A Directory of Black-Owned Design Businesses to Support Now and Forever

Not only is the Black community currently experiencing disproportionate death rates from the coronavirus and continued systemic violence by police forces across the United States, the pandemic has also hit Black-owned businesses exceptionally hard. Reports show that nearly 95% of Black-owned businesses who applied for PPP loans were denied them, and more than of 40% of Black-owned businesses had shut down during the pandemic (that’s almost 450,000 business owners—more than any other group).

You also may have heard of the Fifteen Percent Pledge, spearheaded this week by Aurora James of Brother Vellies, insisting that the retail industry do more to include Black-owned businesses on the shelves of Target, Whole Foods, Walmart, and more mega retailers.

If you’re looking for more ways to support Black-owned businesses, shopping with them is a direct way to make an impact. We’ve compiled this list—which is by no means exhaustive—of some of our favorite Black-owned brands and new finds, many of which were discovered via ShiShi Rose, Tahirah Hairston, and Alyssa Coscarelli. We also strongly recommend checking out Black-Owned Brooklyn, Black Artists + Designers Guild, BLK+GRN, and We Buy Black on Instagram, and the Official Black Wall Street app to find thousands more businesses across all industries to support in your daily shopping.

Looking to share your favorites? Please DM us on Instagram or comment on our post and we’ll keep this list updated.

There are no affiliate links in this post. Sites marked with an asterisk will redirect to a Google search.

Decor

Lichen NYC

What makes a great vintage shop? Impeccable curation and hard-to-find items, sure. Lichen NYC has all those things, but Jared Blake and Edward Be set out to make their Brooklyn-based outpost something more. Their spin comes in the form of late-night performances, an in-house coffee bar, locally made (and accessibly priced) home goods, and art, all combined to create a neighborhood beacon.

Clare Paint

As an interior designer and blogger, Nicole Gibbons had more than her fair share of experience with the paint-selection process—one that most of us stress over. In founding Clare Paint, she dramatically simplified the decision by using her expertise to develop and curate the perfect shades of paint that are washable and close to odorless.

Goodee

If you’re on the hunt for beautifully crafted objects made by people doing good work, look to Goodee. The e-commerce and storytelling platform, founded by designers and tastemakers (and twin brothers) Byron and Dexter Peart, is an online destination for beautiful, essential, and timeless housewares that emphasize transparent sourcing, upcycling, and waste reduction.

Hello Yowie

Founded by Shannon Maldonado, Yowie is a Philly-based home and life shop that curates pieces from independent artists and designers. Not only does Shannon have an eye for really cool products, but she also handles prop styling, art direction, interior design, and programming.

Rituals and Ceremony

Located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and curated by Sarah Williams, Rituals and Ceremony is a home goods and lifestyle store with the goal to help you create your sacred space. When you need a good saging or a crystal-infused water bottle, this should be your go-to spot.

Aya Paper Co

SaVonne Anderson created Aya Paper Co. with the earth’s wellness in mind. The sustainable stationery brand creates greeting cards and gifts made from 100% recycled material. Celebrate your loved ones while doing good for the planet. It’s a win-win.

BLK MKT Vintage

For all you vintage lovers, Brooklyn natives Jannah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart are the masters of curation, bringing their distinct sensibility to BLK MKT Vintage. The shop includes clothing, art, furniture, housewares, records, and books—all centered on Black culture.

Brother Vellies’s Something Special Program

The creative director and founder of Brother Vellies, Aurora James, constantly impresses us. Her company, which was founded in 2013, started with the goal of keeping traditional African design practices and techniques alive and thriving, and has expanded in so many ways—all while celebrating cultural histories and timeless design. Through a new program called Something Special, members receive a made-to-order, handcrafted piece every month.

The Jungalow

Justina Blakeney’s shop features collections she’s designed in her Los Angeles studio, as well as a curated selection of creative, colorful, modern goods from around the globe. The Jungalow also works with vendors to reduce the use of single-use plastics and styrofoam and gives back to nonprofit organizations worth supporting.

Tactile Matter

Kenesha Sneed was able to combine her background in digital media and illustration and her ceramics hobby into the carefree, SoCal brand that is Tactile Matter. Full of coastal vibes and color, Kenesha’s work spans many mediums and collaborations.

