“The world is yours and everything in it/ It’s out there, get on your grind and get it.”
Jeezy’s raspy voice echoes through the 20,000-square-foot warehouse that is home to Detroit’s own Glam-Aholic Lifestyle and the headquarters of its founder and CEO, Mia Ray. As she poses for photos, her lips move imperceptibly along to the lyrics. “Is she a big Jeezy fan?” I ask one of her assistants. “The biggest,” she replies.
And it makes sense. When it comes to hustling, who raps about it better than Jeezy? And when it comes to hustling, who does it better than a Detroit Girl?
Mia Ray is a Detroit native who started her blog, Confessions Of A Glam-Aholic, in 2009. By the next year, she designed a tote bag that she sold to her followers. “I sold the same damn bag for ten years!” she says with a laugh. That bag begat other bags which begat even more bags until Glam-Aholic grew into a lifestyle brand that Forbes has valued at over $20 million.
Not bad for a girl from the west side.
“First of all, born and raised in Detroit — I love it here,” she says. “I always say I’m never leaving. I’m like the biggest Detroit mascot … I grew up off Dexter. Nowhere near middle class. We were very poor, but I had a very good childhood. I have nothing but warm memories. It was a lot of love in my home.”
Love and Detroit drive is what propels Mia Ray. She has two warehouses full of products and a staff of about 12 people, including her own mother. “I want to keep the staff small as long as I can so that I can keep paying people well,” she says, adding that she offers her employees a great salary, health coverage, and a 401K.
When asked what Ray would tell her younger self, she says simply, “Buckle up.”
She has expanded her business to include a hair line called “Same Girl, Different Hair,” and a line of cannabis, the GRL Cannabis Club. She’s set to open a salon in Royal Oak. The grind just doesn’t stop.
During a business event in 2022 at her alma mater, Cass Tech, the hallways were flooded with Glam-Aholic totes, backpacks, and handbags. She and The Lip Bar founder Melissa Butler (another Detroit hustler) explained her brand’s goal to the auditorium of teen girls. “I don’t want Black women to have designer bags with nothing in them,” she said. “I want you to have a bag with credit cards in it and luxury car keys, and good credit scores.”
“I remember being on my knees praying, ‘Lord, what am I doing wrong?’ And now, when I look back, I see that I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was building this brand brick by brick, day by day.”
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Ray says everything she does is done with purpose. “When I started the blog, I was just trying to make the everyday woman, like myself, work with what she had in her closet, learn how to remix it,” she says. “I was always so intentional about making women feel good about themselves.”
She adds, “But, I was also intentional about praying and also encouraging myself to get up every day and stay committed, even when it was hard, even when I didn’t have a penny. I mean, I remember being on my knees praying, ‘Lord, what am I doing wrong?’ And now, when I look back, I see that I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was building this brand brick by brick, day by day, and encouraging myself along the way, praying through the entire journey.”
Mia notes that her customers, her “Glam-Aholics,” have been with her since the beginning. Her dedication to being intentional and connecting with them has made her relatable by being honest and focusing on what they want and then giving it to them at a high quality and at reasonable prices.
A Glam-Aholic tote bag will run you about $100. It will also last forever, look good with everything, and the now-iconic “G” logo brands you as a connoisseur with great taste.
And as the Glam-Aholics have grown up, so has the collection. You can still get a bag emblazoned with the iconic “G” — but the new collection, The Pebble Collection, is noticeably understated and in color varieties that will blend in at a 9-5 job. “As my customers have grown with me, I wanted to give them something that demonstrates that,” Ray explains. It’s why The Pebble Collection will be the only bags on sale at her second annual holiday pop-up shop at Twelve Oaks Mall, which opens on Black Friday.
The Glam-Aholic Lifestyle Popup Shop will launch around Thanksgiving — which will also be around Ray’s 40th birthday. She says she’s planning a blowout bash the likes of which the city has never seen. And, as true to form, she’s doing something for someone else. On Nov. 23 she’s offering 40% off on every item on the Glam-Aholic Lifestyle site, glamaholiclifestyle.com.
“It just seemed like a nice thing to do,” she says, “It’s probably going to be pretty busy around here then.”
As we wrap up our interview and tour around the warehouse, I say, “Girl. This is a huge space! I’m so proud of you.” She says, “I have another one across the street.” We share a knowing glance that says, “Get that check, Sis,” without words.
And before I leave, she makes sure to give me the very purse that I have been dreaming of.
“You know I got you.”
That’s the magic of Mia Ray. She got you. And we got her too.
The Glam-Aholic Lifestyle Popup Shop launches at 8 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 29 and runs through Friday, Jan. 10 at Twelve Oaks Mall; 27500 Novi Rd., Novi; shoptwelveoaks.com. More information about Glam-Aholic Lifestyle is available at glamaholiclifestyle.com.
