SHOPPE BLACK

Black-Owned Gift Ideas Under $50

1 min read

Over the years, we have published multiple lists of Black-owned gift ideas ranging from the 2021 holiday season to Father’s day and Juneteenth.

Check out this new list of Black-owned gift ideas for under $50 for the holidays and beyond.

Black-Owned Gift Ideas Under $50

Plant Economy Ceramic “Talk Growth to Me” Planter – $40

This is perfect for the plant lover in your life. Just keep in mind that the plant is not included.

Lelia Mae “Paper Clip Chain” – $47.50

This essential chain is the epitome of minimal luxe. Featuring dainty square Rolo links throughout, that easily compliments any day or nighttime look.

Sassy Jones “Ebony Wooden Bangle Stack” – $47.99

The 4 piece Ebony Wooden bangle stack features a geometric design of matte black and wooden striations.

Black-Owned Gift ideas

Duckie Confetti “Blue Lamb Fur Slippers” – $42

Give someone’s wardrobe a playful twist with these Confetti blue lamb fur slippers with ultra-soft plush footbeds and comfort fit rubber soles.

Bolé Road Pouches – $48

Handmade in Ethiopia., these pouches are perfect for pens, pencils, makeup, or any other small items to organize a bag or purse.

Black-Owned Gift ideas

“Nero Candle Holder” from Souk Bohemian – $44

A unique, artisan-made candle holder is a great conversation piece for any tabletop.

Black-Owned Gift ideas

-Tony O. Lawson

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Empowering Black-led CDFIs to Create Wealth in Black Communities

1 min read

Black-led community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are at the forefront of channeling financial resources to Black communities across the country.

However, white-led CDFIs have six times the assets that Black-led CDFIs do, and while white-led CDFIs’ assets have increased over time, Black-led CDFIs’ assets have remained stagnant.

Lenwood Long, the President and CEO of the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs (The Alliance) is on a mission to change that.

The Alliance supports and empowers CDFI CEOs to lead and grow their institutional operations, teams, and social impact.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • The difference between CDFIs and other financial institutions.
  • Helping Black-owned businesses become more bankable.
  • Black-led CDFI’s role in increasing wealth in Black communities.
  • How racism leads to the underfunding of Black-led CDFI’s
  • The $125 million Black Renaissance Fund.
  • His thoughts on the future of Black-led CDFI’s.

-Tony O. Lawson

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Attorney Talk: The Connection Between Intellectual Property & Social Justice

1 min read
Intellectual property

Sommer Blackman is an Attorney at Grant Attorneys at Law PLLC.  Her practice areas include entertainment, trademark, and copyright law.

She is admitted to practice law in Ontario, Canada and admission is pending in New York.

Sommer grew up deeply immersed in music; she is a classically trained pianist and played the alto and tenor saxophones for 7 years. She also enjoys educating the community about their intellectual property rights.

In this episode, she shares:

  • The connection between intellectual property and social justice.
  • Notable past examples of exploitation of Black artists in America, the Caribbean, and Africa.
  • Some current intellectual property cases that she finds interesting.
  • IP trends she expects to influence the near future.
  • Best ways for creators to protect their IP on larger platforms.

-Tony O. Lawson

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JéGO is Building the Future of Self Driving Vehicles

1 min read
JéGO

JéGO Technologies is a designer and manufacturer of autonomous vehicles including self-driving pods that make it easy to connect consumers with services and products on the go.

JéGo is taking a step forward in combating climate change by assisting in making the benefits of electric vehicles (EVs) more accessible through the establishment of a nationwide network of EV charging stations targeted at traditionally underserved communities.

In this episode, Frederick Akpoghene, CEO/Founder of JéGO Technologies Inc. shares:

  • The difference between autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles.
  • The countries have made the most progress when it comes to adopting self-driving vehicles.
  • Challenges he has faced trying to educate the general public about autonomous vehicles
  • The future he envisions for self-driving cars.

-Tony O. Lawson

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Black Owned Architecture Firm Designs Hurricane-Resilient Buildings

8 mins read

Stacy A. Bourne FAIA is the founder of The Bourne Group, a Black-owned architecture, and urban design firm on a mission to build resilient spaces and inspire social change, through collaborative design.

Black-owned Architecture
Stacy A. Bourne FAIA

We caught up with Stacy to learn more about her business.

