Sherly Tavarez is the Founder and CEO of Hause of Curls, a merch brand that is dedicated to celebrating curly hair, thanks to products like their “Curly Girls Rock” sweatshirt and collapsible diffuser. Furthermore, Hause of Curls is all about fostering self-love within the Latinx community.
Tavarez’s idea to launch Hause of Curls began at the age of 26, when she felt ready to break free from the need to straighten her hair to fit societal beauty standards. She began seeking to challenge the deeply ingrained notion, within the Latinx community, that labeled textured hair as “bad hair.”
At her first CurlFest, she searched for merchandise that celebrated her newfound love for curls. In this process, she noticed the absence of relatable merch for those on a similar journey within the Latinx community. Motivated by this gap, Tavarez began creating something meaningful for those in her community undergoing a parallel experience of self-discovery and loving their natural hair.
Starting with a powerful T-shirt, bearing the slogan “Pelo Malo, Where?” (“Bad Hair, Where?”), Tavarez embarked on a journey to help other women challenging societal beauty norms and hasn’t looked back since.
Read on below as we unravel Tavarez’s unique and empowering journey with Hause of Curls.
What have been some key Hause of Curls milestones? How has the brand developed over time?
When I first started Hause of Curls, I had no idea what I was doing. I had to learn everything from scratch. I had to build a website, learn how to name products, learn about collecting and paying sales taxes and legalities. Since I was already in the Influencer industry, I had a lot of connections with curly hair influencers online. Once I launched my products, I started sending them out to different influencers to hopefully shout us out because we didn’t have a budget to pay them yet.
To our surprise, word of mouth was our biggest marketing strategy because we got 169 pre-orders before we even launched on our website. I created my very first holiday pop-up just a few months after we launched, and it was such a big success because we were really able to bring the community together and meet the people who were already such a big fan of the brand! What is so beautiful about this brand, is that there was nothing like it around. There was no safe space where we could come together and share our hair journeys and struggles. Which is why we love so much to create these in-person events. We have created so many new products since launching that first t-shirt.
Let’s delve into your product line. What are the signature products offered by Hause of Curls, and what makes them stand out in the market?
Our most famous T-shirt is the one that says “Pelo Malo, Where?” It’s the one that started it all! Our t-shirts are all statement t-shirts so some of our other popular shirts say “Afro-Latina, y Tu?” and “Please Don’t Touch My Hair”. Our Curly Girl Essentials Travel Bag is also a big seller for us because it makes traveling as a curly girl so much easier to carry your products!
How does Hause of Curls actively engage with the natural hair community and promote inclusivity?
Hause of Curls engages with the natural hair community through in-person events and social media! We are constantly giving back to the community through giveaways, exposure for other small businesses, and create products based on our consumer’s needs.
We do a retreat once a year to promote the curly hair movement. It’s called Sol, Playa y Rizos Retreat. (Sun, Beach and Curls Retreat). Where we basically let go of everything we used to be afraid of doing because we didn’t want to mess up our hair. Like being in the sun and water or sweating our hair out. These are all things we are free to do during these retreats.
We also usually bring a curly hairstylist to come and do a hair demo and answer any curly hair questions that the girls may have. It’s really such a great way to connect with our supporters and the beautiful thing is that everyone always leaves with a new friend, a special bond created with like-minded women and incredible memories. We are going on our 4th trip in 2024 to Cartagena, Colombia! We have very few spots left!
What’s next for the brand?
Our vision is to be able to reach a wider audience and a younger demographic so that they don’t grow up with the same hair stigmas and traumas that we did about our natural hair. We want them to know that their curly hair is beautiful just as it is, and we want them to spread that message as well. We are actively working on some fun and exciting projects for 2024 that we can’t wait to share. But, for now, we just want to keep spreading the “Pelo Malo, Where?” message!
