The Diary of Queen Esther offers herbal soaps and comfortable fashion in Euclid
Oct. 15—Shelena Racquel recalls taking the leap to invest in her company after prayer while pregnant with her second son.
In 2013 she would then return to school at American Intercontinental University's Atlanta Campus where she would graduate with a bachelor's degree in fashion marketing and design. Racquel said that after a lot of hard work and tribulation she was able to open the Diary of Queen Esther in 2015 with the hope of bringing comfortable fashion and healthier living to the community of Euclid.
The Diary of Queen Esther is a pop-up shop located in the Shore Cultural Center, at 291 E. 222nd St in Euclid. It works to create unique and comfortable fashions as well as herbal remedies to improve the health of customers.
"What Diary of Queen Esther does is specialize in fine clothing for women, but with the fashion items I create I focus heavily on how they feel. I'm very mindful of that, not just how they look," Racquel said. "It's the fashion aspect and how they are aesthetically beautiful, but also how do they feel when you put the fabric on. I host a combination of items that are outsourced but that I also design to fit that need."
On her journey to build the shop's various brands of herbal soaps, Racquel said that she examined commercial soap brands and often found that they use harmful chemicals that harms or dries out the skin. As a result, she began to research alternative soaps that would be made with natural ingredients with healthy effects.
"Every soap starts with an herb and what the herb is used for. I am very mindful about what I put on my skin and what I sell because every ingredient should have a benefit to the body," Racquel said. "People forget that anything you put into your skin seeps into your bloodstream within 15 seconds. Our skin is our biggest organ, and we need to give it the care that it requires; it matters what you put on your skin and what goes into your skin.
"The soap that I create can cover a variety of different health issues from anti-fungal to helping with heart issues."
The shop has many versions to choose from, from their Frankincense and Myrrh soap that has antifungal properties, to their Ruth and Boaz soap which aids in hydrating dry and chapped skin, Racquel says.
Raquel said her faith is inherently tied to everything she does within her business and that her main goal is to help people find their own path in life. Also, the name of her shop inspired by the biblical story of Queen Esther.
"People who have used my products have told me that our soaps have cured them of what ails them, which is so great to hear," she said. "My goal is that people find inspiration through my shop to go out and do their God given purpose."