Sincerely, Tommy

Sincerely, Tommy, the Brooklyn boutique and concept store (and coffee bar) founded by Kai Avent-deLeon, has a lovely selection, from home goods to womens wear and jewelry. But really, it’s also a serious community hub.

Lisa Hunt

Lisa Hunt knows how to work with patterns. The artist’s screen-printed work often takes inspiration from Art Deco and indigenous textiles that result in incredible graphic displays. Plus, the use of gold leaf really makes it all—literally and figuratively—shine.

Tackussanu Senegal

Built by two friends inspired by Senegalese culture and the power of women, Tackussanu Senegal works with artisans to create ethically and naturally sourced woven baskets. With a variety of shapes, colors, and leather trims to choose from, each basket is unique and handmade.

Mitchell Black

Mitchell Black, founded by New York native Lynai Jones, offers an astounding 365 wallpaper patterns–each available in either a peel-and-stick or traditional printed format. Better yet, every sheet is made in the U.S. From soft, subtle blush tones to peacock-inspired watercolors and strong traditional plaids, there is truly a print for every taste.

Peace & Riot

A staple on a bustling block in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, Peace & Riot stocks its shelves with an abundance of home decor items across categories including furniture, skin-care products, design objects, and kitchen essentials. Owned by husband-and-wife team Achuziam Maha-Sanchez and Lionel Sanchez, the shop reflects their African and Caribbean upbringings with some midcentury and Scandinavian finds mixed in.

Dressing Rooms Interiors

Charlotte-based collector and designer Ariene Bethea is the founder of Dressing Room Interiors—part vintage shop, part interior design studio. Bethea‘s knack for color, texture, and statement pieces will ensure a room that is truly one of a kind.

Ethel’s Club

It is telling that Naj Austin named her co-working space for people of color, Ethel’s Club, after her grandmother. The warm, inviting space, designed by Shannon Maldonado of Hello Yowie, was created to foster and strengthen community as opposed to perpetuating the type of networking and professional ladder-climbing that dominates so many co-working spaces. The gift shop further enhances that mission with goods including tonics, aromatherapy, and ceramics designed by artisans of color.

The Lam Label

If you live for the weirdest (in the best possible way) tchotchkes, the Lam Label is going to be your new best friend. The Louisiana-based vintage retailer curates the most incredible wares from hand-shaped toast holders to spicy pajama salt and pepper shakers.

Torrey Beckham

Texas-born, Brooklyn-based Torrey Beckham is a multidisciplinary artist whose work is an expression of intersectionality–each piece is an examination of societal structures and lived experience. Whether a large-scale weaving or graphic illustration, expect intentional color, symbolism, and a critically applied eye.

xN Studio

Nasozi Kakembo’s brilliant use of mudcloth and batik is applied to pillows, wallpaper, furniture, and more with her Brooklyn-based brand, xN Studio. Follow her on Instagram for a masterclass in interior design, international travel, and great outfits.

The Camp Interiors

Designer Julia Leigh Sergeon has a refined style that is refreshingly unfussy. In addition to running her interior firm, The Camp, she also makes custom furniture, accessories, and wallpaper in polished prints.

Wildfang Home

For all things pastel, shell, and Murano, Montreal-based Wildfang should be your go to. Led by Hana Nagel, a UX design researcher and advocate for diversity in tech design, her finds are available exclusively via Instagram.

La Botica

Dawn Marie West had our best self-care interests in mind when she created La Botica. The luxury candle studio and concept/chill wear brand combines Dawn Marie’s experience in art direction and luxury perfumery with her Black and Afro-Dominican culture. The result gives us pure relaxation in an ultrachic style.

Denniston House

Though she only launched Denniston House back in April, Joilyn Jackson (who is also an artist based in D.C.) quickly built a following for the brand. It’s not hard to see why, looking at her selection of found and vintage home goods with a minimalist lean.

Cleaning Supplies

Pur Home

Pur Home founder Angela Richardson turned a quest to make her own natural soap for personal use into a full-blown nontoxic cleaning brand. The products are cruelty-free, sustainably produced, and have some of the most beautiful packaging we’ve seen on the market.

