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#WCW: Ansley Vasconcellos

Meredith Dean
Mar 25, 2015
2 min read

Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest: @braidedbliss

Although I was born and raised in Georgia, I’ve always had the heart and soul of a California girl since I was little. There was never such a thing as too much sand or salty hair. A few months after college, I moved to California for a job. I was so stoked. It felt like I was finally going home to a place where my soul could thrive. There’s something about the free-spirited nature of the ocean and desert/mountainous landscape of SoCal that I’ve always been drawn to. It always radiates good vibes and creates a beautifully positive atmosphere which helps fuel the energy behind Braided Bliss even more.

Braided Bliss essentially evolved from this move to California. After leaving the job I came here for, I started it as a side project while I was job hunting. Since there were no jobs available at the time, I kept working on it. Braided Bliss started solely as a fashion blog where I would feature products from businesses with a cause. I was so in love with the work and was beyond excited that I could finally utilize social media to help people I wouldn’t normally be able to. It’s a huge reason I started offering social media marketing bundles. I wanted to use my career background even more to help businesses raise awareness to their brand and add a big spotlight to their cause.

After five months, I realized Braided Bliss also encompassed a message I always wanted to share with the world: make a positive impact in someone’s life through a small act of kindness. So I started making “Spread Bliss” shirts to spread this message. I always emphasize that it’s never about being perfect though. We all have ups and downs and days where we don’t feel our best, but it’s about giving 100 percent to people even when we don’t feel 100 percent. It’s all about embracing kindness, loving freely and radically, and leaving a trail of light wherever you go. Each shirt comes with a handwritten message-in-a-bottle and donates $1 to Rewrite Beautiful; an organization that helps girls embrace their natural beauty and talents to create a positive impact on society rather than a negative one on their body.

Right now, I personally run every aspect of Braided Bliss 24/7. I carry out the day to day operations, social outreach, social media marketing, blogging, writing, modeling, etc. My mom has been a wonderful help to me though. She helps me package orders and takes all the photos for blog shoots. I’ve also been really grateful for the people who’ve helped me along the way. I’ve been able to partner with amazing companies like beyondBeanie (beyondbeanie.org) and Ocean Ave (http://pursuetheradness.com/) and have collabs with various jewelry companies and bloggers. Everyone I’ve worked with has such a huge heart and are some of the raddest people I’ve ever met. I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year brings and can’t wait to spread some more bliss!