We are so excited for everyone to experience this special issue. Our entire staff worked hard on these pieces. Still, we would like to thank Andres Maldonado and Sherdellah Anunciado, our Design Editors, for their outstanding leadership and creative abilities. In this special issue, we highlight and celebrate the accomplishments of tremendous individuals, the heroic history, and the extraordinary achievements of Black people within local and global communities. Whether through spotlighting their exceptional work in many categories, including founder stories and struggles of innovative emerging brands, art, travel, tech, home design, culinary, fashion, and more, or highlighting celebrities and politicians' notable efforts to advance black education, health, and wealth. It is an absolute dream to publish an entire issue showcasing black excellence. In Home Design, we showcase the exquisite work of three beloved Interior Designers, Courtney McLeod, Leah Alexander, and Corey Damen Jenkins. In Culinary, we share Bertony Faustin's story of how he came to create Abbey Creek Vineyards and spotlight some of the best chefs changing the narrative and our taste buds with their innovative cuisines and ingredients. Our cover feature focuses on the story of contemporary artist Mohau Modisakeng making waves in the international art world. This feature brought us some sleepless nights at TrooRa Magazine and has been one of the most difficult decisions we've had to make as a team. Choosing this cover was a robust undertaking. The images are all so stunning, breathtaking, meaningful, and poignant that we decided to give you the option of Three Covers, a first for TrooRa Magazine. We have new features in Fashion, Beauty, Wellness, Health & Fitness, and Science. In Troo Gifts, our new gifting guide, Black Owned Brands, we love, will aid you in discovering some rare gems. As you know, our goal is to continue to bring our digital issues to life with print, but we've had to make some concessions. The thought of having to reduce the number of pages to help with printing costs is always challenging, but I find myself at a crossroads, especially with this special issue… So many delightful stories to share that we could not diminish or scale down on this astounding issue. You will be engulfed with the images, stories, and our first two videos in this issue. Yes, I said videos… We hope you are as excited as we are to be introduced to new brands and support them during Black history month and every day. With each issue, our goal is to continue to inspire, innovate, and bring you the latest and greatest in the world of publishing today. We believe we have done it here. A delightful surprise can be found on pages 150 and 220. We know you will revel in it!
THE WOMEN’S ISSUE
San Francisco’s MUSEUM OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA Expands International Focus Since Pandemic Shutdown A Global Conversation
Renowned Jewelry Designer DORIAN WEBB Partners with Trystanne Cunningham to Laud Accomplished Women With One Of A Kind Necklaces Laurel Vanguard
A Collective Of WOMEN REDEFINING The Way We See Travel Photography Bell Collective
Lucid Motors Luxury mobility company reimagining what a car can be.
Lucid Motors Luxury mobility company reimagining what a car can be.
The Art Of Wearing
Ig @vicnateng
The Art Of Wearing
Ig @vicnateng
DENDROBIUM CIRCLE EARRING Modern and stylish, the Dendrobium earring combines bold blue peacock feathers with rich jade goose to create an angular pattern offset by the circular hardware. Lightweight by design, you can wear these earrings from day to night for striking style. Feathers for each pair of earrings are hand-selected, giving each pair a unique coloring. Each earring drops approximately 1" from the ear. Earrings are 1.25" in diameter. 24k Gold Plated stud with post push back. Suitable for sensitive ears (nickel-free and lead-free).
CRAFTED TO REFLECT THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF EACH FEATHER
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CRAFTED TO REFLECT THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF EACH FEATHER
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GABOON Gaboon is a textured pocket square crafted with emerald green and royal peacock and navy, black, and white pheasant feathers.
Each pocket square measures 3.5" wide and 6.5" tall. Grosgrain fabric is used for the pocket square insert. Each feather used in production is all-natural and sustainably sourced. Feathers for each pocket square are hand-selected, giving each piece a unique coloring. Each pocket square is hand-crafted in Charleston, South Carolina.
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Passion for travel and exquisite apparels.
« People come, live and go ».
And we are here to celebrate the diversity of the world.
alledjo.com
Founder TRYSTANNE CUNNINGHAM
CREATIVE ART DEPARTMENT Creative Director TRYSTANNE CUNNINGHAM EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor In Chief TRYSTANNE CUNNINGHAM Copy Editor AMANDA ORAHA Editorial Design Director SHERDELLAH ANUNCIADO Creative Art Director ANDRES MALDONADO Proofreading CRISTINA DEPTULA Proofreading MICHAEL DAKS
ART DEPARTMENT Graphic Design Director SAMMY CAMPANER ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Global Brand Outreach KATIE LISTER European Brand Outreach MANSOUR NDIAYE
WRITING DEPARTMENT Contributing Writer NEHA SURADKAR Contributing Writer NIZIE LOKMAN Contributing Writer JESSE ADUMA Culinary Contributing Writer CARY WONG Contributing Writer CRISTINA DEPTULA Travel Contributing Writer FILIPA ARAÚJO Fashion & Beauty Contributing Writer STELLA POLIZOIDOU Contributing Writer MRUDAVI PUNEKAR Contributing Writer GEORGE DIKE Contributing Writer KEVIN JEFFREY JAMES Contributing Writer ROBYN ALEXANDER Contributing Writer VICKI SLEET Contributing Writer ADEPEJU FARUQ Contributing Writer GREG COX Contributing Writer MANDY ALLEN Contributing Writer TUDOR CARADOC-DAVIES Contributing Writer ELSA YOUNG Contributing Writer GRAHAM WOOD Contributing Writer TARA SLOGGETT STYLING DEPARTMENT Styling Contributor SHELLEY STREET Styling Contributor MICHELLE RIVET Styling Contributor EMILY PAYNE Styling Contributor INGA TARELAITE PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT Contributing Photographer MICHAEL DAKS Contributing Photographer GAELLE BELLER Contributing Photographer WARREN HEATH Contributing Photographer KWAME ACHEAMPONG Contributing Photographer COURAGE MUEGBEYOGHO Contributing Photographer GILBERT ASANTE Contributing Photographer CHARLES SCHOENBERGER Contributing Photographer MOHAU MODISAKENG
HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT HR Director PETA-GAYE WILLIS
OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT Operations Director TRYSTANNE CUNNINGHAM
ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT Executive Administrative Assistant RONA MAGLINES Virtual Administrative Assistant INNAH MARIE ALMARENIA
MARKETING DEPARTMENT Marketing Director KWESI DONTOH
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING DEPARTMENT Social Media Director JUSTICE ANN CUENCA
FINANCE DEPARTMENT Finance Director RONA MAGLINES
WEB & SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT Web Design & Development MATT SCHULER Web Maintenance MRUDAVI PUNEKAR Systems & Operations Director ALESSIO MONINO PRESS DEPARTMENT Press & Public Relations BARBARA WICHMAN
LEGAL DEPARTMENT Legal CHINWE OHANELE
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EDITOR’S NOTE The Women’s Issue Spring ’23
A s TrooRa Founder, Creative Director and Executive Editor my team and I actively seek to honor and support the emerging designers, brands, creatives and founders we feature at every occasion. As we celebrate Women’s History throughout the month of March, here at TrooRa we will honor all women. All the pillars and pioneers whose accomplishments have allowed for following generations to feel empowered to constantly break barriers and shatter glass ceilings. We will especially recognize the many women who have made significant contributions to society, yet often go unrecognized. TrooRa’s Spring 2023 Women’s Issue showcases the stories and experiences of diverse and inspiring women from all walks of life. The edition is a fitting tribute to the many trailblazing sheroes we all love to support. I am reminded of the strength, power, resilience, and passion of these sensational women and the ones I have been privileged to include in my orbit, specifically the matriarchs in my personal life, gems like my mother, her older sister (my late favorite aunt), my late maternal and paternal grandmothers. Additionally, stellar friendships from childhood, individuals I’ve reconnected with throughout the years, and the newly found beauties I have the honor to create new experiences with. These exceptional beings help empower and inspire confidence to be our best selves, to continue fighting for equality, respect, and safety for all. I am grateful for these fascinating women and the incredible network of community leaders we are constantly growing and are partnering with here at TrooRa. This issue celebrates the triumphs, creativity, and work of the featured emerging talents we chose to spotlight. My team and I bring you a fresh spring perspective to another beautifully curated issue, highlighting the brave, remarkable, innovative, confident women we love to champion. In Home Design, read about Tatiana Bilbao’s exquisitely designed spaces; South African designer Heather Moore is the force behind Skinny laMinx, an innovative fabric brand that’s all about joyously patterned textiles in a range of retro-inspired colors; and discover how Leah Alexander elevates your space through her breathtaking compositions. In Culinary, The Story of Chef Georgianna Hiliadaki will have your mouth watering reading about her journey to becoming a chef. Powerhouses Sheila Jackson and Natasha McCrea begin their quest as the first Black Women Owned Whiskey Brand based in SoCal; Jackson McCrea Whiskey breaks into the liquor market with a taste of California. Read about empowerment, world-traveling women that have been making their rounds across the globe, and the work of artist Katarina Tifft carefully handcrafting art with tiny sea shells making organic, textured patterns found in nature. Alina Rudya’s passion for photos brings us Bell Collective a group of female -(identifying) artists redefining the way we see travel photography. Samantha Black shares her passion for visual arts and tells her fashion love story. Our cover feature spotlights award-winning Dorian Webb’s journey into the jewelry industry with her timeless, stunning pieces worn by celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Halle Berry, Rihanna, Michaela Coel, and Jennifer Aniston. Mavis By Herrera’s sustainable handbags tell a riveting story that will have you ordering one of her beautifully handcrafted pieces on the spot. TrooRa's Celebrating Women’s Excellence event on March 31, 2023 will commemorates the launch of this powerful issue, where Dorian Webb will announce our new partnership designed to support “Give Her Her Flowers,” an initiative conceived by Dorian. The partnership with Webb reflects my commitment to continue highlighting diverse creatives and championing marginalized groups of entrepreneurs throughout the meticulously curated pages of TrooRa. Ta Ta for now et A+!
Trystanne Cunningham Editor-In-Chief Creative Director Founder
Charles Schoenberger
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Scan me to Play Video
troora.com
Create, Inspire, Grow Discover TrooRa
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TrooRa’s Sustainability Efforts
TrooRa is committed to building a sustainable business model promoting and protecting the environment . Our digital platform on troora.com offers a conscious approach, creating an immersive space. With your help in building robust online support, TrooRa will print fewer magazines to ensure we remain a leader in the industry. However, when TrooRa produces print issues, we will uphold the highest quality in sustainable standards.
