Why Afrocentric School Supplies?
It all started during a family vacation. We were planning our first family trip with my six siblings, parents, spouses and children. We had enough to make it a family affair, but needed shirts because it was so many of us. I didn’t want just any shirt – I wanted it to be meaningful, fun and appealing. I couldn't find anything in stores or online, so I decided to design the shirts myself.
I went from designing family vacation t-shirts to designing natural hair t-shirts; and then from selling them from home to selling them at multiple events.
After having a lot of success selling t-shirts and travel bags, I realized that there was another void that I could fill - afrocentric school supplies. I wanted young Black children to be able to look at my products and say, 'Hey, that looks like me!'
I wanted to create designs that represented me and the love I have for my natural hair. So, I started creating illustrated African American young women that represented them as being vibrant, bold, fun and strikingly beautiful.
I was inspired to design backpacks, lunch bags and pencil holders, too! I couldn’t stop there though, since there is a great need for African American boy stuff, too (there is literally so much out there for girls). Our boys need to feel empowered and confident, too!