What inspired your move to the US Virgin Islands?

In September 1989, Hurricane Hugo struck the U.S. Virgin Islands. It was the first in more time than could be recalled. I was a student at Tulane University’s School of Architecture.  Lydia Webbe, my sister at Tulane and friend from the Virgin Islands, had to return home because of the impact of the storm.  

While working for architect Christopher Green, she recommended me when he needed more people.  I remember the day he called.  My parents were just coming in from the road trip, with lots of people in the house, while I’m trying to play cool on a phone interview of my only job offer. In the Virgin Islands no less.

Why did you decide to specialize in hurricane-resilient architecture?

I’m not sure if I chose it or if it chose me.  My path to the Virgin Islands in 1990 was because of a hurricane, resulting in my experience in commercial and historical structures.  

My experience in advocacy and legislating for building codes in 1995 came as a result of a hurricane and needing standardization through codes to save communities. My role as an architect shifted to a residentially focused career, completing over 1000 custom hurricane resilient homes. 

My international experience between Canadian, British, and American building codes through the financial and banking industries expanded in 2007 because of a hurricane. 

Through a pair of hurricanes, in 2017, we expanded yet again into higher education and government facilities, paying particular attention to resiliency strategies across the campus and the Virgin Islands territory.

What role does the Black architect play in the Black community?

One of the most admired attributes that the US Virgin Islands has to me, isn’t its beaches, food, or activities. Its that everyone in Black!  The Governor is Black, his Lieutenant Governor is Black.  The senators are Black. The Chief of Police… Over time, you will get to know them, understand passionate discussions, willingness to take initiative, and even risks.  

Living in a community of color, with mixed ethnic cultures, has allowed me to exude a different level of confidence and understand the importance of connection to the community.  It is at this level that you begin to realize what is involved in inspiring social change. Change for an improved economy, environment, and culture for communities to thrive. This gave me much more confidence when speaking externally with other professionals and groups.

I met the first architect that looked like me when I was 24 in the Virgin Islands. I was used to being the only, or one of a handful, Black faces in the rooms since I was in the fourth grade. I decided I wanted to be an architect in the 10th grade, without ever having met one.

I had internships at Black-owned firms in St. Louis and New Orleans but the day I met Donna DeJongh, a Black female architect, nothing would come out of my mouth. I think it’s always important to have a mentor, someone to look up to push you and hold you accountable. My father always said, “Make sure that you’re not the smartest person in the room. If you are, change rooms.”

As a Black architect, I intentionally help my communities. I’ve learned the importance of relationship building. It is through these relationships that we can leverage our skillsets as architects and planners into virtually every industry, particularly those that affect our community’s utilities, resources, creative strategies, and more. 

Start where you are. In your block, in your neighborhood, your community. Become an advocate for the issues that you know.

For the growth of our communities, it is important to have an architect on your team to capture the vision of the community. As a planner, knowing with whom to collaborate, fulfill to its greatest extent the boundaries of the codes mixed with good design, and a plan for the future. 

Why do you think it’s important to incorporate resilience measures into designing and planning?

It is clear to me that hurricanes are not going to go away.  In fact, combined with some of the climate change information, the dry seasons will become longer and rainstorms will be shorter and heavier.  The ocean currents will continue to increase and the wind gusts in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea will continue to provide favorable conditions to increase hurricane activity. It is no longer a matter of IF we have a hurricane but WHEN we have a hurricane.

This transformational thinking is proactive, not reactionary. We begin to ask and seek solutions to different questions based on our disaster typology and our location.

  • How can we minimize the impact of disasters on a statewide scale, community scale, and individual scale? 
  • What is our most resilient available material and is it sustainable?  
  • What areas are flood prone, what communities are there and what resources will they need?  
  • How can we control indoor air quality in a mold-dominated environment?  
  • What is our community core and how can we restore that quickly and spread to surrounding areas?  
  • How are we engaging with our shorelines, and how does that affect our tourism and industrial products?

What are your thoughts on diversity in the field of Architecture?

There are 115,000+ architects and 2,800+ Architects in the AIA College of Fellows BUT….

Diversity in architecture is critical in so many other areas than statistics. I’ve chaired several national and local boards and our contributions to community activities and planning, beyond buildings, cant be quantified. 

We lend our expertise to contributions to social change, inclusiveness in design strategies, community envisioning, disaster resilience, and mentorship, just to name a few.