The magazine you are reading is:
printed on fully recycled paper
printed with vegetable-based ink and biodegradable laminates
printed in close proximity to our markets in an effort to reduce distribution emissions
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celebrating us, the strong, resilient, and radiant women in our communities who inspire the world with our diversity and beauty
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Transform To Transcend
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LUXURY HEAT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IMMERSING ADVENTURE SEEKERS INTO THE SOCIAL TRADITION OF THE HOOKAH EXPERIENCE
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Sustainable Luxury Designed In London Crafted In The UK
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photographers IN THIS ISSUE
ADRIAN DASCAL AFROELLE MAGAZINE AKOLA JEWELRY BRAND ALEXANDER SCHIMMECK ALEXIS ROSE ALFORD ANA HOP ANDY SALAZAR ANDRES CARRENO ARIANNA HUFFINGTON ASHLEY MARIE BELL COLLECTIVE BEN OSTROWER BINUTA SUDHAKARAN BLACKBOUGH SWIM BONNIE NICHOALDS @BONNIENICHOALDS @BOTANICALPAPERWORKS
ODETTE AQUITANIA RICASA PHIBEL NATURALS RAWA @REIMEREPP RORY GARDINER SHAMELL MASON @SHAMELLMASON SEIJI SEIJI SOUNDGIRLS.ORG SUSAN ALEXANDRA
GIACOMO FERRONI HANNAH VEIGA HEATHER BYINGTON HEIDI REIMER-EPP HERIDE
IWAN BAAN JEAN VELLA JENNY KASSAN JESSICA NABONGO
KAROLINA GRABOWSKA @KIMBERLYSUITSLEWIS KRISTEN BUTLER
TAMMY HEMBROW TATIANA BILBAO ESTUDIO TAYLOR DEMONBREUN THE SUN THERESA GIAMMATEI TIMA MIROSHNICHENKO UNC SCHOOL OF MEDICINE VAN DEN BROEK LIFE WARREN HEATH/BUREAUX WILLIAN JUSTEN DE VASCONCELLOS
CAROL’S DAUGHTERS CASEY HO CATHARINE WOOD CHRIS FOX-KELLY @CFKPHOTOGRAPHY
LATEEF OKUNU LIBRARY OF CONGRESS LISA HAYIM LONGEVITY.TECHNOLOGY LUM3N MACKENZIE SMITH KELLEY @MAVISBYHERRERA @MCBRIDESISTERS MELISSA ROY MOAD SF MOHAU MODISAKENG NEO.LIFE
COLE MCMANUS @COLE_IN_NYC DORIAN WEBB
DVAL PHOTOGRAPHY EATING WITH ERICA ERICA CERVANTEZ @EMMACHESHIRE ELISA FERRARI EMILY MARSHALL
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contributors IN THIS ISSUE 1 TRYSTANNE CUNNINGHAM Editor-in-Chief 2 SHERDELLAH ANUNCIADO Editorial Design Director 3 AMANDA
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ORAHA Copy Editor 4 TARA SLOGGETT Home Design & Decor Contributing Writer 5 NIZIE LOKMAN Travel & Wellness Contributing Writer 6 CARY WONG Culinary Contributing Writer 7 CRISTINA DEPTULA Contributing Writer 8 NEHA SURADKAR Fashion and Beauty Contributing writer
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9 FILIPA ARAÚJO Travel Contributing Writer 10 STELLA POLYZOIDOU Fashion and Beauty Contributing Writer 11 GEORGE DIKE Technology Contributing Writer 12 JESSE ADUMA Health and Fitness Contributing Writer 13 KEVIN JAMES JEFFERY Sports Contributing Writer 14 ROBYN ALEXANDER Contributing Writer
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The world’s first highly sustainable and environmentally friendly organic material made of Nopal cactus, also known as the prickly pear.
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The Womens Issue Spring 23 PHOTOGRAPHED BY: ERICA CERVANTEZ, BELL COLLECTIVE, MOAD, KWAME BRATHWAITE WRITTEN BY: TRYSTANNE CUNNIGHAM STORY BEHIND THE COVER: T he Women’s Issue Spring ’23 cover choice was a challenge. Trystanne Cunningham, founder, creative director, and executive editor, has found it increasingly difficult to choose just one cover. Moving forward, she and her team will produce each issue with three covers. She feels this will give her readers and audience the chance to choose the cover that resonates most with their aesthetic preferences. “We revel in the fact that we can give our readers a choice and figure they will enjoy it as well.” Bell Collective
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Dorian Webb
Bell Collective
Dorian Webb was awarded the cover feature due to her passion for design, the magnificent work she has contributed to local communities, her exquisite, unique jewelry brand, and her inspiring story, as well as to announce her partnership with TrooRa founder Trystanne Cunningham. The photoshoot by Erica Cervantes of Dorian Webb’s cover is stunning. The images exude elegance, grace, beauty, and fresh, crisp, spring-themed hues. We are grateful to Dorian, Erica, and their creative team for the immediate attention they allotted to produce this cover shoot for TrooRa. The second cover choice is an images from The Bell Collective feature. As a team, we felt it was not only artistically shot and a superb image, but the significance of two women steering their own boat being able to take a shot like this looks effortless and is perfect for The Women’s Issue. The third cover choice is from the photography of Kwame Brathwaite, exhibited at Museum of the African Diaspora December 4, 2019-March 1, 2020. The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) is one of very few museums worldwide focused exclusively on contemporary art of the Diaspora of Black people worldwide. They are an esteemed Smithsonian Affiliate and modern art museum focused on uplifting Black art and culture and inspiring learning through the global lens of the African diaspora. We hope you will procure all three copies but we are thrilled to provide you with the choice of 3 stunning and amazing covers.
Museum of the African Diaspora MoAD
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For less than $3 a day receive quarterly digital & print TrooRa Magazine and TrooRa Living issues + one additional special issue yearly - Unlimited access to troora.com & complete digital & online archive. Discover emerging brands, products, and stories, championing innovative leaders and entrepreneurs, gain access to resources for diverse equity campaigns educating and enriching BIPOC communities.
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CONTENTS
Home Design & Decor
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SPOTLIGHTING MEXICAN ARCHITECT TATIANA BILBAO THE BEAUTY OF DIVERSITY IN STYLE
74 86
REPEAT AFTER ME
Culinary
100 108 1 14 122
EUREKA! STRANGER THAN FICTION
AGAINST THE GRAIN WOMEN LOVE WHISKEY!
