My name is Naadia Jahaan, an Arabic attribute given at birth. Naadia meaning runner and Jahaan meaning the world; the universe in its eternity. Hence, the birth of Running World Designs! Creative Content Specialist, active upholstery apprentice & CIY connoisseur – create it yourself!
Guided by the principles of relationship building, authenticity, individuality, creativity & rejuvenation. I strike a balance of bold, eclectic and sophisticated quirks, I am inspired by the journey of pursuing my passion and empowering others to do the same.
Running World Designs understands the value of personalized work environments and living spaces. As a relatable woman, mother and creative entity, together, I help people create ideal arrangements. Whether it be about design or divine life’s destiny I am here to offer support for everyone to Run Your World!
Cultivating authentic connections and respecting the uniqueness of everyone’s individuality. I ascribe to promote positivity in creative ways, fostering rejuvenating outlooks on life for healthy and encouraged living.
Running World Design
Running World Designs is a home decor & lifestyle brand for women, mothers, and all creatives to awaken decorative plans and cultured outcomes. A budget-friendly online shopping experience for decor at your door. Ultimately, an ode to regality and the production of an eclectic yet opulent household vibe.
Vision:
A worldly collective of thrifted, gifted and unique treasures to amplify the home. An authentic entrepreneur journey with individuality as a method of creative expression.
Mission:
- Provide products that are affordable yet opulent in adding to the ambiance of a home.
- Honor the uniqueness of variety to which every household may face.
- Demonstrate a lifestyle of routines, tendencies, and elements that aid in creating a happy and encouraged home.
- Cultivate lasting relationships with individuals to achieve whole-person wellbeing and continuous enrichment.
Services Offered:
- Furniture Procurement/Sourcing
- Housekeeping Hacks
- Create it Yourself Craft Workshops
What inspired you to start Creative Director for Running World Designs?
Freedom to be expressive. I have always been crafty and creative, expanding as “Creative Director” was my opportunity to turn my hobbies into a real-time business and brand. I enjoy bringing my concepts to life, the thought of creating a sustainable lifestyle by designing deliberately is very inspiring to me.
What are your workshops about?
Crafts and Cocktails (a session is overdue) is a creative way to bring women, mothers, and all creatives together in a healthy and encouraging space. The goal is a create it yourself approach to take home items that will liven up your space. A method of rejuvenation, taking a minute to decompress, relate and create for overall wellbeing.
What inspired you to start working for yourself?
I love educating myself a bachelor’s degree in psychology is nice, a master’s degree in behavioral economics is fun. Working in the nonprofit world for years is invigorating, but there is something uniquely divine about setting my own schedule and running my world, my way. There are a number of advantages working for someone else in terms of leadership and guidance, the one defeat is not being well-received when you are simply being your authentic self. That alone is my inspiration to continue navigating a “work for myself” mentality.
What have been your biggest successes?
I like to pat myself on the back for successfully registering my business in 2017, becoming a homeowner in 2019 and although I don’t always feel my best at it, I am killing this Mommin’ thang! Small wins are a major deal to me, I tend to find success in making it out of bed, finishing a blog post, you know?!
What are your current areas of focus?
Whew! My mind is scattered, I used this interview to pull it together (somewhat lol). Seriously though, I am branching out, Naadia Jahaan is giving all the feels of a creative entrepreneur, fashion and fun via my personal blog Through the Eyes of a Woman, Mother and Creative. While Running World Designs is still providing budget-friendly decor at your door and turning spaces to experiences of health and encouragement. My focus is largely building a lifestyle brand that honors the regal woman and creates products to awaken decorative plans with a modest price, yet opulent vibe.
Who have been your own biggest mentors and what is the best advice they have ever given you?
The works of Maya Angelou have been instrumental in my becoming as a woman, super grateful for her memoirs and contributions to academia. More recently a wise woman, owner and operator of Galerie Marie located in South Jersey, is what I describe as #goals. The best advice she has given me is to keep creating, stay aligned with my goals/principles and find ways to monetize/capitalize on my talents. I often “live in my head” the best way to combat that is to keep my hands moving. I really admire and appreciate her use of storytelling and highlighting narratives as a method of successful branding.
If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
I say this often, Be You, Do You, For You! Being your authentic self, the good the bad and ugly automatically gives others permission to do the same. Building a tribe or community of creatives is organic and natural. Be aware, but not isolated with the understanding that the journey is yours alone, everyone can’t go with you. But the right connections will surface as you grow. Most importantly HAVE FUN! No pressure, what’s for you flow effortlessly with ease. Enjoy the journey of a creative entrepreneur.