-Tony O. Lawson

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This Black Owned Herbal Tea Brand Is Promoting Wellness, One Cup at a Time

2 mins read
Black Owned Herbal Tea

Zabico Life is a Black owned herbal tea brand created by Gladstone Etienne, a millennial master herbalist and recognized herbal tea connoisseur.

After observing the positive effects his herbal tisanes and herbal detoxes had on his family and friends, Gladstone made the decision to let as many people as possible enjoy their health advantages.

We caught up with him to learn more about his business.

Black Owned Herbal Tea Brand

What inspired you to start your business?

My inspiration for starting an herbal tea business came from my roots and upbringing, and my knowledge of herbalism. I am further inspired by the amazing benefits of herbs, the testimonials I have received from using herbal remedies, and my passion for bringing awareness to the people. Also, my love for God and what he has created for our collective health and healing.

Black Owned Herbal Tea Brand

What differentiates your products from others?

Our ability to combine a broad spectrum of herbal remedies into great tasting products that improve health without the compromise of sugar, additives, or preservatives.

What is your favorite aspect of entrepreneurship?

My favorite aspects of being an entrepreneur are innovation, independence, and the ability to influence and impact lives.

What are the biggest challenges of being an entrepreneur?

My biggest challenge as an entrepreneur is access to capital, the right mix of capital, and continuous strategy retooling to remain relevant and competitive in an ever-changing business world.

What are your future goals for your brand?

The future goals of ZABICOLife are to become the premier go-to brand for herbal teas and to become a brand leader in beauty, skincare, and cosmetics. Also, a future goal is to impact our community through social activism on the importance of incorporating herbalism into our daily regimen.

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Black Owned Wig and Hair Extension Businesses

4 mins read
Black Owned Wig and Hair Extension Businesses

By 2026, consumers in North America are expected to contribute approximately $2 billion to the global hair wigs and extension market.

According to a March 2021 report, “Consumers of African descent constitute one of the largest end-user of wigs. Consumers are trying to limit the use of harsh chemical products such as peroxide serums. Moreover, an increasing number of women are preferring natural afro-textured hair. Although most consumers are not ready to embrace natural hair, they are increasingly buying hair wigs of human hair as they feel natural.”

Although this information may not come as a surprise, what may surprise you is the number of Black owned wig and hair extension businesses that have been established over the last few years to satisfy this demand.

We’ve listed a few for you.

Black Owned Wig and Hair Extension Businesses

 Coils to Locs

Coils to Locs is a wig resource for women of color searching for coily, curly wig styles at cancer center hospitals and medical hair loss salons.

A-List Hair

A-List Lace Hair is one of the UK’s prominent suppliers for Full Lace Wigs and Lace Front Wigs, as well as frontals, closures, and virgin hair extensions.

Black Owned Wig and Hair Extension Businesses

Wig Dealer

Black Owned Wig and Hair Extension Businesses

DACS Boutique

DACS Boutique provides an extensive range of human Remy synthetic and lace front wigs designed to ensure that special look at any moment.

Black Owned Wig and Hair Extension Businesses

Natural Babe Hair

Natural Babe Hair focuses on empowering women to love themselves more and to love themselves through loving their hair.

Finger Comber

Finger Comber is a natural hair community that was made by naturals, for naturals. They carry a collection of artisinal wigs and hairpieces that are designed to support the natural hair journey.

Black Owned Wig and Hair Extension Businesses

Nahara’s Curls

Nahara’s Curls was designed to be a creative and fun way to explore the endless possibilities of our natural hair.

Black Owned Wig and Hair Extension Businesses

Boho Locs

Boho Locs offers hand-designed premium crochet loc extensions.

Mayvenn

Mayvenn sells 100% virgin hair extensions in a wide variety of textures and colors.

Miyi

Miyi provides 100% virgin hair to mimic natural 3B/3C, 3C/4A & 4B/4C kinky textured hair.

Conscious Curls Hair

Conscious Curls Hair is 100% Virgin Indian hair that has been carefully crafted to offer the most luxurious and long lasting extension.

Big Chop Hair

Big Chop Hair is a natural hair extension company that offers 5 different hair textures in wefts, lace closures, bulk (for braiding), u-part wigs, clip-ins and full wigs.

