The Great Origin Story

Hi my name is Lynn N Komu. I'll only tell you what the N stands for if you earn it.

I'm a 23 year old black woman who's creative and awkward. It sounds like a catchphrase, but it's true. I also happen to make products for hair, skin and sanity.

You might be wondering how I got here.

When I was 18-ish, I decided to cut my hair and work with my natural hair texture, you know the way it grows out of my head. For some reason a lot of people found this strange. When I did this there were no products on the shelf for me, everything had chemicals that all the blogs said were bad.

Can you imagine the betrayal I felt when I discovered that most of the products I had been using for years were actually bad for my hair, did not actually moisturize it and stifled the growth of my hair?

"Shook" is an understatement.

So with my newly developed trust issues I turned to what was available and still good for me: organic products. I blended, did ALL the research, stalked the aisles of my favorite stores to find what I could to help my teeny weeny afro flourish. As the years have passed what seemed like a small changed shifted my life dramatically. Suddenly I was aware of everything going into and on my body, not just my hair. As the years have passed products for girls like me are finally on the shelves but I found a passion in making my own products. Then making them for other people. I've always been a nurturer, it feels natural to me. Must be a Virgo thing.

Then people who didn't really know me started asking me to make them products. Then inviting me to stuff to showcase my products, so I had to start thinking about logos and branding and all of that. I keep being pushed and to grow, but with so much support from my friends, family and community so here I am.

A 23-year old who is still creative and awkward who now owns a business called, By Design.

Why "By Design"?

Well, any girl with natural hair will tell you that one day she woke up and her favorite products just stopped doing the trick. Myself included. Self -care, whether it's your hair, your skin or your mental health is very personal and subject to change. So why shouldn't your products be designed the same way?

So yes, in a nutshell that is my great origin story. As to why people call me The Mother of Elephants... that's a story for another day x