What follows is Part 2 to the Brands Worth of a Weekend look at Beija-Flor jeans. While I am personally a fan of Beija-Flor, I am relatively new to the brand, so I asked one of their longtime fans, Michelle Henderson, to answer a few questions.
How were you first introduced to Beija Flor?
I was first introduced to Beija Flor by my good friend Jennifer Cavanaugh,who invited me to a jeans party at Emile’s (VM note: Emilie is Beija-Flor’s co-founder) house.
What do you like about the jeans?
I like the jeans because they are comfortable, stylish, and flattering to all figures. I have never been able to find all three of these attributes in one pair of jeans before. They make me feel 100% like I’m ready to bring my A game.
What do you like about the brand?
Well, I can not say enough about the brand. It makes me feel special to know that I have been in support of this business since the ground up. From the jeans parties to now a retail store and in the future I expect national recognition. Its make my ego feel good to know I am step above a new trendy jean that not everyone knows about yet. Also, most importantly, the conception of Beija-Flor is inspiring. I was moved and extremely impressed that Emilie and her mom Kathy took their cultural background and their entrepreneurial spirit to create a brand that is synonymous with empowering women to feel beautiful and exude confidence. Also, with each jean being named after a person, it feels as if every pair has a story. That’s extremely special to me because how often do you know a personal background to an item of clothing that you are wearing?
What do you say when you tell people about Beija Flor?
I always tell people that they are flattering, comfortable and stylish, and that they have to try them!
If you were invited to a weekend get together for Beija Flor fanatics, what would you expect to do/learn/see/experience?
I would definitely expect wine!! Seriously though, I would expect to see fabulous new creations with interesting stories told by Emilie of their genesis. I would also expect to learn more about Brazilian culture as well.
What would the ultimate Beija Flor fan experience be?
The ultimate experience would be to go to Brazil with all my girls (including Emilie of course) and to see where the jeans were made and to learn first hand more about Brazilian culture.
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What I love about Michelle’s answers above is that they demonstrate the power of conversational capital – she explicitly calls out the value of knowing and being able to tell a compelling story about what she’s wearing. Beija-Flor has also done an amazing job of building a database and keeping in touch with the women they touch. Everyone who is brought into the fold will feel like a co-owner of their success as the brand continues to grow.
And, for the record, I am ready to sign up for the first Beija believers Brazil trip as well.
My sensitive (gums, that is) husband recently purchased a tube of Tom’s of Maine natural toothpaste. What caught my eye was not the tube, but a stuffer inside the box that highlighted a particular employee and her volunteer with with animals. Her title was listed as “consumer dialogue specialist” and the volunteer work in question was done on Tom’s company time (5% of paid employee time is spend volunteering and 10% of profits are reinvested in the community).
I’m excited to share a relatively new brand in the Brands Worthy of a Weekend series. 
