Celebrating Black History Month 2021
Over the course of Black History Month, February of 2021, we had the honor of featuring fourteen inspiring women who work as kickass designers, artists, innovators, and creatives. We had the privilege of hearing their design stories, learning about their paths, and even seeing some of the work they are doing in their industries. It has been a pleasure celebrating these incredible women.
A very big thank you to Lalese Stamps, Jade Purple Brown, Erica Jules, Rachel Gloria Adams, Dr. Valerie Thomas, Gladys Mae West, Jasmine Kent, Mitzi Okou, Ella Bulley, Cheresse Thornhill, Tsholofelo Marishane, Élan Hawkins, Ebere Agwuncha, and Abadesi Osunsade for allowing us to share your creative journeys. We love making new creative friends and look forward to what is to come for all these women. *Cover photo of Lalese Stamps of Lolly Lolly Ceramics by Brian M. Kaiser.
“Every day, we write the future. Together, we sign it. Together, we declare it. We share it. For this truth marches on. Inside each of us.”
Lalese Stamps, Graphic Designer and founder of Lolly Lolly Ceramics
Lalese is a Graphic Designer and Ceramicist, who founded Lolly Lolly Ceramics in September of 2019.
“Lolly Lolly Ceramics is a small-scale, handmade ceramic design and production studio in Columbus Ohio, owned and operated by me, Lalese Stamps. I began my ceramics journey back in 2017, when a curiosity for a new hobby naturally blossomed into a full-blown ceramics business. I never really intended on starting a business, but people keep requesting my work so I keep making it.
I’m from Milwaukee, and I’ve lived in Columbus now for about eight years. I went to CCAD, and I studied Graphic Design. While I was there, I was taking classes at the Cultural Arts Center, just because I had a lot of friends who were taking classes there. A friend was taking ceramics, and I was really enamored by what she was making. I started taking a class; from there I kept going. I think the big push for me was when I made a whole bunch of ceramics to help raise money to study abroad back in 2017. I was struggling to make some extra income so that while I was abroad, I could live and not worry about that. Since then, I started selling, and it gained this momentum. So I just kept up with it.
For the past 3 years, I’ve worked full-time as a graphic designer while simultaneously growing my ceramics business. I’ve invested my own money in building my studio from the ground up in the basement of my home, and I used that space to design and produce all of my ceramics including what I am most known for: my 100 Day Project.”
You can learn more about Lalese here.
Jade Purple Brown, An Artist living in New York City
Jade Purple Brown is an artist living in New York City. Her work uses strong figures, vibrant colors, and messages of optimism to create new, dynamic worlds of individuality and empowerment. Her artistic practice spans across Illustration, Design, and Creative Direction, and has attracted a wide range of global clients. Jade’s art is currently showcased as Adobe’s splash image for Illustrator 2021. Her book Words to Live By is available for purchase.
“I grew up in Waukegan, a small town outside of Chicago. Since I was young, I've always been encouraged to be artistic, with my colorful painting and drawings always being celebrated by my parents and older sister. My home was almost like a small gallery exhibit with all my artwork framed and taped to the fridge.”
“The purpose of my art is to encourage myself and possibly others to feel more optimistic and free. Developing my style has taken a lot of practice and experimentation. I’ve spent a good amount of time determining design elements that I like and how I can thoughtfully apply them to my work. I love that making art gives me the opportunity to slow down and really connect with myself. I try to create things that reflect my current state of mind or the mindset I wish I was in. The purpose of my art is to encourage myself and possibly others to feel more optimistic and free.”
You can learn more about Jade here.
Erica Jules, Syracuse 5th Year Industrial & Interaction Design Student
“My name is Erica Jules. I am a New Jersey and New York City-based multidisciplinary creative, studying Industrial and Interaction Design at Syracuse University. My initial exposure to Industrial Design was through my love for architecture. I was fortunate enough to have an architecture teacher in high school who encouraged me to pursue architecture and design. Next, I took part in a pre-collegiate architecture program at NJIT, which furthered and deepened my passion for Industrial Design. The idea of designing products that would enhance lives excited me.
