Black Excellence Honorees Showcase Designer’s Art
Sala Menaya organizes event in recognition of Black Business Month.
Asheville artist and designer Sala Menaya recently honored 23 community leaders at the first annual Black Excellence event, while also showcasing her African Diaspora neckpieces.
Sala was residing in Savannah, Georgia, when she began creating large headpieces to wear for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. Her father bought Sala her first sewing machine when she was only 12 or 13 years old.
“At that time, I had the desire to sew, but I didn’t have anyone to teach me, so I set it aside,” Sala explained.
Unbeknownst to Sala, her mother held on to the machine for years and always moved it with her.
Then, in 2018, she went to California to visit her oldest son for Christmas, and, she relates, “He surprised me with the same sewing machine! By, this time, I had moved to Asheville and had taken a sewing class at AB Tech and learned to sew.”
Then, when she discovered that she didn’t really like making clothing items, she began making handbags. Many seamstresses don’t like creating such items, but Sala found that making handbags was an easy task for her.
Soon enough, she says, “That grew to accessories. One of the things that I had learned from my grandmother, mother, and aunties was that accessorizing makes the outfit—so I proceeded to create jewelry with not just beads but with fabric as well. I shared my creations with family and friends, and they loved it.”
She made her first sale using social media . . . and that’s how her new career began.
“I knew it was what I wanted to do because creating is the first thing that I think of when I awake in the morning and the last thing I think about before I lay my head down to sleep at night. Creating completes me!” she told us.
Black Excellence Awards
Sala was in good company at the Asheville Black Excellence Awards ceremony, which recognized local luminaries including such public officials as Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller, Asheville City Manager Debra Campbell, Director of Equity & Inclusion Brenda Mills, and Community Development Specialist Rasheeda Hall.
Also honored were UNC Asheville professors Dr. Dwight Mullen (ret.), Dr. Tiece Ruffin, and Dr. Agya Boakye-Boaten; educator and social worker Zakiya Bell-Rogers; and Duane Adams, Associate Director of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Small Business Center. Other honorees were health specialists JéWana Grier-McEachin, Niconda Garcia, and Jacquelyn Hallum; nonprofit leaders Stephanie Swepson-Twitty and Libby Kyles; and theater company founder Stephanie Hickling Beckman and author Nicole Lee.