FUNKALICIOUS
Travel
134 146
SACRED VALLEY WONDERS
FIRST FOOT FORWARD
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Spotlighting Mexican Architect Tatiana Bilbao DESIGNING THROUGH COLLABORATION TO CREATE EXQUISITE SPACES
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Eureka! Stranger than Fiction
THE MCBRIDE SISTERS’ TRIUMPHANT DISCOVERY
134 Sacred Valley Wonders
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Funkalicious THE STORY OF CHEF GEORGIANNA HILIADAKI
EXPLORE THE SACRED VALLEY IN THE PERUVIAN ANDES
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dlish.us
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A carefully chosen selection of items for people that enjoy “ the finer things in life. ”
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Laurel Vanguard RENOWNED JEWELRY DESIGNER DORIAN WEBB PARTNERS WITH TROORA MAGAZINE FOUNDER TRYSTANNE CUNNINGHAM
Art, Music, & Film
158 172 180 186 194 200
BELL COLLECTIVE
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A GLOBAL CONVERSATION CATHARINE’S SCORE UNDER CONSTRUCTION TIFFT’S GOLDEN RATIO THROUGH HER SPECS
Fashion & Accessories
Queen of Bows
222 234 244 252 262 268 276
COLOR IS THE NEW BLACK BREAKING THE WAVES
DELISH LITTLE GEMS
QUEEN OF BOWS
AMINAH ABDUL-JILLIL— WORLD-CLASS DANCER TO WORLD-CLASS SHOE DES IGNER
GENUINE LOVE OF SLEEP WOMAN TO WOMAN POLLUTION SOLUTION
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18 or 80, The Soft Life 352
THE BEST ME CONFERENCE RETURNS IN 2023 TO INSPIRE BLACK WOMEN
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286 AN AUTHOR OF BEAUTY 296 ASHLEY’S SUDS 304 THE SKIN LORD Beauty YOGA FOR EVERY BODY Wellness 316
Tifft’s Golden Ratio A MIXED MEDIA ARTIST FROM FLORIDA IS MASTERING THE SHELL CRAFT
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WE PRODUCE ALL OF THE BEERS USED TO MAKE OUR WHISKEYS & ARTISAN SPIRITS
sevenstills.com
REGENERATIVE AND JUST.
zero-waste, fair fashion
tonle.com
Science & Innovation
326 CELINE HALIOUA,THE LIFE EXTENDER 334 BEYOND PAPER
342 HERIDE Technology
Special Interest
352 358 364 370
18 OR 80, THE SOFT LIFE FUNDING MAIN STREET WOMEN’S CIVIL RIGHTS WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
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Beyond Paper 334
BOTANICAL PAPERWORKS, THE WORLD’S LEADING SUPPLIER & MANUFACTURER OF SEED PAPER, WILL GO BEYOND PAPER
358 Funding Main Street JENNY KASSAN HELPS ENTREPRENEURS OUT OF THE BOOTSTRAP TRAP
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18 or 80, The Soft Life THE BEST ME CONFERENCE RETURNS IN 2023 TO INSPIRE BLACK WOMEN
The Life Extender THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH FOR HUMANS STARTS WITH MAN’S BEST FRIEND
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LOVE THE WAY YOU LOOK LOVE THE WAY YOU FEEL.
loveiguehi.com
yoursustainablehome.com
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SPOTLIGHTING MEXICAN ARCHITECT TATIANA BILBAO BY: KEVIN JAMES JEFFERY
THE BEAUTY OF DIVERSITY IN STYLE BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA
REPEAT AFTER ME BY: ROBYN ALEXANDER
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Tatiana Bilbao Spotlighting Mexican Architect
Designing Through Collaboration to Create Exquisite Spaces PHOTO CREDIT COURTESY OF: ANA HOP, RORY GARDINER, IWAN BAAN, TATIANA BILBAO ESTUDIO WRITTEN BY: KEVIN JAMES JEFFERY
Tatiana Bilbao
“What is it to be a woman in a man’s world?”
As a young architecture student, that was one of the first questions Tatiana Bilbao was asked during a lecture. At the time, she had never considered that the world wasn’t equal for men and women. That became an important lesson that would stick with her throughout her career. Another important lesson Bilbao learned in school was that it takes collaboration between many minds to create a space that reflects the needs of those living and working in a building. Not only from the people designing the spaces but from those who will use them as well. When Bilboa opened her studio in 2004, those main principles would carry her, to where it is today.
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From architects to model makers and academics, Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO now has nearly 60 team members collaborating on projects throughout the world. While the majority of her plans are designed for towns and cities within her home country of Mexico, her team is also currently working on projects in the USA, Germany, and Spain. Her studio operates where she was born, Mexico City, where her grandfather, Tomás Bilbao Hospitalet, moved from Spain during the war in 1942. Before he became a refugee in Mexico, he was a well-known architect and political figure in Bilbao, Spain. Bilbao says she never met her grandfather, but she grew up with his and her family’s political beliefs. From her early days in the industry, Bilbao always had a strong interest in social and affordable housing. However, she realized there was only one way architects could make a difference. “No one’s coming to knock on our studio door to ask us if we want to do housing,” she told Frame Magazine last year. “So why don’t we become active in the politics of housing?”
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Affordable housing has always been an issue in Mexico. With such a fast- growing population and a lack of places to live, the country is in need of millions of homes. Bilbao knows that Mexico has a long way to go before the problem is even close to being solved, but by having conversations with politicians and developers, something can start to change. Bilbao understands that while it’s important for people to have a roof over their heads, it’s also important to create a home that inspires the people that live in them. Just because it’s affordable housing doesn’t mean it has to be designed the same for everyone. By considering people’s personal preferences, affordable housing can be a nurturing environment for its inhabitants. One of Bilbao’s first affordable housing designs that got major traction in the global community was her studio’s adaptable low-cost house. The idea behind the design is that it could be adapted to suit the needs of different residents and expand when needed. And with a variety of material options, the houses can be built to suit a variety of climates depending on where they are built.