Black Hair

Black hair is a father-son-owned line of wigs and extensions for those who are looking to buy hair products at reasonable and affordable prices.

Heat Free Hair

Heat Free Hair offers a way for women to transition using protective styles that don’t require heat or chemical processing.

Hair For The Girls

Hair For The Girls is a premium hair brand that was created to empower girls at all stages of their hair journey.

Latched and Hooked

Latched & Hooked’s patented curls are non-toxic, stress-free, affordable and designed with the highest quality of synthetic fiber for women who wear protective hairstyles.

Kurly Klips

Kurly Klips is a curly textured clip-in hair extensions brand that offers a very quick process for adding length to your mane.

Melanj Hair

Melanj Hair offers six custom textures of hair extensions meant to blend seamlessly with your natural hair.

Radswan

Radswan provides premium synthetic wigs that meet the hair care and protective styling needs of Black women with natural hair.

Black Owned Wig and Hair Extension Businesses

-Tony O. Lawson

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How to Make Money Selling Canva Templates on Etsy

5 mins read
canva templates

In today’s world, more and more people are launching their own businesses, working as freelancers, or at the very least starting a side hustle.

This means that they must create a brand, grow a customer base, and build an email or social media following. All of that requires different kinds of documents and graphics.

Canva, a graphic design platform, makes it easier to create all types of social medis graphics, presentations, posters and more.

However, not everyone has the time to start creating these types of visual content. That’s where you come in. You can put your creative skills to work and create a source of income by selling   Canva templates on online marketplaces like Etsy.

Etsy is mostly known for handcrafted toys, collectibles, art, home products, and jewelry. However, Etsy also allows sellers to list digital products such as Canva templates.

Want to know how you can do that? Read the tips and tricks to learn how to generate a passive income selling Canva templates:

canva templates

1. Conduct Market Research

Before designing your first Canva template, perform market research to ensure that the products you intend to sell are things customers will want to buy. Researching can be simple and fun as you need to prepare a list of products you intend to sell.

For instance, if you want to sell social media templates in your store, your template offerings may include Facebook post templates, Pinterest Pin templates, and Instagram post templates.

After preparing your list, open Etsy and add keywords and phrases in the search box (marketing templates from your list). Then, Etsy lists out all the other search terms and phrases that customers are searching for right there on the screen.

Select one of those phrases for more targeted searches and check listings. You can find designs or elements that you can enhance to sell in your store.

2. Understand Your Target Customers

Once you understand the type of templates you want to sell, define your target customers to create consistent branding on Etsy. Consistency will help you attract more customers.

To define your ideal customer, think about their demographics, preferences, and psychographics.

3. Create a Brand

Create your business brand to attract the right customers to your Etsy shop. For instance, if you sell wedding invitation templates, you need to keep them in mind when building your brand.

Your store selling wedding templates may have a brand with a delicate color palette and subtle floral designs.

canva templates

4. Design Your First Templates

Create templates to sell on Etsy but ensure you can access a Canva Pro account. Otherwise, you won’t be able to share the download link sent to your customer after purchase confirmation.

Make sure to check out some other templates currently on Canva to see what’s trending and decide what to add to your template. Start with a blank template and design your products from scratch.

If you want people to pay you, your designs must be sufficiently different and of better quality.

5. Set Up Your Shop

After creating your first Canva template, PDF deliverable (a document storing your sharable template link), and approximately 10 listing images, you can set up your Etsy shop to list your first template.

Sign up for a seller’s account with an email address and then add your first product to open up your store.

Launch your first template on Etsy with a professional-looking shop. Then, you can now easily add your products and start working for the first sale.

6. Conduct Keyword Research and Optimize SEO Listings

After listing your first product, you should make sure your target customers see it. Etsy SEO helps you to find more customers for your products.

Add keyword-rich titles and tags to your product listing, as that helps Etsy display your products to the right people.

-Tony O. Lawson

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Climate Change and Its Effect on the Coffee Industry

4 mins read
climate change

With more than 2.25 billion cups consumed every day, coffee has gone beyond the position of merely a beverage and now plays a significant cultural role. Around 120 million people depend on coffee for their livelihoods worldwide.

Climate change, however, has just sparked a perfect storm that endangers the well-being of millions of coffee farmers and their families. Furthermore, according to scientists, there will be longer and more intense rainy and dry spells, which will make farming more difficult. The cost of buying and growing decent coffee will rise as temperatures rise and droughts get worse.