How do you improve your financial knowledge?
Honestly, I’ve been using Quickbooks Self Employed. Let’s connect for a referral code! Joking, but seriously, I’ve been maintaining but could use some boss babes who budget well to help me out. Currents, Bank for Modern Life is a new find that is helpful with budgeting. Lastly, @refinery29’s Money Diaries is a great reference I’ve utilized a time or two before.
What is the toughest decision you had to make in the last few months?
Going back to work! I’m being facetious, yes, this was a tough one. While I am wholeheartedly committed to growing my brand, financially I made the adult decision to return to work and not rely solely on my creative business. Truly though, I am the creative entrepreneur that finds solace in a routine paycheck, health insurance and social interaction. So it was tough but I am grateful to have funding to continue investing in my business.
What have been some of your failures and what have you learned from them?
Failure sounds so harsh to me. We are human beings, not robotic features. Anywho, most of my learning opportunities have come from actions I chose not to take for whatever the case may be (probably self-sabotage). In the workplace, I’ve held back expressing ideas, concepts and even advocating for myself in instances that could have a potential impact on my future progressions. My biggest plight is not following through because of “being worried” about what others may think, say, do or feel. I’ve grown way past that but it still gets me caught up some days.
“I really want the money conscientious woman who budgets accordingly, to connect with the hustling mother who needs a minute and a word of advice. While also amplifying that anyone with a concept is creative.”
![From Music to Perfume: How did your background as a music teacher influence your transition into perfumery, and how do you incorporate your musical sensibilities into creating fragrances? I’ve always thought in terms of metaphors, and music has many that can be related to perfumery! Beyond just thinking in terms of top, middle and base notes [soprano/alto/tenor in choir], I approach each fragrant idea as a composition. When documenting my ideas, song structures often come to mind. As the scent brief is visited, I meditate on what the fragrance should convey - do I want to create an accord or a “chord” of fragrance note combinations? Do I want an a capella soloist (a particular ingredient to stand out more than others?) Many of my thoughts regarding song composition transfers to my scent formulation process, with me treating each note as an intentional soliloquy at some point.
Brand Origin: What inspired you to start Pink MahogHany in 2005, and how has your vision for the brand evolved since its inception?
An avid lover of all things pleasantly scented (with slight modesty), looking back in retrospect, it’s no huge surprise that I’ve created an indie perfume house with just an idea to provide unique options for those who may be sensitive to unnecessary pungency. Initially, I just wanted to evaluate various blends to note their aroma profiles when “played” together…it wasn’t until I had friends and family asking if I knew of brands that catered to those who may be on the more olfactory sensitive side, that I really began to take my research more seriously. In the almost 20 years that Pink MahogHany has been in existence, our micro visions for the brand have evolved to larger territory. Where Pink MahogHany used to only be a personal brand, we are now also a bespoke formulation service provider to other indie brands seeking unique fragrance offerings for their products. These products range from (but are not limited to) perfumes, candles, body butters and lip balms. Ingredient Transparency: You emphasize transparency and the use of desirable ingredients in your products. How do you select your ingredients, and what challenges have you faced in maintaining this standard?
Being an indie brand often comes with a set of assumptions and misconceptions - one of them being more negative than positive as it relates to ingredients used. There is a lot of “fluff” in the industry with labeling falsification. Because fragrance formulas are a trade secret, not every molecular breakdown of a material has to be noted on the ingredient label (it would be incredibly long), but we at Pink MahogHany™️ adhere strongly to the IFRA [International Fragrance Regulatory Association] regulations that state for common and potential allergens to be listed on our ingredient label. We’ve taken this a step further to also include these ingredients listed on our website to promote further transparency, all while protecting our intellectual property. Unfortunately, we’ve had companies to unethically sell lesser expensive “dupes” of our artisan perfumes, so as a way to create a better authenticity stamp, we make it our duty to be honest about our claims. If our perfume says “Rose Bulgaria”, it is in fact just that and not a component of rose being passed off as the source material. Collaborations and Custom Scents: Can you share more about your work with private label clients? What excites you most about creating custom scent solutions for other indie brands? I could easily sum this up in one word and say “Funding.” True, there is money out there, but I’m always thinking outside the box. Having a program that has an “Each One Fund One” mentality doesn’t exist (that I’ve been made aware of). Bootstrapping can be quite the challenge, even when you’ve reached the 6-figure mark annually. Competition to be seen and set apart is extremely high, so having quality packaging and branding is a must. There are lots of factors to consider, though when desiring to make upgrades. If there were a unique, tier-geared funding operation available, it would help perfume brands offset packaging and bulk material costs in the beginning stages.