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Back in 2015, the Mexican government commissioned the Bilbao Studio’s affordable house design as part of a program created to incentivize people to buy homes by offering credit and subsidizing half the cost of the house. At just $8,000 to build the base design, there’s much that's desirable about these houses. In addition to the affordability of her studio’s houses, they also look like completed houses. If you’ve ever driven through neighborhoods in Mexico, you might notice how many homes are built with flat roofs and steel bars sticking out of the walls. To many, this indicates that the house is still under construction. To many others, those houses appear to be failures. The project is called Housing+, and each unit starts with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, a living space, and a dining space. The living and dining spaces are five meters (16.4 feet) tall and up to five bedrooms can be added at separate stages. The best part of the design is that the home looks complete, no matter how many rooms have been added. In addition to affordability projects, Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO designs for density, social landscape, education, domesticity, and culture projects. Among other projects in the works, Bilbao’s studio works as a consultant for Pacific Gas & Electric’s new substation project at Hunter’s Point in San Francisco. The project will include community gardens and a plaza with the aim of regenerating the former military base.
: @TABILBAO : @TABILBAOESTUDIO : @TABILBAOESTUDIO
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Plant-based designs bringing the outside in & celebrating the natural world
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Designed and hand-produced stoneware ceramic table lamps from the Catskill Mountains of New York
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of Diversity in Style The Beauty
Leah Alexander Seeks to Elevate Your Space
PHOTOS COURTESY OF: LEAH ALEXANDER WRITTEN BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA
T o Leah Alexander, interior design should make you feel as if you’re showing up as your best self. “My mission with Beauty Is Abundant is to make our clients feel like they’ve made it. When you hire us to serve you, you have made it.” Her firm serves commercial and residential clients, so her online portfolio regales us with a mixture of elegant home offices she describes as “feminine,” fun children’s bedrooms with hanging chairs and giraffes, and luxury hotel suites. They have also worked with a salon, whose interior is showcased to reveal classy black seating, touches of pink on the walls and in signage, and eclectic lighting. Always practical, she recommends storage solutions in her blog so clients can effectively display the items they have collected over the years. She suggests kitchen upgrades for homeowners on a budget, which reflect class with a touch of minimalism. Also, she offers a $15 e-book titled “Starter Kit” on her website, designed to share her insights with those who have fallen in love with her sensibility.
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Leah Alexander
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CELEBRATING DIVERSITY IN STYLE Based in Los Angeles and Atlanta, Beauty Is Abundant brings an international, cross- cultural design sensibility to the table. “We support diversity in the design community by collaborating with under- represented artists and vendors who contribute talent, culture, and worldviews along with us,” Alexander says. These include many vendors who explicitly seek to amplify and celebrate Black talent. “We are agents of change,” she says. “And if you work with us, so are you.” She showcases some of these vendors in blog posts on her site, particularly those who can “trick out” a kid’s playroom with fun paintings and stuffed animals.
In an interview with HGTV, Alexander points out three elements she works into just about any interior she designs. These are multiple sources of lighting, plants, and any interesting objects the home or business owner already has in the space. She appreciates color and inspiration from nature, bringing in nature-themed artwork alongside houseplants in several of her kitchen and living room designs. And she encourages decorators to create cohesive color palettes between the indoors and outdoors for spaces such as sunrooms and lanais.
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She loves to visit museums whenever she can and attends furniture conventions, including the giant High Point Market, which regales visitors with miles of furniture, fabric, upholstery, lighting, and art. As a Black designer, she gets asked how to make the industry more welcoming to Black designers and clients. As she explains in her interview with HGTV, “There’s never been a lack of talent. I think featuring and celebrating Black designers on TV, in magazines, in showhouses and creating that exposure is simply going to make people aware that some Black designers have been creating excellent spaces for decades.”
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PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION Beauty Is Abundant designed the laundry room for the first-ever virtual show house from Architectural Digest and the Black Interior Designers Network, known as The Iconic Home. “I really wanted anyone in this space to feel expansive and abundant, to be able to open their mind and relax in this little space that I designed,” said Alexander. She also created a unique bathroom concept for House Beautiful’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House, displayed in Dallas in 2022. Here, the words “your beauty is abundant, forever and ever, amen…” in neon cursive take the place of a mirror in her star-speckled, red, white, and marble Intergalactic Superstar room. Those words have become a mantra for Alexander, joyfully repeated throughout her social media.
Alexander has been featured in Atlanta Magazine’s HOME section, Curbed Atlanta , and Designers Today . She just finished a six-home development in West Midtown, Atlanta, and is currently renovating a 1930s home. Critics describe Leah Alexander’s work as “clean and contemporary.” She refers to her basic principles as “shifting paradigms” and “unifying in diversity.” After just over five years in business, she’s come a long way toward her mission to help her clients “thrive and live the beautiful lives they want to live!”
FACEBOOK.COM/BEAUTYISABUNDANT INSTAGRAM.COM/LEAHDALEXANDER_
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Repeat After Me
PHOTOGRAPHED BY WARREN HEATH PRODUCED BY SVEN ALBERDING WRITTEN BY ROBYN ALEXANDER
South African Designer Heather Moore is the Creative Force Behind Skinny Laminx, an Innovative Fabrics and Design Brand That is All About Joyously Patterned Textiles and a Range of Retro-Inspired Colors
S tep into the Skinny laMinx store on Bree Street in Cape Town, and you’re instantly transported into designer Heather Moore’s colorful, multi- patterned world. In one section, a cushion cover in a signature Skinny laMinx print such as Brancusi Stripe accessorizes a chair upholstered in another linear Moore design called Weft. On the opposite side of the shop, a stack of drum lampshades in shades of mustardy yellow, bright green, and bold blue draws the eye. A wall display shows off Moore’s popular range of patterned tea towels, while nearby, tote bags in yet more colorful fabrics designed by her are on display. From the racks of fabrics in Moore’s signature shades—reminiscent, as she says, of “colors that I associate with a Mid-Century palette”—to the range of decor accessories, children’s clothing, and tableware on offer, this place perfectly encapsulates the Skinny laMinx aesthetic. Playful yet beautifully considered, witty yet thoughtful, bright but not garish—this is the very special realm that Moore has created via her unique take on pattern and color. Skinny laMinx is now known across the world: the sales team maintains the brand’s own thriving e-commerce website, and Moore hosted their first international product range launch in Paris in 2017. And both brand and store are well known to all South Africans who take an interest in locally produced designs and products. But, of course, this wasn’t always the case.
