ESSAY by BIMBI MAFIA
PHOTOGRAPHY by PENELOPE DARIO
In my culture, when women love to shop and buy tiny, cute, quirky, sparkly things like jewelry, that “junk” is called xinglamingla and this word is kind of used to tease women about being vain, or airheaded, easily distracted. When I wanted but couldn’t find a colorful, pink, charm necklace, I decided to make one using beading skills I learned in middle school from my mother. Using charms I had collected from vintage stores, old earrings my mother gave me, and 14k gold “A” my grandmother gifted me, I made my first necklace in over a decade. Three generations of xhinglamingla in one piece! When everyone started asking me to make them one, I realized the truth: the femmes will always want baubles, and bimbofication is a natural inclination. But, I was conflicted on how to validate slinging necklaces in this late-stage capitalist apocalypse. I had to ask myself, “am I really so limited in my imagination that I can’t see a more just, equal future where jewelry and high quality strawberry ice cream exist for everybody?” My brand Bimbo in Limbo is jewelry for bimbos, weirdos, and bffs.
Garbage-core in recent fashion inspired me that really anything can be made into something that people want and wear. What really solidified my new jewelry business was how healing it felt to bead, as creative activities tend to feel, and how much joy it brings me to make necklaces for myself, my BFFs, and anyone else who appreciated my craft—my bimbis <3. I implemented crystal magic, and chose stones meant to bring energetic balance, luck, abundance, money, protection, and beauty to the wearer.