Through my academic and professional journey, however, I would constantly feel disheartened to see the lack of diversity, inclusion, and plurality within the field and the classroom. I was anxious to focus on and create products and services that tailored to communities of color. This led me to my current thesis work, designing accessible and inclusive STD/STI testing kits within an emphasis on marginalized communities. This topic has solidified my interests in multidisciplinary design, sustainable design, systems design, and social impact design.
My design manifesto has always revolved around human-centric principles. I hope that my work will continue to empower communities and folx that have been historically excluded from the conversation. My intention is to ensure that my designs empower marginalized groups and enable everyone to have a seat at the table. Eventually, my goal is to establish a multidisciplinary design studio with an emphasis on creating engaging products, services, and experiences as well as a design school at a historically Black college and/or university.”
You can learn more about Erica here.
Rachel Gloria Adams, Textile Designer & Painter in Portland, Maine
“With a passion for beautiful spaces, delicious meals and family- Rachel Gloria Adams is a textile designer and painter living in Portland, Maine. Rachel has worked as an arts organizer and educator and has exhibited her artwork throughout New England. Her most recent project and business venture TACHEE utilizes imagery she developed through painting as textile print. Rachel and husband, Ryan Adams, have recently taken on a series of murals, Piece Together Project, throughout Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood celebrating locals that have shaped the community.
Featured is a mural at the local Portland Coffee Shop, Coffee By Design, in collaboration with her husband for the second portrait in the Piece Together Project in honor of Alain Nahimana. Alain was one of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center founders and a very prominent figure within the Portland Community.
As a toddler and likely a little older, Rachel thought her name was pronounced TACHEE. When she decided to start developing patterns and kids’ clothes, she felt like it was the right time to bring TACHEE back. Fun fact: Rachel’s dad still calls her TACHEE. We care deeply about our environmental and social impact. As a new company, we did extensive research on best practices and made the conscious decision to produce limited quantities of all TACHEE items. We use natural resources for methods of dyeing and selvedge and dead stock fabrics for our home goods.”
You can learn more about Rachel here.
Dr. Valerie Thomas, Physicist, Inventor, NASA Data Analyst.
When she wasn’t busy managing the Landsat program, which has produced millions of images of Earth, she was inventing the technology which went on to become the premise for more advanced TV screens and modern 3D technology. In the late ’70s, Thomas discovered that concave mirrors can create the illusion of three-dimensional objects and began experimenting with how she could visually transmit the 3D illusion. In 1980, Thomas patented her illusion transmitter.
“The math experience in college, computer science training and experience at NASA, computer science in grad school, and my determination prepared me with the knowledge, skill, and confidence to take on the Landsat challenges.”
“It was very exciting [being on the program so early in its development] because it was the first time that multispectral images of the Earth were produced from satellite data and made available to scientists from around the world to do research about Earth resources. When the Landsat image processing systems were delivered to NASA/GSFC by the contractor, I was responsible for managing the development of the image processing software systems. To ensure the accuracy of the data on the digital tapes that were being developed by the contractor, I was able to run my small Fortran program to evaluate the digital tape and print out the tape content. That was very useful to me in tracking the status of the development of the image processing software system. After the launch of the first Landsat satellite, that small program became the Quality Control tool used in the operations process, when some of the scientists detected irregularities on the digital data tapes. The process was called “the ValDump.”
You can learn more about Valerie here.
Gladys Mae West, An African American Mathematician helped pioneer the GPS.
A female African American mathematician who worked alongside fellow engineers at the naval support facilities, West’s work contributed to the development of the GPS (Global positioning system). GPS technology is used across every industry from tracking humans to animals, stat navs, social media, Google Maps, to your local delivery service. When Mrs. West started her career at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in the US state of Virginia in 1956, just one other Black woman and two Black men worked alongside her.
“Before you sort of whispered and looked at each other, or something, but now the world is opening up a little bit and making it easier for women.”
"Always doing things just right, to set an example for other people who were coming behind me, especially women. ‘I strived hard to be tough and hang in there the best I could.’”
"It turned out to be somewhat separate for us because we were working for the government and we couldn't do a whole lot of participating in non-government activities off-base," she says. “We lived on the base and we didn't communicate too well with the community that was around us. We didn't get involved with it [the civil rights movement], partly because it wasn't safe because of the job, to do that."
