Today we’d like to introduce you to Wardah Halim
Hi Wardah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I remember when I was 6 years old and we had a wedding in the family. This was back home in Pakistan, and all my cousins and aunts went to the salon to get our henna done. This was the very first time I had ever had a henna design on my hands, and I fell in love with the patterns, the fragrance and the color of henna. I couldn’t stop staring at my hands and sniffing my palms constantly because it was so beautiful.
Then when I was about 12, I asked my mother to buy me a henna cone as I wanted to learn how to do henna on myself. My school had very strict uniform rules and we were not allowed to have any henna designs on our hands during the school year. So every Summer and Winter Break, I would cover my hands and arms in intricate henna patterns (they were probably horrible, but I loved the smell of henna on my palms, and would wear my own designs proudly!).
My cousins, my sister, aunts, my mom all became my models to practice henna on. They would love to get henna done by me, and I loved doing it for them.
When I moved to USA, I started teaching at the Islamic School of San Diego, and they once organized an Open House at the Mosque, inviting people of other faiths to visit the Mosque and learn more about Islam. Our organizer asked if I knew how to do henna and if I would be willing to do henna on the attendees to share our culture with them. I was ecstatic, yes absolutely!
From then onwards, by the grace of God Almighty, I have been blessed with the most wonderful clients who share my passion of henna. My husband has been my backbone in encouraging me to pursue this art form as my career. He set up my website for me and his invaluable advice every step of the way has helped me become one of the leading henna artists in San Diego. I have been doing henna professionally in San Diego for almost 2 decades now.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I strongly believe that life is a test. Nothing is going to be handed over to you on a plate. If we want to achieve something, we have to work hard and do our best. Yes there have been struggles, hours and hours of practice, strategies that worked, or didn’t work, a lot of trial and error, but I have never lost hope or felt dejected. I am not driven by money, rather, it is the passion for henna that keeps me going.
E.g. At the very beginning of my career back in mid 2000s, when people started asking me for my business cards, I realized I didn’t have any, nor did I know where to get any. My husband took me to Staples and bought me a pack of those perforated business card sheets that you can print at home and then separate them. They were flimsy, but did the job.
I also remember, when I had started working as a professional artist and went to onsite locations to do henna at parties, I didn’t even drive or have a car at that time. My husband would drive me to the client’s venue and wait in the car for hours with my baby in her car seat while I worked hunched over peoples’ hands spinning out design after design for hours. All my struggles don’t feel like like struggles because I have been blessed with the most beautiful people in my family who have been supportive throughout the years I worked hard to establish myself.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a professional henna artist in San Diego. Henna body art is deeply rooted in my culture. I hail from Pakistan and we use henna frequently and abundantly to celebrate joyous occasions. I take great joy in sharing my love for henna with the women here in USA. I have clients who have been getting their henna done by me regularly for over 10 years. There are brides whose bridal henna I have done, and then their sisters’ weddings, and then their baby showers. It feels very good to be the ‘go-to’ henna artist for families.
When covid lockdown happened, and henna being a very physical art came to a standstill, I looked for an alternative artistic outlet and fell in love with watercolor painting. With the same passion and zeal that I have for henna, I dived into painting watercolor landscapes and started my own Youtube channel called HennaTrendz where I post full length demos of my paintings. I would definitely recommend your readers to check it out.
Am I looking to set myself apart from others? Not really. I believe this is my own personal journey and I am not in competition with anyone. I keep my head down and stay focused on my own journey. My intention is to share the love and joy of henna so that people in USA can appreciate our culture and enjoy it.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Henna art is a centuries old artform and I do not see it going away anywhere. Women love to adorn themselves. I believe we are born with a natural desire to beautify ourselves and are typically more attracted to pretty things. Wearing henna designs on your hands makes you feel so feminine and beautiful, and to top it all, since henna is an organic form of temporary body art, it does no harm to the skin and designs can be changed up every few weeks.
Henna artists are a live entertainment for any event, because when you have a henna artist at your celebration, you and your guests get to see live art being created in front of your eyes.
Pricing:
- $60 and up
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.HennaTrendz.com
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/HennaTrendz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HennaByWardah
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/HennaTrendz
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/henna-trendz-san-diego