Heather Moore
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Designer Heather Moore in front of the large rack of fabrics that are available to purchase by the meter from the Skinny laMinx store in Bree Street, Cape Town. The print on the roll she is holding is Roof Garden in Mumbai.
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This corner of the living room in Heather Moore’s Cape Town apartment features a linocut, “The Same but Different,” by her husband, South African artist Paul Edmunds (pauledmunds.co.za). (Edmunds also made the Lego-based artworks, “Image” and “Snake,” on the wall- mounted shelf.) The sideboard was purchased from local vintage dealer Space for Life (spaceforlife.co.za), and the round ceramic vessel is one of Moore’s limited-edition “Oddjects.” Moore stitched the cushion covers herself, too, using appliquéd linen.
The kitchen cabinetry by Gibb Cabinet Works (gibbcabinetworks.co.za) is finished in a precise shade of green: Pantone 578C. The items hanging on the vintage rack are (from left) a vintage tea towel, a Skinny laMinx tea towel made from the brand’s Breeze print in Petrol, a Skinny laMinx branded tote bag, and a Skinny laMinx Pebble tea towel (skinnylaminx.com). The mugs and teapots on the shelves include vintage pieces and a Stem mug by Orla Kiely (orlakiely.com).
In Heather Moore’s Cape Town apartment, which she shares with her husband, South African artist Paul Edmunds (pauledmunds.co.za), a vintage copy of an Ercol day bed is adorned with cushions in vintage Mid-Century Modern Dutch fabrics as well as a Skinny laMinx Colour Pop pillow (far left; just seen) and a cushion cover in the Skinny print called Brancusi Stripe (in the colorway Cocoa; far right). The wall-mounted lamps are from House Doctor (housedoctor.dk). Above the day bed is a pencil drawing named “Tent” by Edmunds; the rug is from Tirmah Interiors (tirmahinteriors.com) and the vintage workbasket belongs to Moore.
In 2006, when Moore created her Skinny laMinx blog (still active today) and launched her Etsy store selling vinyl cutouts made into fridge magnets and one-off screen prints, her ‘day job’ was writing for an ongoing series of South African comics. But as a lifelong “maker of things” in general, Moore says, “the [arrival of the] Internet made me very frustrated because I could see into everyone’s studios, where they were making [and selling] things, and I had such a strong urge to do the same.” Between 2006 and 2008, Moore began to focus on creating screen-printed tea towels, which she sold on Saturday mornings at the Neighbourgoods market in Woodstock, Cape Town, and which she also marketed internationally via her Etsy storefront. Quite quickly, those international orders became regular ones.
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Moore prefers cutouts to drawings when going through the making process that results in a new design, so will frequently create linocuts such as these to experiment with block- printed patterns.
Moore
prefers cutouts to drawings when going through the making process that results in a new design, so will frequently create linocuts with which to experiment with block- printed patterns such as these.
Heather Moore at work in her studio. Just visible on the cane chair behind her, which is from South African furniture retailer Weylandts (weylandts.co.za), is a bright green cushion in Skinny laMinx’s ZigZag print in Brazil (skinnylaminx.com). Asked about the origins of the name “Skinny laMinx,” Moore says, “The short answer, and one that everyone can understand, is that it’s a nickname for our skinny little Siamese cat, Monkey. The long answer, which is a little more culturally specific, is that it’s a slightly mangled version of the playground chant, ‘Skinnymalinky long legs/ Big banana feet,’ and also, Skinnymalinks is cute, but Skinny laMinx is sexier.”
The couple’s bed is decorated with a Mexican serape blanket that is a travel memento, as well as a pair of Skinny laMinx cushions in Aperture, in Petrol (skinnylaminx.com). The linocut artwork above the bed is entitled “Solid” and is by Edmunds (pauledmunds.co.za); the bronze monkey and bear figurines on the shelf behind the bed were also made by him.
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For example, it was around this time that Heath Ceramics, the globally renowned San Francisco-based creator of handmade ceramic tiles and tableware, placed their first “order” with Heather, which at first was a “let’s swap ceramics for tea towels” arrangement. (The relationship between the two brands is ongoing, with Heath Ceramics now stocking a range of Skinny laMinx tea towels and other goods in their stores, and Moore having produced a range of fabric designs inspired by their tiles.) The positive feedback from both local and international customers convinced Moore that she really did have a viable business on her hands, and by 2009 she was able to give up her writing job and devote herself to Skinny laMinx full-time. Still working out of a small shared studio, she also began to move beyond tea towels into designing fabrics for yardage—a rather different enterprise as it involves working out pattern repetitions across a larger area. “I’m always making things,” Moore says. “There’s always something buzzing around in the background [of my mind]. Whether it’s color collages or linocuts… just things really.” She explains this during a conversation in her charming apartment (in which her own The wicker chair is a flea-market find, as is the electric fan. The fabric swatches displayed against the wall were created by Moore during a batik workshop on a recent trip to Eswatini (Swaziland), during which she led a printmaking workshop for Ace Camps (acecampstravel.com). The birdlike ceramic piece and embroidered work in the wooden hoop are two of Moore’s creations, too, while the basket is from Design Afrika (designafrika.co.za).
This series of creative experiments were all made using paper cutouts of various kinds. Moore says she spent quite a lot of time last year [2017] exploring sunburst patterns inspired by American architect and designer Alexander Girard (1907-1993)—the one seen here at the top left is an example.
This spread/ page from one of Moore’s workbooks demonstrates how she works from an image that inspires her to the cutout pieces, patterns that might become a printed pattern on fabric someday.