You can learn more about Gladys here.
Jasmine Kent, Apparel Designer at Under Armour in Raleigh, North Carolina
Jasmine is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she received her B.S. in Architecture and competed in D1 NCAA Track & Field. Jasmine went on to receive her Masters of Industrial Design from North Carolina State University in 2018 where she focused on design research, soft goods, and the intersection of Apparel and Industrial Design.
Currently, Jasmine works at Under Armour as an Apparel Designer where she has designed market leading sports bras and creates run-specific sportswear and innovation. With a group of her peers, she co-created Hue Design Summit in 2016, an annual un-conference for Black designers and developers of color to cultivate community. Jasmine serves as their Community Strategist where she develops outreach initiatives to connect the community with engaging speakers/ workshop leaders, corporate partnerships and sponsorships, and influential Black designers.
“Jasmine believes that at the intersection of art, sport, and culture is innovation and liberation. One of her notable projects at Under Armour is the Infinity Bra, rooted in biomechanics research, thoughtful design, and validated by women. She is very passionate about creating community for Black designers everywhere.”
You can learn more about Jasmine here.
MItzi Okou, UX & Visual Designer + Founder of Where are the black designers?
Mitzi is a UX and Visual Designer from Atlanta, Georgia who received her Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design. She currently resides in Stockholm, Sweden where she is working as a product designer for Spotify. As an up-and-coming designer, she has placed in hackathons put on by companies and institutions such as IDEO, SCAD, and MIT that solved for issues ranging from the wealth inequality in the music industry to federal socio-economic injustice.
As a design activist, Mitzi recently organized a free and accessible virtual conference called Where Are The Black Designers?" that highlighted and brought awareness to allies within the creative and tech industry about the experiences and struggles of being a Black designer within the field. She hopes to use the platform to support Black designers throughout their career and help them create their own narrative by connecting them with the established legacy of the Black design community, creating a hub of resources, and establishing inclusive spaces within the tech and creative field.
“I wanted to highlight the work as well as the struggle and experiences that went behind this legitimate question that tech and creative companies were not answering. The question itself has been in existence for decades. It needed community engagement to be amplified, which is why the poster challenge came about. It was a form of protest in the digital space.”
You can learn more Mitzi here.
Ella Bulley, Material designer Based In London, England
Ella Bulley is a Material Designer based in London, creating work that frequently crosses the realms of textiles, product, art, and set design. Ella’s interests in material exploration developed while she was enrolled at the University of the Arts London Central Saint Martin’s School of Art and Design, where she completed the Masters Degree in Material Futures, formerly MA Textile Futures, in 2014.
Ella is a Designer in Residence Alumni at the Design Museum, London. Her work has gone on to be exhibited at London Design Festival, Milan Design Week, Tendence, Ambiente, Sommerset House, and the Design Museum, London. Ella was also listed as Crafts Councils design graduates to watch 2014 and 'Project Saccharum’ was awarded the ‘Form 2015: Innovative Craft’ award for the use of sugarcane as a material.
“Using contextual research & material experiments intersected with artisan techniques to direct her design approach, it becomes a tool to transform the raw into the refined. The design outcomes whether objects or experiences, narrate the craft process, material research and explored themes of historical, social and cultural movements.”
You can learn more Ella here.
Cheresse Thonrhill, Footwear & Design Director of Adidas Seed School
Cheresse has been in the footwear design industry over 13 years. Her career began in Beaverton, Oregon at Nike where she was a footwear designer for 10 years before moving back to her hometown of Miami, Florida to teach design at both the high school and college levels. She launched No Shoes Creative, a design consultancy, in 2016 and designed footwear for Champion upon the relaunch of the brand. In January 2020, Cheresse made the move to Brooklyn, New York to lead Adidas S.E.E.D. (School for Experiential Education in Design) as the Design Director. Cheresse is part of the team that’s transforming the footwear industry and cultivating the next generation of diverse design talent.
“I lead an amazing group of 6 women on their quest to become footwear designers. I believe that if you have a brain you are a creative, embodying creativity, and made in the image of the ultimate creator. I desire to help you bring that creativity to life.”
