Shalla Wista is all she would whisper when first learning to speak. She’d toddle around, whispering, “Shalla Wista, Shalla Wista” and then one day, poof, just like that, she never whispered Shalla Wista again.
Who was Shalla Wista? Perhaps she was Laura Gaines’ childhood fairy or maybe her guardian angel that once revealed herself in a dream. No one knows. When questioned about it, Laura nor her family members can pinpoint how it came to be.
The question now is not who Shalla Wista was but more, what has Shalla Wista become. What was once a childhood mystery, is now a jewelry studio and worldwide brand that graces the likes of Bachelorette star Tayshia Adams, Hannah Brown, Kate Hudson, Faith Hill and scores of other women who have an eye for statement making handmade trendy accessories, designed by Laura Gaines.
Laura is the humble-spirited Real Woman that breathes life+prayer into each Shalla Wista piece she designs and creates with her team of stylish girls.
“I dream about a lot of the pieces I come up with,” says Laura. “I also travel and I love colors and outdoors and I love animals so as crazy as that sounds, I love to somehow incorporate that into my jewelry. I just love to see what other women are wearing. Of course we follow trends every year and keep up with everything but we just change it up just a little bit.”
I was drawn to nearly everything in the studio but these copper chandelier earrings glimmered at me and forced me to buy them. They make me feel like a glamours rock star. I imagine that’s the same emotion other women experience when they spot a piece they can’t live without. The emotion is two-fold though. Laura experienced her own joy the first time she noticed women actually wearing her creations.
“I remember being at a concert one time and it was years ago. I remember just seeing some people walking by and all the girls had my jewelry on as that was just awesome because I was like, it’s real -it’s actually working,” said Laura.
Working is an understatement. Shalla Wista has even made it to Hollywood’s big screen. Kate Hudson and the other actresses wore pieces in the blockbuster movie Something Borrowed. Country singers Faith Hill and Sara Evans are also on her A-list client roster.
Whether A list or everyday, Laura’s goal is to design exquisite jewelry that makes all women feel beautiful.
“I think women are having such a hard time right now and life is just hard, raising kids, or their jobs, or whatever it is, so to have somebody come in and leave with something they love or just email me and say, ‘I got this on and my daughter wore this to a ball’ or just something that makes them feel beautiful because a lot of times I think women don’t. I think just one little thing like that, it just touches my heart,” says Laura.
Ultimately, Laura is not only doing what she loves but what she loves most is being able to bless women in her own way.
“I pray over a lot of our pieces before they go out of the door just so that no matter who they touch, that they’ll think of Shalla Wista and it will be a light and just a happy moment in their life and when they see themselves or see a picture or get a compliment, it makes all the difference and the world to me,” said Laura.
