Hidden Gems: Meet Ebony Williams of Puff Mistress Mentionables

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ebony Williams.

Hi Ebony, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
My name is Ebony Williams, also known as “The Puff Mistress”, the owner of Puff Mistress Mentionables, LLC. Growing up in the projects in Savannah, GA, we didn’t always have the money to do a lot of clothes and shoe shopping. I often had to be creative in terms of fashion choices because clothing options were limited. It caused me to move to the beat of my own drum in a sense. I wore things that were considered odd or things that were quirky and different from other people. It became a part of my core being to just do what I wanted in spite of what other people thought. I had to deal with other people’s judgment most of my life because of that; and I hated it. Judgemental people drive me insane. It’s such negative energy! People always made these very wrong assumptions about me based on superficial things like looks or clothes. I never understood it.

Puff Mistress is really based on a set of beliefs that I lived by before I decided to give it a name. 5 years ago, after going through a series of misdiagnoses, I was finally diagnosed with Lupus. I took control of my health, I lost 72 pounds in the process and as a result, became healthier than I was before my diagnosis. I was healthier but I felt like my body never recovered aesthetically. I didn’t like what I saw when I looked in the mirror. I started buying lingerie for myself, wearing it in the mirror and saying daily affirmations. Everyday I started to see myself in a positive light. One day all I saw was beauty staring back and that’s all I have seen since. Lingerie was one of the things that helped me to start feeling beautiful and I want to use it to help others.

We could handle the rollercoaster of life better if we didn’t have so many internal battles, self confidence being one of them. It took years for me to finally be free of that and to love myself according to MY OWN standards. We have so many body stigmas to overcome based on superficial views of beauty. We tend to allow complete strangers to make us feel bad about ourselves. Now there’s social media, where everyone has access to everyone and it’s often hard to ignore the judgment and negativity that comes with that. I do not allow negativity in my space at all!! My passion is to help other people do the same and lead happier lives.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been smooth, but it has been rewarding. The hardest part for me was walking away from my job to pursue this passion of mine. I am a finance person by trade and was working as a Budget Director for a Non Profit and helping small businesses on the side. It is always hard walking away from a steady income but I told myself that I could always find a job if it didn’t work out.

This concept was important to me. I did not realize the impact that it would make on people. I constantly have women and men in my inbox telling me what an inspiration it is and to keep going. One of the interesting things is the recognition when I’m out in public. People who follow me on social media will literally walk up to me, call me by name brand Puff Mistress, and then proceed to give me a hug. It is overwhelming at times but so amazing. I love a good energy transfer and I am definitely a hugger!

The struggle part is of course the constant DMs that are sexual in nature or the negative comments about my stretch marks, etc. It doesn’t matter how strong you are, it will impact you at times. I am VERY confident and it impacts me at times so I can only imagine how this could affect a person with less confidence. It hurts me on a personal level when people feel bad, I feel it. I know a lot of people say they are empaths. I don’t know if that is what you call it; but what I do know is I feel very deeply for people and can literally feel when they are hurting if I am in their energy.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Puff Mistress Mentionables is a size-inclusive brand that uses lingerie as a vehicle to help people feel good about themselves. We offer quality hand-picked pieces at very affordable prices.

We believe that confidence is the sexiest and most beautiful thing that you can put on. Puff Mistress Mentionables is more than a lingerie store. It is a brand whose main purpose is to equip our clients with the tools necessary to help them improve their overall self image. I am very passionate about people loving the skin they are in enough to ignore others’ opinions and judgment.

Low confidence can lead to not advocating for yourself in multiple areas of your life including work, family, friends, etc. Increasing your confidence level can lead to increased happiness and a more peaceful life. We host confidence workshops and personal consultations, offer beautiful and affordable lingerie, lingerie party packages (bachelorette parties, girls’ nights, etc), boudoir photoshoot styling packages, and last but not least a wide selection of hand-picked lingerie to choose from.

We also host an annual themed fashion show called The Bawdy Positive Lingerie Show. We have people who want to become more confident, sign up and go through a workshop process that ends in them walking in the show. The last show we hosted in November 2021 had a Masquerade theme with over 100 people in attendance. We take unconventional spaces and make them a fashion show area. It has been a beautiful and proudful experience to see the people who have participated walk confidently in my shows. The next show will be on September 24, 2022.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Yes, I learned even more just how cruel people can be, but I also learned just how compassionate they can be as well. I believe this crisis brought out the absolute extremes within people. I also learned just how enterprising people can be too. So many people lost their jobs due to the crisis, but created ways to earn money through entrepreneurial ventures. That was beautiful to watch.

Contact Info:

• Address: 9501 Arlington Expressway, 1Bridge Connect, Ste 135, Jacksonville, FL 32225
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.thepuffmistress.com
• Instagram: @puffmistress
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/puffmistress
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8tP7nZfW5YdrsQvF-Ip59A
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/PuffMistress/_shop/

Image Credits
Will Shoots of Eriden Images and Danielle Irene Brown of Makeup Craze