I am the founder and designer of belabela. Born to parents of Indian descent but raised in the west I yearned to know more about the India from which my family came. So, in the fall of 2000 left my family, friends, and legal career behind to live, work and travel in India in the hopes of discovering my roots. While there, I became fascinated with the art of Mehndi, learning how to mix the paste, and then create and apply decorative designs to the hands and feet of friends and family.

After returning to America, however, my commitments left little time for Mehndi until late one night, when I put pen to paper, and created my first belatee design. That design led to the creation and formation of belabela.

In late 2010, Kathi Castle joined belabela and helped launch our unique clothing collection at our first national trade show. Kathi Castle, a former engineer, successfully founded and operated her own traveling fitness boutique, Castle Fitnesswear, for approximately 10 years. Kathi’s unique experience as a small business owner as well as her commitment to finding quality, high fashion active clothing combined with bela’s artistic vision and unique fashion style has helped grow belabela one belatee at a time.

Belabela is committed to helping organizations that focus on improving the lives of women and children. A portion of each year’s profits from our website (http://belatees.com/) will be donated annually to a variety of charitable causes with the mission above.