I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with such an amazing individual, who is a prominent
pillar in the leather kink community. She is a strong-willed person with a heart of gold and
filled with hardcore determination. So, I would like to introduce to you our vendor spotlight of
the month: Nandi
Who is Nandi?
Nandi (formerly known as Nawi) is a poly pansexual leather slave with sadomasochistic
tendencies. She is the owner and elite designer of N’Adorn de Dojo and N’Adorn Boutique,
which she is celebrating its 15 th anniversary this year. N’Adorn is such a unique custom-made
brand that is eclectic, and by far, is top-notch quality. N’Adorn consists of an assortment of
leather clothing and fashion accessories for all individuals, whether in the kink community or
not. All product items are handmade and customized to the customer’s desire. But how did this
journey to N’Adorn begin? Well, let me tell you about her journey.
Nandi was born and raised in Gary, Indiana. She has had knowledge and interest in kink since
the early age of 10 (i.e., black and white femdom kink). And since then, discipline has become a
staple for her in kink. In high school, she had become a part of JROTC. She later went into the
Army Reserves and was even on the drill and rifle teams. She has always been around men and
that has also become a comfort for her. In college, Nandi had pledged to Zeta Phi Beta, and her
interest in kink heightened intensely. She had even discovered a hidden love for paddles and
topping. After college, she became a mother of two a boy and a girl. She not only juggled
motherhood and her personal life but also the reality of having two sick children at once. Sadly,
her son’s health drastically changed, and had passed away at a very young age. To help cope
with his passing, Nandi decided to get into the kink lifestyle in October of 2006.
Nandi has genuinely had a love and need for discipline and a structured life. She had always
wanted to be the perfect slave but felt the notion from others that she could not be one if she
wanted a personal life and kink life together versus living a 24-7 lifestyle. Yet, Nandi was drawn
to discipline, which was her main reason for the kink lifestyle. She references Pavlov’s dog
regarding conditioning when it comes to discipline. She utilized discipline to continuously work
on herself as a slave and individual. She even began wearing hemp collars to stay in that slave
mindset towards her desired goal: one day being collared.
In 2009, Nandi suddenly experienced another challenge in her journey: her daughter had to
have surgery. To handle the stress and pressure of it all, she was encouraged by others to create
accessories with her hands. She had made many items, collars in particular. Each collar she
made represented what she could do and reminded her of her constant wanting to be collared.
Nandi began making collars out of hemp material at first. She then upgraded to string leather
and later to genuine authentic leather. And from what started as a distraction and stress reliever
from her daughter’s health situation, began the start of N’Adorn de Dojo and Boutique. Nandi
within time expanded her brand to also include floggers and whips, for which she received
specialized training from a prominent member of the kink community. Nandi had never
stopped evolving and perfecting her brand. She was also very fortunate to utilize some of the
proceeds of her labor to fund her attendance at many leather conferences and activities that she
would attend to further her education in the kink lifestyle.
While running her business and taking care of her daughter, Nandi became a member of several
organizations in the lifestyle. Nandi admired the Men of Onyx organization and had become an
associate member of the Mid-Atlantic chapter. But she and several other female individuals
wanted a female perspective side of the organization that was separate from the men. With
much blessing from the Men of Onyx, the Mid-Atlantic Onyx Pearls were created. Nandi was
the Founding President of the Mid-Atlantic Onyx Pearls in 2017. She was a part of the Pearls in
Progress line for 2 years (2015-2017), where she had a huge part in putting together the bylaws
for the organization. She had later moved to Florida in 2018 and became an associate member,
as well as, part of the trustee board for the Deep South Men of Onyx chapter.
Were there any changes during Covid?
Nandi was greatly affected by Covid. There was a shift regarding her business as well as her
personal work life. She had worked for Spirit Airlines as a Supervisor in the training
department remotely. She would dedicate herself immensely, sometimes working over 12-hour
shifts. Work had taken over her life and she had felt overwhelmed. She decided to step away
from her job at Spirit and take control again of her life and her peace.
What’s in the future for Nandi?
Currently, Nandi is in school to pursue and achieve her MBA. She has always had a dream of
obtaining her storefront, as well as purchasing machines to better assist in making and
producing the accessories for her brand. She is consistently working bit by bit to keep perfecting
her craft and providing the best accessories for the community. She also is set on making sure
that she is most comfortable when she gets to the retirement stage.
Nandi also believes that “the one” has found her! And that completes and makes her happy!
Best quotes from Nandi:
- “When you are at your worst, you can overcome.”
- “You are stronger than what you think.”
- “You cannot serve on an empty cup.”
- “Who am I and what I do are two different things.”
- “Protect your peace.”
- “Don’t let nobody get you out of your peace.”
Where can we find N’Adorn de Dojo and Boutique?
- https://www.facebook.com/NaturallyAdornedInc
- https://www.facebook.com/NAdornForPlay
- https://instagram.com/nadornbynawi
- https://fetlife.com/users/796246
*Please send Nandi instant messages for ordering details