The pattern is obvious. According to scientists on climate change, the average global temperature will climb by 1.5 to 4.5 degrees celsius this century. And if we don’t take swift action, it might be too late. Read on to know how climate change is likely to affect the coffee industry in the years to come.

Impact of Climate Change on the Coffee Industry

1. Coffee’s Flavour Can be Affected by Water, Stress, Temperature, and Light Exposure

In order for coffee trees to develop and prosper as well as for their beans to have the flavors and aromas that many coffee lovers adore, an ideal mix of growing conditions is required. Researchers concluded that variables including altitude and light exposure had an impact on coffee quality in a 2021 study that looked at how shifting climates will adversely alter the coffee flavor.

2. Less Land to Grow Coffee by 2050

It is anticipated that coffee-growing regions will move out of the tropics. By 2050, the total area of land suitable for growing coffee is expected to shrink overall, according to a new study. The best regions for growing coffee are expected to shrink in size and suitability in four of the top five coffee-producing countries in the world, namely Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, and Indonesia.

3. New Regions Are Likely to Emerge

Some nations, namely those outside of the tropics, might experience an improvement in adaptability and new business potential with the plant.

Ethiopia, the plant’s native land, is the fifth largest producer, and it is anticipated that its suitability for growing coffee will mostly remain unchanged. According to studies, there will probably be an increase in the suitability of some countries—such as the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, and China—for coffee growing.

4. The Quality of Single-Origin Coffee Will Potentially Deteriorate

The quality of single-origin coffee coming from arabica beans, which are prized for their rich and evocative scents and flavors, relies largely on the particulars of their growing environment and a particular set of conditions. The regions that produce high-quality, single-origin coffees decline together with the general shrinkage of acceptable coffee-growing lands.

The Bottom Line

There are a number of other irreversible effects of climate change, and coffee’s future is still in the hands of a population that keeps spewing greenhouse gases into the skies. But other organizations have been researching hybrid coffee varietals in an effort to make coffee plants more resilient to harsh environmental conditions—while maintaining flavor and other desired traits.

Red Bay Coffee sources its coffee directly from nations that have the specialized climate and elevation conditions needed to produce premium specialty coffees. Their coffee beans are lovingly roasted to provide morning brews that are sure to make your day better. Contact them for all your coffee inquiries today.

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E-Commerce is Creating Investment Opportunities in This Real Estate Niche

3 mins read
Industrial Real Estate

The increase in e-commerce activity, labor constraints, and customer expectations about product delivery time are exerting pressure on supply chains and driving demand for industrial real estate.

Small bay warehouses specifically. This sector has outperformed its larger counterparts by a significant margin, despite the hype surrounding larger distribution facilities acquired by major tenants such as Amazon.

Amazon and other e-commerce fulfillment organizations are responsible for roughly 40% of industrial property leases, and that number is steadily rising as companies rush to include e-commerce as part of their business models. 

According to a recent industrial real estate report, companies leased more than 137.9 million square feet of industrial space in the third quarter of 2021, a new record. The most popular size category was between 10,000 and 49,000 square feet, which accounted for more than half of the leasing activity.

To reach and retain customers, retailers are shifting their attention to providing consistent, speedy delivery in dense population clusters. As firms continue to adopt same-day and one-day delivery, the strategic importance of the last mile cannot be understated.

As retailers and logistics companies strive for greater consumer accessibility, rents for well-located light industrial buildings in heavily populated, developing markets will continue to exceed those for larger warehouses in remote regions.

Properties under 70,000 square feet have the lowest average availability (5.8 percent) of any size range, as well as both the highest average rents and, have experienced rent growth of 33% between 2015 and 2020.

Leases tend to be shorter-term, which allow rents to adjust more quickly to market and new demand conditions. As a result, market rents for smaller spaces tend to be less volatile over the long-term. In addition, small warehouse market rents tend to outperform larger bulk distribution spaces in both periods of economic strength and weakness.

Small bay industrial facilities also benefit from low operating and capital expenses, which generate high cash flow efficiency relative to other property types.

E-commerce will keep driving the need for industrial space, and as a result, this new urban logistics asset class will spark more developer and investor interest.

We hope this guide was helpful and shows that with any type of investment, it pays to do your homework.

Tony O. Lawson

 

 

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