Black History Month is a great time to remind everyone that Pink Moon Goods is committed to being anti-racist, anti-hate, and promoting social justice. We proudly believe that Black and Brown Lives Matter and we strive to dismantle systems of white supremacy that endanger the lives of People of Color. We actively seek vendors who share our values of inclusivity and celebration of diversity.
Full transparency time. Due to our foundational commitment to offering goods that are beautiful and practical at times we have struggled to boost our representation of Black Owned businesses. Our ultimate goal would be to have a 30% representation but at the moment we are sitting at more like 3%. However, we do find other ways to maintain this commitment. We work with businesses that share our commitments to anti-racism, that have a diverse staff, and promote the celebration of all skin colors and ethnicities through their product marketing imagery and product development.
Today I would like to share a few of our BIPOC vendors with you and recommit to continually finding more as we grow.
All Very Goods is an ever evolving collection of accessories, apparel and paper goods founded by Ama in 2019, in Washington DC. All Very Goods is Black Woman owned and operated and Ama's designs draw from her background, family history, travels and experiences of being a Black Woman in America. The imagery that Ama uses draws from the history and mythology of Black people and Black culture as well as African storytelling and craft making.
One of my favorite things about All Very Goods product line is that every product tells a story. You know I love a good story. Each story not only illustrates some historical event or common experience but through the stories she shares insights about Black Culture that Ama feels will empower BIPOC folks to be their righteous selves in this world.
Ama's goal for her business is to expand and offer products designed, made and produced by other Black women, encouraging them to use their problem solving skills and innovation to create products and support themselves through business ownership. A portion of the proceeds of all sales is donated to a different non-profit organization chosen each month.
People of Color Beauty was founded by Jacqueline Carrington, who growing up never saw images of nail polish reflected on her skin tone or the skin tones of other girls and women she knew, which made her skip nail polish all together. When her 3-year old daughter Monroe started coming home with painted nails after visits with her GiGi, Jacqueline was inspired to make sure that her daughter had an experience very different from her own.
When she started People of Color she knew that the most important commitment she wanted to make was to showcase the many skin tones within Brown communities all over the world in both color selection and product marketing. She wanted to make a nail polish brand that was made to complement the various shades of brown skin and for those skin tones to be represented in all advertising for the products. People of Color® is nail polish for "People of Color and those who live in color”
(All product photos are provided by People of Color Beauty)
As if Jacqueline's personal story was not enough to be inspired her commitment to telling the stories of other BIPOC cultures is truly inspiring. I have learned so much about other BIPOC communities from her product line. Take this nail polish for example. This color is from the Queen Collection which is inspired by five legendary Women of Color Queens from around the world. This color is inspired by Queen Lili’uokalani who was the last sovereign of the Kalākaua dynasty, which had ruled a unified Hawaiian kingdom since 1810. She was also the first woman to rule Hawaii. Lili’uokalani regretted the loss of power the monarchy had suffered under Kalākaua and tried to restore something of the traditional autocracy to the Hawaiian throne which would also restore voting power to the disenfranchised. She had earlier made her position clear by opposing the renewed Reciprocity Treaty of 1887, signed by Kalākaua, granting privileged commercial concessions to the United States and ceding to them the port of Pearl Harbor. She was the composer of the well loved song "Aloha Oe" which today stands as a common cultural symbol of Hawaii. This color was named in honor of her story to restore power of the monarchy and fight against annexation by the United States. The color represents the lush lands of Hawai’i.
The last BIPOC vendor I will share about today is YAMZ World. I found YAMZ the first time I visited the Little Blue Cart (check out their progressive small business directory here). I absolutely fell in love with this Pride Flag and was so happy to find another BIPOC and Queer vendor to support.
YAMZ World was started by Brayan Montes-Terrazas whose art is a celebration of color and the expression of Queer identities, Mexican heritage and the experience of immigrants across the USA. YAMZ World was created in 2020 as a way to share Brayan's art with the world. Brayan uses their identities as a queer person and an immigrant of Mexican heritage to create bold and colorful work that uplifts marginalized identities.
As we know this world puts down marginalized identities, women and BIPOC people. YAMZ WORLD is a call to action to never loose your color or to embrace the color you have. Their work reminds us of the intersectionality that exists in these marginalized communities. Add a little color to your life while you show the world you're not afraid to show it who you really are and to remind them that we all deserve love.
In our storefront and online platforms, hatred has no place. But even more than that we strive to be a source of uplifting these communities and reminding them that the world needs them now more than ever to be fully themselves.