“As a first-generation American growing up in the cultural melting pot that is South Florida, art and design permeated my childhood. The artform of visual expression became a safe haven for me and a way to communicate with the world. Little did I know one day I’d find a way to bring both of my passions together for the perfect merger of art, sports, self-expression, and style.”
You can learn more Cheresse here.
Tsholofelo Marishane, A South African-based Industrial Designer
Tsholofelo started Oddly Designed with two other Industrial Designers that she studied with. One of their main reasons for starting a business together was that they felt that there is a great lack of POC [People of Colour]—owned industrial design companies in South Africa. As people of colour, they never saw much representation through studying and internships that they had done, and so they wanted to create something that in the future young students of colour could look to and see people that look like them, doing something they love.
“While we're still a very new company and trying to figure everything out, I'm excited to see how this journey carries out!”
“Growing up, I was never really immersed into the world of design. My parents are both doctors and so there was more of a push from them to focus on math and science but that never really excited me as much as they had hoped. My curiosity for design began to peak through in my high school technology classes where we learnt some basics of how certain products were made but it wasn't until I studied Industrial Design at the University of Johannesburg, that I learnt just how big a role design plays in our everyday lives.”
You can learn more Tsholofelo here.
Élan Hawkins, Fifth-year Industrial Design + footwear Student
Élan Hawkins is 21 years of age, half African American and Caucasian, and has been enrolled in the Academy of Arts in San Francisco, California for the past 5 years as an industrial design student, specializing in footwear. Art has always been something that has been apart of her life, especially as a young girl. There was an amount of time, however, when she was repeatedly told that art could not be a successful career path. It was only until junior year of high school that she started to think differently about creativity and how we can apply it to generate emotion, design, story, statements and so much more.
Featured is Élan’s project which focuses on influencing future generations with the significant stories of people from our history. She chose and dedicated this project to Maya Angelou. Even though she suffered from many hardships she was still able to rise, becoming the writer and poet we know today. Growing up Black, Élan has deeply resonated with her ability to keep going even when times are unjust.
“People ask me to this day why I chose art school when my grades were so good. I only answer why I had not thought of the idea sooner. I love the design and would not change it for the world.”
You can learn more Élan here.
Ebere Agwuncha, Igbo American Designer & Maker based in Chicago
Ebere Agwuncha is an Igbo American, Chicago-born and based designer, and maker. Her local practice extends into community building, care advocacy, and vacant space activation. Currently, she is working with Norman Teague Design Studios and Okpara House©, both as a designer and project manager. She is also a part of the place-keeping initiative - in % Black women and alt_chicago as a designer-in-residence.
“This special space is filled with care, organizing free markets around the city of Chicago for the community to collect food and essential items. This has been a humbling experience, and I will be rounding off my residency with a project that gathers a circular design economy through repurposing old wooden pallets. Ebere also holds a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.”
“Ebere’s conceptual work explores archived Igbo artifacts and images, preserving them into contemporary iterations through object design and abstract processing video. She wants to begin an iterative collection that evolves and preserves these forms with rooted development in the Black Design sphere.”
You can learn more Ebere here.
Abadesi Osunsade, Founder & CEO of Hustle Crew, Co-Host Techish Podcast.
Abadesi Osunsade, Founder & CEO of Hustle Crew. Co-Host Techish Podcast, Top 20 Tech podcast on Apple Podcasts. Author of Dream Big. Hustle Hard: The Millennial Woman’s Guide to Success in Tech. The Hustle Crew is a career advancement community on a mission to make tech more inclusive through talks, training, and mentorship.
Abadesi was recently included in the Financial Times list of Top 100 Influential Leaders in Tech and Tech Nation’s 50 most prominent and influential voices in Tech. She graduated from the London School of Economics in 2009 and wrote for the Financial Times before joining London's tech scene. Prior to her current roles, she worked at Product Hunt, Elpha, Amazon, HotelTonight, and Groupon where she was promoted after her first 8 months and helped scale her department 5X leading up to their record-breaking IPO.
In 2016 she published her careers advice book, Dream Big Hustle Hard: A Millennial Woman's Guide to Success in Tech which is rated 5 stars on Amazon. She has been featured in Elle, Stylist, BBC, Forbes, The Times, The Independent.
You can learn more Abadesi here.