care technician for Lima Memorial Health System, founded the beauty supply store after winning the grand-prize showcase on the Price is Right in 2018. The winnings allowed McClellan, who recently finished nursing school, to follow the lead of her grandmother, Lillie White.
“(She taught me) to have patience,” McClellan said. “To serve the community and inspire people.”
McClellan grew up around hair and knew the demand for natural hair products in Lima was high, so she and her cousin started selling beauty supplies part-time from her home several years ago. The two recently decided to expand their venture with a storefront at the Lima Mall, which opened Thursday.
The store carries a variety of natural products and hair accessories, extensions and wigs, along with some cosmetics.
Lillie White Beauty Supply is open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.
https://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2020/10/web1_IMG-1980.jpgMackenzi Klemann | The Lima News
https://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2020/10/web1_IMG-1983.jpgMackenzi Klemann | The Lima News
https://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2020/10/web1_IMG-1982.jpgMackenzi Klemann | The Lima News
https://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2020/10/web1_IMG-1978.jpgMackenzi Klemann | The Lima News
DaShanna McClellan poses with friend Charmine Sanders-Johnson at the grand opening of her store, Lillie White’s Beauty Supply.
https://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2020/10/web1_IMG-1964.jpgDaShanna McClellan poses with friend Charmine Sanders-Johnson at the grand opening of her store, Lillie White’s Beauty Supply.Mackenzi Klemann | The Lima News
DaShanna McClellan and her mother, Naomi White, pose at the grand opening of Lillie White’s Beauty Supply, a new locally-owned beauty supply store at the Lima Mall.
https://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2020/10/web1_IMG-1970.jpgDaShanna McClellan and her mother, Naomi White, pose at the grand opening of Lillie White’s Beauty Supply, a new locally-owned beauty supply store at the Lima Mall. Mackenzi Klemann | The Lima News
‘I had the knowledge and I had the funds to do it.’
A Brooklyn teenager credits her mother for inspiring her entrepreneurial spirit to open a beauty supply store amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Paris McKenzie, a 16-year-old senior at the High School for Human Services and Health Professions, is making national headlines after launching the Paris Beauty Supplyz on Church Avenue in Flatbush last month,Fox Business reports.
“My mom really inspired me to open up the store,” McKenzie said on Making Money with Charles Payne. “She’s my biggest inspiration.”
McKenzie admits she was a little apprehensive to launch her own business at such a young age. “But, I knew I had the knowledge and I had the funds to do it so I said if this can inspire others, then it is something I should do,” she shared.
McKenzie said the response on social media has been “amazing,” and the support helped push her business to the next level.
“Business has been really well ever since I posted a store on social media. People have been very supportive,” she said. “It is amazing to see how much people I have inspired and how much people have learned or have gained coverage to start their own business just from my post.”
McKenzie, a first-generation Jamaican American, grew up watching her mom, Senica Thompson, run salon businesses in Brooklyn.
“I grew up very independent, you can say. My mother, she’s an entrepreneur as well. She opened her first business a few months after I was born. I grew up watching her handle businesses and finances, so I pretty much knew what I was getting myself into,” she said in an interview with BEAUTY IRL.
“And since she was at work so often — seven days a week, took one day off a year — I pretty much had to grow up a little bit faster and it made me able to run a business at this age,” McKenzie continued. “Some people might say, “Oh, she’s so young. She’s not fully developed.” But growing up the way I have, I’ve been mature enough to do this from probably 14, 15.”
“I just want us to feel comfortable in a space where we spend the most money, and not like we’re being followed, watched, or accused of stealing.”
McKenzie’s beauty supply store is safe space for Black people to shop and support Black entrepreneurs through the various products.
“My vision was to have a place that was very accessible, affordable, and comfortable for anyone who walks in,” said McKenzie. “If you’re Black, you’re white, you’re Asian, whoever walks in, I wanted them to feel comfortable no matter what. And especially because I’m Black, I wanted to push more on the Black products and making Black people feel comfortable in an area that we very much frequent, so that’s something I really wanted to do,” she explained.
“That was a huge part of my vision. I just want us to feel comfortable in a space where we spend the most money, and not like we’re being followed, watched, or accused of stealing.”
McKenzie went on to admit that one of her “life goals” is to become an orthopediatric surgeon.
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UPDATE: In the wake of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, changemaker and Supreme Court Justice and who passed away Sept. 18, Lipslut has launched a new fundraiser to honor her memory. This week, 100 percent of the proceeds from Notorious RBG Lipstick ($20) – which is on preorder now – will go toward organizations continuing R.B.G.’s fight for justice and equality.
“In the wake of her passing, members of the Lipslut community reached out to share the ways in which R.B.G. inspired them,” founder Katie Sones told POPSUGAR. “After reading their notes, I feel strongly that it’s our responsibility to carry on her legacy. Her fight continues with us.”
This story was originally published on Jan. 22, 2019.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg – Supreme Court Justice and scrunchie icon – has devoted her career to advocating for the rights of women, and in her honor, cosmetics brand Lipslut is celebrating the Justice (by popular demand) with a lipstick shade.
The Notorious R.B.G. lipstick ($20) is a fuchsia shade that donates 50 percent of its profits to a charity that embodies the ideals Ginsburg stands by. Each time you purchase one, you have a chance to vote for which organization you’d like the profits to go toward (a few options are the Equal Rights Advocates and She Should Run, to name a few). The formula is also long-wearing, so it’ll stay put no matter how long it takes to fight the patriarchy. See the hue, below.
The Lipstick Lobby Teamed Up With Feminist Icon Gloria Steinem For Its Latest Launch