The Hoot All Natural

All natural cleaning product lovers will appreciate the care that Tonya Newsome puts into her work, inspired by her own experiences with irritating chemicals and toxins. Her cleaners are available in five fragrances and packaged in recycled plastic.

Honeydipped Essentials

Organic and all-natural everything is at the heart of Ashli Goudelock’s Honeydipped Essentials. Aside from cleaning products, she has also built a line of bath and skin-care goods that includes soaks, masks, and accessories.

Textiles

Bolé Road Textiles

Hana Getachew’s company, Bolé Road Textiles, is a perfect combination of her upbringing in Ethiopia and her education in architecture and interior design. Hana’s love of Ethiopian handwoven fabrics and her own modern aesthetic come together in everything from bath mats to pillows to table linens.

Linoto

Linen bedding, friend to hot sleepers everywhere, was a product ripe for disruption with its traditionally overpriced and plainly colored offerings. Linoto, founded by Jason Evege, provides high-quality linens—all made in New York—at competitive prices and in a variety of rich hues and patterns. Jason has also expanded on the category with dining linens, curtains, and boxer shorts, to name a few.

Ceramics

Malene Barnett

A true Renaissance woman, Malene Barnett is a ceramicist, textile artist, painter, activist, and founder of the Black Artists + Designers Guild. She’s also an interior designer with an enviably curated and colorful brownstone in her home base of Brooklyn.

Black Pepper Paperie Co.

Washington, D.C.–based artist Hadiya Williams applies her vision across several mediums, including graphic design, art direction, and ceramics. Her clay practice focuses on wearable art: jewelry in the form of earrings, necklaces, and rings.

Pottery by Osa

A believer in functional design, Osa Atoe’s ceramics are as beautiful as they are useful. Using fine etchings, a soothing color palette, and a mixed glaze method, her work is meant to reflect “a multiculturalism and a human universality.”

Lolly Lolly Ceramics

Lalese Stamps, a ceramicist based in Columbus, Ohio, spent 2019 making one mug a day for 100 days. The result? A stunning portfolio of 100 matte black vessels, each with a silhouette more bold and graphic by the day.

Ceramic Meltdown

The beauty in Brooklyn ceramicist Kyle Scott Lee’s work is not just in his skillful shaping, but in his hand-painted glaze work. Lee frequently draws inspiration from Japanese firing techniques and symbolism.

Naked Clay Ceramics

Carla Sealey’s Instagram bio reads: “A moment of still for a peaceful soul.” Her work certainly lives up to that ideal, with clean lines, minimal shapes, and intentional glazing.

Nur Ceramics

Dina Nur Satti, the designer and maker behind Nur Ceramics, has a personal connection to her work as a way to reconnect with the indigenous culture of her homeland and the Somali and Sudanese traditions of her parents. Beyond making incredibly beautiful pieces, Dina works to provide a window into the artistic sophistication of cultures that are often overlooked.

Tony S. Williams

Tony Williams uses a variety of techniques and materials—such as salt firing and Shino and Celadon glazes—to create a texture that is earthy and sophisticated all at once. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo-VZ4UAaDx/

Ekua Ceramics

Sara Ekua Todd, the L.A. designer behind Ekua ceramics, has a delightful sense of color and proportion. Her chunky mugs have oversize handles that are packed with personality and her vases, dishware, and incense burners follow suit.

Grey Remedy

Melissa Chin’s stoneware mugs, dishes, and plates are handmade in Chicago and stem from her belief in art as a healing medium. Her minimalist style and focus on detail conjure serenity.

Ashé Ceramics

Jasmine Spitzer-Smith, a nonbinary artist based in the Bay Area, makes incredible stone pottery informed by their West African and Jamaican heritage. Their work uses intricate line work and bright, sun-kissed colors.

Tracie Hervy

Tracie Hervy’s vessels are quiet poems. The New York–based ceramicist creates the purest form of each item she turns her eye on, whether it be an elegant low bowl or a milky porcelain tumbler.