Industry Challenges: What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced as an independent fragrance house, and how have you overcome them to grow your brand? As the brand continues on the path of organic growth, I would like to expand our reach into schools, offering perfumery as an arts elective for middle and high school. I’d love to partner with botanists, farmers and horticulturists directly to grow and source raw materials for the students to work with in the creation of tinctures. My passion is getting back to nature as best as possible, as nature was my first “scent experience” as a child. We would also love to witness our fragrance creations being used to scent model homes, our focus diffuser blends being used in automobile dealerships as well as partner with Air Bnb and boutique hotels that specialize in highlighting minority, indie brands. Personal Journey: How has your personal experience, particularly as a divorced mother and someone who has experienced the loss of a child, shaped your approach to life and your work in perfumery?
Because I homeschool my twin sons, we are together a lot more than most, so one thing we all do is have moments of sharing where a neutral “floor” is laid to converse about anything. Though they are quite communicative by nature, I realize that sometimes I can be in work mode so much that it spills over into what should be our quality time. My sons see the authentic me and learn how to communicate through seeing authenticity. I’ve learned not to feel as if I have to be the epitome of perfection but allow them to see my imperfections vulnerably but with discernment. Having had two traumatic experiences pretty close together has taught me how to truly slow down and enjoy the simplicities of life - igniting a spiritual aspect that I’ve always carried but never fully explored…until Kenji’s sudden passing (2018.) Grief has a way of catapulting us into a quest for more meaningfulness in both life and business. After Kenji’s passing and my processing through the initial stages of grief, I was able to incorporate our spiritual bond into Pink MahogHany by way of essential oil diffuser blends for both focus and sleep and most recently aromatic perfume elixirs. It’s been quite the process channeling the void of his physical presence, but I also have peace knowing he can be honored in a great way through scent. I noticed once I began to be more open and receptive to spiritual signs, synchs and “winks”, more ideas began to flow. It’s been this way since his transition. Emotional Expression: Fragrance is often tied to memories and emotions. How does your personal life influence the fragrances you create, and do you have a particular scent that holds special meaning to you? My creative process is much more alchemic now, and I include Kenji by talking out loud to him, believe it or not. I’m a firm believer that when our loved ones transition from the physical plane, they are still present - just in another form. I choose to keep his memory alive by not pretending he never existed (even if for a brief period of time). I am working (slowly) on a book and accompanying fragrance, but I know it will require me to revisit some memories I’m not quite ready for, so until then, his big brothers will launch their debut fragrance, The Peaceful Tiger (they chose the name.) I’ve learned that even in what we consider “small things”, our transitioned loved ones want to be recognized and acknowledged. When the twins and I designed their fragrance label (with a designer out of the country that didn’t know anything about me personally), we had issues with the graphic - so much so that the designer asked if they could rework the design. When they sent the proof for approval, the Tiger was not only younger but sleeping, with an uncanny, angelic resemblance to baby Kenji! Becoming more aware and being more sensitive to my intention for launching a fragrance has definitely made room for more divine situations like these to occur. Healing Through Scent: In what ways has creating fragrances been a form of healing or expression for you, especially after the loss of your son, Kenji Mwamba? I know my sons may not necessarily want to be perfumers, but they definitely have an entrepreneurial heart. My desire is that whatever they decide to pursue (acting, script-writing, music or architecture), they know that anything is possible with the right amount of determination, grit, belief and immersion. One reason I chose to homeschool is so they could enjoy learning without restraint and have ample time to devote to their own separate passions and it still be fun. They know Pink MahogHany is theirs if they want it (many, many years from now - lol), and we are already discussing business structures for whatever they choose their role to be once I retire. Work-Life Balance: How do you find balance between your professional responsibilities and personal well-being, and what self-care practices do you prioritize? I’m not just a perfumer; I’m also a consumer, and self-care is huge for me. I often take salt baths to reset my energy and clear my mind after being around large groups of people or free a long day. I’m a habitual perfume sampler, and I have so many to choose from to wear as my “nightcap.” Even if just for 10-15 minutes, I cherish each moment I’m able to have some “me-time.” When time and co-parenting schedules permit, I’m definitely on a flight somewhere to indulge in some delicious food and mouth-watering mocktails!](https://www.womenontopp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IMG_3812-1200x720.jpeg)
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