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designs feature alongside a range of carefully collected Mid-Century Modern furniture and objects) while we are examining the products of her current experimentation with a small table-top loom—lengths of colorful woven fabric pieces in a variety of stripes and zigzag patterns, all made from scraps of wool. When asked what these might turn into, Moore smiles and says she’s probably collaborating with a rug maker soon and that she thought it would be a good idea if she understood weaving from the inside out before actually starting to design a full-size rug. In fact, this hands-on approach to the design process is essential to how Moore creates all her work. It’s why making a paper cutout of South Africa’s ubiquitous Pincushion protea flower became a fabric called Pincushion (later, Large Pincushion and Tall Pincushion). And it’s why working on a group of ceramic objects at her ceramics class also, in time, became a fabric called Oddjects. Moore’s experience of traditional block-printing techniques in Jaipur, India, inspired a print called Weft, visual cues from architectural elements became repeat patterns called Aperture and Breeze, and Heath Ceramics tiles inspired fabrics that reflect on the visual workings of their shapes (Dimensional Ovals, Dimensional Triangles, and Dimensional Diamonds). It’s also why Moore repeatedly—on her blog and in person—references the importance of what she calls “Making Friday.” In spite (or rather, she would say, because) of the demands of running a small business, Moore almost invariably spends at least one day per week just making things, on her own, in her studio.
The Colour Pop display in the Skinny laMinx shop in Bree Street, Cape Town, showcases advice for customers about putting together their own pillow selections. The Saks Clarke two-seater is by Cape Town furniture maker Saks Corner (sakscorner.co.za) and is topped with Skinny laMinx cushions in (from left) Flower Fields with Lemon Piping in Penny Black, Colour Pop Pillow in Gold and Lemon, Large Pincushion with Graphite Piping in Graphite, Colour Pop Pillow in Graphite and Lemon, Colour Pop Oblong in Lemon and Gold and Pincushion in Charcoal (skinnylaminx.com). The drum lampshade is in Breeze in Concrete.
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For long periods, too, she may not know whether the ceramics, paper dolls, or chair cutouts that she’s creating will turn into fabric designs—and that lack of a set “design direction” is precisely what results in genuine creative moments. “If you’re trying to see a star in the night sky,” she says, “you see it better if you look off to one side.” “It just, kind of, gathers itself,” she adds, explaining that by “gathering,” she means “continually visually recording and processing” that then turns into a “sort of story.” This is often expressed via a paper cutout (rather than a drawing) or block printing using a linocut technique. Then it’s a case of learning to “trust your first decision”—and the result might well be the recent Palmetto, Fronds, and ZigZag fabrics, which feature stylized leaf shapes, or the Roof Garden range, an homage to the succulent plants that have been able to survive—and thrive— during Cape Town’s current drought. The first Skinny laMinx range of prints produced exclusively for yardage was the Sevilla Rock collection of 2006, inspired by South Africa’s world-renowned ancient Khoisan cave paintings. Of these five designs, one— called Herds and consisting of a repeat-and-reverse pattern made up of an ultra-simple animal silhouette—is still being produced. Available in Black, Deep Red, and a chic Hide Grey, it’s a unique and elegant design. Asked about the Skinny laMinx color palette, Moore says that it “tends towards the dirtier tones, like petrol blues, olive greens, chartreuse, cocoa, and burnt orange, all of which are colors that I associate with a mid- century palette, and all of which work together in interesting ways.” She also confesses to “a deep hatred of purple,” saying that “it makes me feel revolting inside when I think about purple fabrics or products, although I do quite love it on flowers and butterflies,”
Highlights of this colorful display of pillows in the Skinny laMinx store are bright cushion covers in Woodpile in Teal (top, third from left) and Pebble in Brazil (center right), as well as a very graphic monochrome cushion cover in the Tall Protea print in charcoal (center left; skinnylaminx.com).
In short, Moore’s palette—and her overall aesthetic—very much combines a contemporary sensibility with a subtly retro, Mid-Century Modern feel. In terms of the Skinny laMinx brand, that palette has also subtly shifted over the years. “I used to have quite a lot of olive green, which no
longer features,” says Moore, “but I have been pretty consistent with colors like chartreuse and grey. Over the last few years, as Skinny laMinx has been growing more of a market with decorators, we’ve tried to fill gaps in our palette. So when we were choosing colors for our 2016 Brise Soleil collection, we focussed on blues, as we hardly had any in the color mix. We also find neutrals like charcoals and greys are popular, so we often include them as a colorway. When we launched the Roof Garden design, we took the opportunity of making our first three-color print to create some marvelously wild color mixes, which was exciting.”
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Designer Heather
Moore stands alongside the large rack of fabrics that are available to purchase by the meter from the Skinny laMinx store in Bree Street, Cape Town. The print on the roll she is holding is Palmetto in Pine Nut.
This tranquil yet invigorating display area in the Skinny laMinx shop in Bree Street, Cape Town is focused on softly “muddy” pastel shades. The Oslo chair is manufactured by South African furniture makers Fechters (fechters. co.za), which is based in Knysna and is only available to purchasers in South Africa: here, it has been upholstered in Skinny laMinx’s Roof Garden print in Miami (skinnylaminx.com). On the shelf on the far wall, a plethora of cushions and Colour Pop pillows includes a cushion in Woodpile (part of the Rough Cuts collection) in Spruce (top left) and two cushions in the brand’s very popular Bowls print, which also started as a paper cutout, in Lemon Slice and Graphite respectively.
In 2010 Pearl Thompson—now head of business at Skinny laMinx—arrived on the scene: Thompson was working for herself at the time, having left the corporate world, and as she told the Skinny laMinx blog, “had the idea of approaching a couple of independent Cape Town-based creatives to see if they needed someone like me to help with the running of their business while they got on with the design side of things.” Soon after she and Moore had their first meeting, Moore offered Thompson a stake in the business and ever since, Thompson has been the “organized, decisive, numbers-driven person” in the business, as Moore puts it. At the end of 2011, the Skinny laMinx shop opened on Bree Street, which at that time was just on the cusp of becoming the hive of creative businesses and foodie enterprises that it is today. In 2017—a very busy year for Moore, during which she also launched the Roof Garden fabric range and traveled to Jaipur in India for a second time with Ace Camps to teach pattern-making workshops—the store was renovated and expanded slightly. Moore picks out her Bowls print in bright persimmon (a vibrant coral shade) as an ever-popular option with customers. “Our two top-selling designs are Bowls in persimmon, which is quite a strong choice, and Pincushion in charcoal, which is very traditional. Our sharp lemon yellow is a consistent seller [too] because it mixes so well with so many other colors, adding a burst of energy to greys or sages or blues,” she says.
The Skinny laMinx store also stocks tote bags in various sizes and other small accessories, as well as a very appealing selection of children’s clothing and babies’ shoes. The Alex Sack on the left here is made up in the Oddjects print in Tangerine, and the Skinny Tote on the right in the Breeze print in Petrol; the Travel Bags, Stash Bags, and petite Coin Purses are available in a wide variety of prints, with colorful, often contrasting zippers (skinnylaminx.com).
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One area of the Skinny laMinx shop is given over to the brand’s range of napkins and other table linen. Here, pairs of napkins are stacked according to color “families,” so customers are encouraged to mix and match designs in similar shades if they prefer. The table runner is made up of Orla in Fog, and on the top shelf is one of a selection of the brand’s “soft buckets,” which are ideal for storage or as indoor plant holders (skinnylaminx.com).
This Skinny laMinx display of tea towels would light up any room. Clockwise from top left, they are: Breeze in Persimmon, Eep! in Tomato, Across the Sea in Sunrise, Tall Protea in Leaf, Summer Weeds in Pollen, Borrowed Spoons in Sage, Summer Weeds in Pistachio, Pebble in Tomato, Pebble in Brazil, Across the Sea in Granite, Stig in Pine Nut and Across the Sea in Pacific (skinnylaminx.com).
So far in 2018, Skinny laMinx has launched its new “Colour Pop” pillow range—a range of scatter cushions in solid colors that coordinate perfectly with the brand’s patterns—and Moore, who enjoys a spot of teaching, has run pattern-design workshops in Eswatini (Swaziland) and Cape Town. In a recent blog post, Moore suggested that her current aim is to go beyond a single “Making Friday” to spending a minimum of three days a week “building a strong line in my studio.” The results are sure to bring yet more brilliant Skinny laMinx patterns and colors to homes and interiors around the globe. skinnylaminx.com
Mindful of all the other makers out there, Moore’s online and brick- and-mortar stores both stock color-coordinated packs of fabric pieces that are perfect for DIY projects of all kinds (skinnylaminx.com).
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Eureka!
Stranger Than Fiction The McBride Sisters’ Triumphant Discovery of Each Other
PHOTO CREDIT COURTESY OF: @MCBRIDESISTERS VIA FACEBOOK, EATING WITH ERICA, AFROELLE MAGAZINE WRITTEN BY: KEVIN JAMES JEFFERY
M cBride Sisters Wine Company became a business under the most unlikely of circumstances. While it’s not entirely unlikely for siblings to start a company together, it’s almost completely unheard of to open one with a sibling you never knew you had. Robin and Andréa grew up with dreams of working in the wine industry. But for the first half of their lives, one half-sister grew up in Marlborough, New Zealand, and the other grew up in Monterey, California. They didn’t even know the other existed.
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Robin McBride and Andrea McBride
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Both half-sisters grew up thinking they were only children on opposite ends of the Pacific Ocean, over 6,500 miles away. Andréa grew up with her mother, Pauline, in New Zealand until she sadly died of breast cancer. At the age of six, she was placed with a foster family. While Robin was raised by her mother, Karen, in Monterey, California. Their shared biological father never mentioned to either of the siblings that they had a half-sister. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to ask their father why he never told them, as he died from stomach cancer in 1996. However, before passing, he did ask his family to connect the two girls. They were able to get in touch with Andréa but had no idea where Robin was living. With no way of searching by Google or Facebook, as they did not exist at the time, the family had to perform time-consuming investigation techniques. They ended up pulling the records of every Robin McBride listed in the Department of Motor Vehicle database. After writing dozens of letters, Robin received one from her aunt (her father’s sister). The note read, “I’m your aunt, and I’m sorry to tell you that your dad has passed away, but you have a little sister,” Andréa told CBS This Morning. The shocking and exciting news led to the sisters meeting at LaGuardia Airport in New York just one day after Robin received the letter.
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“The world brought us together. We’re invincible, we can do anything…”
As the story goes, Andrea recalls walking down the jet bridge and thinking she was seeing her reflection in the glass at the end of the hall. While walking toward the glass, she realized it wasn’t her reflection. It was her first time seeing her sister. Robin says she often gets emotional listening to that story because after losing a mother and a father, discovering she had a sister meant so much. Not long after meeting each other, Robin and Andréa discovered they both had a passion for wine. Robin says that while they both grew up in major wine regions in California and New Zealand and had big dreams, they probably wouldn’t have ended up in the industry alone. But since all the stars aligned and the world brought them together, they seemed destined to start a winery together.
“The world brought us together. We’re invincible, we can do anything,” says Robin. That was certainly the attitude that was needed when they opened their company in 2005. Even now, the wine industry is mostly white and male. Back then, it was even more so. But they took on the challenge to transform the industry, leading by example and cultivating the community. With the right mindset and intent, these two fierce and forward-thinking leaders were able to defy tradition and gender, seize opportunities, and build the largest Black-owned wine business in the United States. But it’s not the size of their company that they are most proud of — it’s that they accomplished that feat by focusing on being socially aware, inclusive, accessible, and sustainable.
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