Camille at the Wheel

NYC-based Camille Beckles makes charming wheel-thrown pottery from a distinctive speckled clay. Camille then hand-carves each piece to give an extra personal touch.

Isatu Hyde

Ceramicist Isatu Hyde is one part of the design and craft studio and shop Studio Artificer. Highlighting makers who work with natural materials to make beautiful, useful things, the shop sells work from a variety of makers. Once you get to know Isatu’s work, you’ll be in love.

Mudbelly Ceramics

Phoebe Collings-James is an artist in every sense of the word. She writes, paints, sculpts, creates sound-based work, and, under the moniker Mud Belly, creates wheel-thrown pottery in muted tones.

Furniture Design & Upholstery

Nicole M. Crowder

Working from custom pieces for individual clients to full-scale collaborations with restaurants, hotels, and textile designers, Nicole Crowder’s upholstery career is thriving. The Washington, D.C.–based independent furniture designer and upholsterer takes inspiration in her designs through many aspects of life, from fashion to fresh fruit.

Dozie Kanu

Dozie Kanu’s work makes us think of a modern-day Marcel Duchamp. With a focus on fusing materials into objects, the Houston-born design star (who’s now based in Portugal and New York City) creates pieces of furniture that are sculptural but also function.

Jomo Furniture

Jomo Tariku is an Ethiopian American industrial designer and artist who specializes in modern furniture that incorporates a deep appreciation for African art and culture. With beautiful interpretations of classic designs, he’s able to create new forms infused with his heritage.

Plants & Florals

Saint Flora

Saint Flora is the perfect blend of whimsy and elegance we’ve been searching for. Striving to provide both the “atmosphere and objects,” this concept store will set the tone for any occasion.

Brooklyn Blooms

Flowers are the medium of choice at Brooklyn Blooms. The company curates seasonal blooms and mixes them with interesting vessels to create your ideal arrangement. Be sure to follow owner LaParis Phillips on Instagram for a plethora of amazing visuals.

Plant + Vessel

Plant + Vessel is just what it sounds like: a plant and ceramic lover’s dream. Owned and curated by Austin, Texas–based Traci Ward, the online shop features not only plants and vessels, but care tips and ceramic techniques.

Hilton Carter

Hilton Carter probably has one of the most incredible plant oases on the internet. While his background is in filmmaking and drawing, his passions eventually led him to styling and design, authoring books, and creating art, which can be found at Things by HC.

Offerings Co

Inspired by her grandmother’s rose garden, floral designer Schentell Nunn created Offerings in 2016 as way to spread her love for flowers. Based in California, Offerings helps to bring awareness not only to the beauty of florals, but to the ways in which our lives have been enriched by them as well.

Bloom & Plume

You name it, Maurice Harris has done it. The iconic Los Angeles–based artist is the visionary behind the bespoke floral design studio Bloom and Plume. His unique eye and dedication to his community has landed Maurice at the top of the L.A. floral game, working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Grounded

Grounded leans into the healing properties plants provide, such as air purification, tranquility, boosting creativity, and reducing stress to name a few. Shipping all around the U.S., the company aims to find the connection between humans and greenery with its curated selection of plants. But Grounded don’t stop there: Head to its blog to read up on plant care and all of the magical goodness we get from our green friends.

The Zen Succulent

Based in North Carolina, this modern terrarium and plant-craft company was founded by Megan George in 2012. She and her co-owner, Margaret George, use the unique approach of gathering all terrarium components in hand and dropping them on craft tables in order to ensure each terrarium has one-of-a-kind design.

Mallory With the Flowers

Making incredible arrangements in her free time while having a full-time job, Los Angeles–based Mallory creates beautifully whimsical arrangements filled with soul.

Natty Garden

With two locations in Brooklyn, Natty Garden specializes in urban landscape and garden design and offers both indoor and outdoor plants as well as pottery, planters, soil, and everything in between. Their laid-back approach to plants makes urban garden design more accessible and less intimidating to the public. Clearly the nursery is doing something right, as their shop has more than tripled in space since its inception in 2008.

Les Blooms Floral

Living and working in the community it serve, Les Blooms is a Brooklyn-based urban floral boutique providing bespoke arrangements fit for any space.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest