AphroChic Magazine: Issue No. 13.

APHROCHIC 

a curated lifestyle magazine 

ISSUE NO. 13 \ FALL 2023 

AFRICA FASHION \ BUILDING HOME FROM THE INSIDE OUT \ NAIROBI 

APHROCHIC.COM

www.fisherpaykel.com

As fall arrives, we’re happy to bring you Issue No. 13 of AphroChic magazine, full of 

inspiration for the new season ahead. Our cover model, Thaïs Sala, is bringing the good 

vibes through music and moments of togetherness. The Morocco-based singer/songwriter 

takes us into her 30th birthday goddess party, a five-day affair held on the palatial 

grounds of Jnane Tamsna, her family’s sprawling property in Marrakech, one of the 

nation’s first and only Black-owned boutique hotels. 

In the Sounds section, New Orleans’ own Acantha Lang is reminding us all of the power of Soul. Now living in London, the 

songstress’ debut album is a perfect blend of familiar sounds from yesterday and honest looks at the world today. Backed by all 

the emotion and musicianship the genre is known for, Acantha’s Beautiful Dreams might be just what we all need to hear. 

Along with Acantha’s soothing sounds, we help you ease even further into the new season ahead in the Wellness section. 

We sit down with breathwork specialist Kiesha Yokers for a Q&A on the transformative power of breathing. And to help even 

more, Camille Wilson, better known as The Cocktail Snob, is offering up the refreshing taste of a grapefruit colada, one of 40 

nonalcoholic drink recipes that make up her new book Free Spirit Cocktails. 

In our 13th issue, fashion contributor Krystle DeSantos is taking us on a tour of the Continent, starting in Brooklyn. The 

Brooklyn Museum’s latest sartorial exhibit Africa Fashion is a celebration of the global influence fashions from the Continent 

have had from the 1950s to now. Then we follow along as she explores the sights of Nairobi, giving us the rundown on where to 

stay, what to eat, and where to go. 

Keeping our focus on Africa, we take a look at the history and beauty of the Bamileke stool. Once reserved for Cameroonian 

royalty and now a centerpiece of homes worldwide, we dive into the story behind and meanings of the designs, patterns, and 

uses of this iconic piece. 

In Interior Design, we step into the serene oasis that is talented artist/designer Candice Luter’s Iowa home. Speaking from 

the heart about the long journey it took to get there and the peace she’s found on the other side, her home is a beautiful reflection 

of her story — not where she’s been, but where she chooses to be now, and where she’s going next. 

The issue wraps up on the towering conversation around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that’s shaping so much of the 

Black experience in business today, both how we are seen and how we see ourselves in the industries that make up the world 

economy. Taking a look at Bryan’s comments during a panel discussion at this year’s International Contemporary Furniture 

Fair (ICFF) trade show, we explore the need to interrogate the questions and the premises on which this debate rests. 

Finally we enjoy the evocative art of South African painter Bambo Sibiya. His award-winning works, showcasing at once 

his love of pattern-making and veneration for his people, are a beautiful reflection of Black life we all can recognize. 

There’s plenty in this issue to enjoy as we usher in a new season. Welcome to Issue No. 13. 

Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason 

Founders, AphroChic 

Instagram: @aphrochic 

editors’ letter

FALL 2023 

DEPARTMENTS 

Read This 10 

Visual Cues 12 

Coming Up 14 

The Black Family Home 16 

Mood 28 

FEATURES 

Fashion // Africa Fashion 32 

Interior Design // Building Home from the Inside Out 44 

Culture // The Bamileke Stool 56 

Food // A Free Spirit 64 

Entertaining // The Goddess Party 68 

City Stories // Nairobi 84 

Wellness // Just Breathe 100 

Sounds // It Never Left 108 

PINPOINT 

Artists & Artisans 114 

Hot Topic 120 

Who Are You? 126

CONTRIBUTORS 

Cover Photo: Thaïs Sala 

Photographer: Salaheddine Elbouaichi 

Back Cover Photo: Thaïs Sala by Amira Azzouzi 

Publishers/Editors: Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason 

Creative Director: Cheminne Taylor-Smith 

Editorial/Product Contact: 

AphroChic 

AphroChic.com 

magazine@aphrochic.com 

Sales Contact: 

Ruby Brown 

ruby@aphrochic.com 

Contributor: 

Krystle DeSantos 

issue thirteen 9

READ THIS 

With the controversies over Critical Race Theory and Florida's new guidelines for teaching Black history in public 

schools, there's never been a better time to honor books that tell hard truths. Black AF History's subtitle makes its 

premise known upfront and unvarnished: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America. With both humor and a straightforward 

approach, author Michael Harriot removes the "white sugarcoating" from the American story, placing Black 

people squarely at the center. He reveals little-known facts and meticulous research that showcase the true history 

of this country. Famed author and Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson makes the case that caste has played a 

pivotal role in race relations and people's behavior in the U.S. In Caste, she examines how this system has impacted 

everything from health costs and life expectancy to culture and politics, and she offers ways that we can move 

beyond this historical issue. The history and roots of systemic racism are examined in Stony the Road, with author 

Henry Louis Gates Jr. offering clues from a century that is rarely talked about. The time between the Civil War and 

the Civil Rights Movement is, in Gates' words, "one of our most fundamental historical tragedies" that needs to be 

better understood if we're to ever move forward. 

Caste: The Origins of Our 

Disctontents 

by Isabel Wilkerson 

Publisher: Random House. 

$22 

Stony the Road 

by Henry Louis Gates Jr. 

Publisher: Penguin. $22 

Black AF History 

by Michael Harriot 

Publisher: Day Street Books. 

$24.49 

10 aphrochic

Celebrate Black homeownership and the 

amazing diversity of the Black experience 

with AphroChic’s newest book 

In this powerful, visually stunning book, Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason explore 

the Black family home and its role as haven, heirloom, and cornerstone of Black 

culture and life. Through striking interiors, stories of family and community, 

and histories of the obstacles Black homeowners have faced for generations, 

AphroChic honors the journey, recognizes the struggle, and embraces the joy. 

AVAILABLE WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD

VISUAL CUES 

Gadsden’s Wharf in Charleston, SC, was the port of arrival for nearly half of all enslaved Africans brought 

to North America. It was that history that made the wharf location so important for the new International 

African American Museum that opened this summer. The museum's goal is to tell "the unvarnished stories 

of the African American experience across generations, the trauma and triumph that gave rise to a resilient 

people." The stunning building hovers 13 feet above the earth on pillars, symbolically highlighting the idea that 

this is hallowed ground that should be honored. Garden paths are filled with plants that represent both where 

enslaved people came from in Africa and the legacy they built here. So a Palm Grove studded with Canary 

Island Palms is a reflection of the African Diaspora, while a Sweetgrass Field honors the Lowcountry basket 

weaving traditions. Inside, 12 permanent exhibitions and 9 galleries offer more than 150 historical objects, 30 

works of art, and 50 films and digital interactive experiences that bring history to life, framed by a gateway 

to the Atlantic Ocean. There is both tragedy and celebration in the exhibits, including African Roots/African 

Routes, showcasing both the cultures of West and West Central Africa and tracing the movement of people of 

African descent through the slave trade. Carolina Gold examines the transformative impact of enslaved people 

on the lucrative rice industry. And Gullah Geechee highlights the history of the Gullah Geechee peoples and 

the issues facing their communities today. For more information, go to iaamuseum.org. 

12 aphrochic

COMING UP 

Events, exhibits, and happenings that celebrate and explore the African Diaspora. 

International Black Film Festival 

Sept. 27 - Oct. 1 | Nashville 

Celebrating 17 years of honoring Black 

filmmakers, the International Black Film 

Festival showcases the work of independent 

films from around the globe. This year, the 

festival highlights four narrative features, 24 

narrative short films, six long-form documentaries, 

and four documentary short films. 

Through the festival, the IBFF also provides 

ongoing programming for the next generation 

of filmmakers, directors, producers, writers, 

and content creators. 

For more information, go to ibffevents.com. 

BayHaven Food & Wine Festival 

Oct. 4-8 | Charlotte 

Hosted by Chef Greg and Subrina Collier, Bayhaven Food & Wine Fest was 

created to celebrate Black foodways, honor the Diaspora, support education, and 

create meaningful and joyous moments of celebration. In its third year, the festival 

is also designed to create opportunities for Black experts in the hospitality industry, 

including chefs, artisans, farmers, brewers, and distillers. This year’s festival 

will have the theme of Homecoming, drawing inspiration from the rich culture and 

traditions of historically Black colleges and universities. Culinary events include a 

pig pickin and oyster roast, an all-female chefs event, the Love Feast & Soul Gala, 

and a Sunday brunch. 

Learn more at bayhavenfoodandwine.com. 

Monterey Jazz Festival 66 

Sept. 22-24 | Monterey, Calif. 

The Monterey Jazz Festival is the longest-continuously running 

jazz festival in the world. Founded to celebrate and honor 

the music, musicians, and Black roots of jazz, the MJF has 

hosted virtually every major artist in recent history, including 

Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, 

John Coltrane, and Miles Davis. The festival also has a long 

history of supporting up and coming musicians, and this year 

will be debuting a new composition from Ambrose Akinmusire. 

Headliners include Herbie Hancock, Thundercat, Dianne 

Reeves, Snarky Puppy, Samara Joy, Jamie Cullum, Terence 

Blanchard, Christian McBride, and Terri Lyne Carrington. For 

more information, go to montereyjazzfestival.org. 

14 aphrochic

BALTIMORE 

S P E A K S 

B L A C K 

C O M M U N I T I E S 

C O V I D - 1 9 

A N D T H E 

C O S T O F 

N O T D O I N G 

E N O U G H 

W R I T T E N A N D D I R E C T E D B Y 

B R Y A N M A S O N A N D J E A N I N E H A Y S 

V I S I T O U R W E B S I T E A T B A L T I M O R E S P E A K S . C O M

THE BLACK FAMILY HOME 

The Heart of Our Home: Inside the Kitchen 

Makeover at the AphroFarmhouse 

For the past three years, we’ve been hard at work, 

transforming the upstate home we live in and love into our 

perfect AphroFarmhouse. Most of it has been cosmetic: 

painting walls, hanging art, placing furniture, and finding 

the right ways to visually say all of the things we need our 

space to say to us to let us know that we are home. But we 

always knew that the real work lay ahead of us, the one 

room in our home that couldn’t be updated with new colors 

and patterns alone. The one room that is almost always the 

biggest lift in any home makeover. Eventually, we knew that 

we were going to have to do something about our kitchen. 

They say that the kitchen is the heart of the home. 

And while we’ve always known that to be true, we found 

ourselves wondering how often we really treat it that way. 

Certainly, the kitchen has always been a hub of activity in 

every home we’ve had. No matter how big or how small, we 

always end up with family and friends in the kitchen. And 

maybe that was where it started, with the realization that 

the kitchen in this home is the largest we’ve ever had. Sitting 

between our living room and our library, and easily comparable 

in size, it felt like this kitchen needed something more 

than we’d done before to make it fit into this house. 

The second motivator was the aesthetic of the kitchen 

as we found it. When we bought the house we loved the 

kitchen, but could tell that its last update had probably come 

some time in the '80s. A combination of blue walls, blue 

formica countertops and dark green tile left everything 

Couple Red Throw Pillow at 54Kibo $98; Minimal Abstract Art 

Couple by ThingDesign $26. 

The Black Family Home is an 

ongoing series focusing on the 

history and future of what home 

means for Black families. 

This series inspired the new book 

AphroChic: Celebrating the Legacy 

of the Black Family Home. 

Words and Photos by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason 

Sand Kelly Wearstler California 

Collection by Farrow & Ball $120; 

Arendela Eight-light Linear Chandelier 

by Kohler $1,399; Arendela 

Six-Light Chandelier by Kohler 

$2,199; Freestanding French Door 

Refrigerator by Fisher & Paykel 

$3,399; Professional Double Wall 

Oven by Fisher & Paykel $7,699. 

16 aphrochic


feeling a bit dark and gloomy. And as the 

rest of the house took shape — in particular 

the library and living room — the kitchen 

began to feel more and more out of place. 

Finally, before we even began 

to imagine what a new kitchen could 

look like, there were two things we 

knew, because we’d learned them while 

designing the rest of the house. First, that 

the AphroFarmhouse aesthetic was about 

blending our Philly roots, our Brooklyn 

vibe, and our love of Diaspora culture with 

the traditional farmhouse style we were 

inheriting. And second, we’d developed 

a philosophy while working on this home 

that since we experience life in every room 

of our home, every room should offer the 

comforts and style of a living room. 

However well loved, kitchens are 

typically functional spaces, and while 

many are amazingly stylish, there are few 

that could be called comfortable. Because 

the kitchen is where so many of our 

happiest times at home have taken place 

— spilling tea, making holiday dinners, 

passing down family stories and recipes, 

and laughing until we cry over times past 

— we wanted to honor that relationship 

by creating a real, authentic space for us 

to gather and create new memories. With 

the idea of designing the kitchen just like 

every other living space in our home, we 

began by looking at it as a place where life 

happens, rather than as just a cooking 

space. We knew we wanted the kitchen 

to be a place for gathering, and worked 

to construct two areas where family and 

friends can come together: the dining 

nook and the bar. 

Of course, just because we were all 

fired up to change the way we live in our 

kitchen doesn’t mean our ideas were progressive 

from the start. In fact, the initial 

idea was a pretty typical American-style 

kitchen “reno.” We were going to rip out 

all the cabinetry, go with some white 

marble countertops (pretty, but in no way 

practical), put in a waterfall island, and 

quite honestly, do something basic. And 

it didn’t take us long to realize we were 

headed in the wrong direction and decide 

to start over again. This time, we opted for 

a space that truly reflected us and the way 

we live in our space. 

before 

during 

18 aphrochic

The new vision began with imagining 

a new color palette for the space. We still 

needed to brighten the room and let light 

in, so we started with Sand from the Kelly 

Wearstler x Farrow & Ball collection. 

The light shade on the walls immediately 

brightened the interior and removed 

the cave-like feel. We chose the shade in 

part because it is so complementary to the 

original honey oak cabinetry and trim that 

we decided to keep. 

So often in American design, we 

approach every renovation as a full-on 

“gut” level project. We scrap everything 

and build over it with something new, 

knowing that in a few years we’ll gut it all 

over again. It makes sense from a certain 

perspective, and a lot of times it’s just 

necessary. But when it isn’t, it’s an interesting 

challenge, and far more sustainable 

— to say nothing of affordable — to 

find ways to preserve some of the old in the 

new. For us, keeping the old cabinets was 

an easier way to maintain the farmhouse 

element in our new look, which allowed 

us to bring in bolder modern elements to 

balance things out. Some of the cabinets 

did come down, a fascinating experience 

that was equal parts clever unscrewing 

and reckless hammering, but the majority 

of the cabinets remain, leaving our new 

kitchen with a clear connection to its 

former self. 

With a calm and neutral base in place, 

it was time to warm things up, which we 

did with lighting and plumbing fixtures 

from Kohler. The warm brass of the faucets 

and chandeliers was the perfect modern 

element to juxtapose with the honey oak. 

At the main sink and vegetable prep sink, 

brass faucets were brought in as jewelry to 

dress up the room. And looking to encode 

the space with a touch of history, we chose 

larger ceiling lights with a glass feature 

reminiscent of Egyptian sun disks, and 

had them installed over the kitchen nook, 

bar and sink — the major stations of the 

room. 

Now just because we kept the 

cabinets, that didn’t mean that all of the 

old stuff got to stay. We needed to get rid 

of the old, '80s tile-and-formica combination 

to bring the room into the 21st 

century. Looking for new countertops 

after 

Sorrento Faux Leather Sofa by Baxton Studio $391.99; 

Lady Navy Blue Throw Pillow at 54Kibo $98; Potteri Vase 

by Cyan Designs $113.75. 

issue thirteen 19

Cafe curtains in Victoria Hagan Sankaty 

Stripe, custom by The Shade Store; Minimal 

Abstract Art Couple by ThingDesign 

20 aphrochic 

$58; Vintage Moroccan rug from Revival

issue thirteen 21


was no easy task. We looked at offerings in 

tile, composite countertops like the ones 

you can find in hardware stores and even 

more formica. Nothing felt right. And then 

we saw the fabulous quartz countertops 

Jenna Lyons had customized with Cambria 

in an article about her home. The work was 

excellent, and we knew we could work with 

Cambria to create something special just 

for this house. 

Our work with the leader in gorgeous 

quartz countertops and surfaces began 

a year before the installation. We looked 

through dozens of samples that were 

shipped directly to us. We lived with each 

for a week or two, studying how the stone 

worked in the light and fit with the other 

fixtures in the space. After months of 

reviewing samples, we finally settled on 

Rose Bay. The white stone with a robust 

black marble veining felt like an abstract 

painting that we didn’t just want for the 

countertops — we wanted it to be the star 

of the island area. 

The beauty of quartz for a kitchen 

is that it can provide a look very similar 

to marble with a surface that is much 

more suitable for a working kitchen. 

Marble absorbs everything that touches 

it, making it easy to stain permanently. 

It’s also susceptible to chipping and wear. 

Quartz is just the opposite. Hard to hurt, 

easy to clean and extremely durable. Our 

kitchen is a workhorse, making every meal 

we eat every day. So it has to be made of 

things that can stand up to constant use. 

Once the stone was chosen, we 

worked on a custom design with Cambria 

and the installer, Faithful Countertops. 

To give the room that extra-modern flair 

we were looking for, we designed a custom 

bar for the space. Taller than your usual 

kitchen island, with rounded edges and a 

fluted base, it’s made entirely of Rose Bay 

quartz. The stone was then extended to the 

countertops, featuring the same rounded 

edges, going up the walls as well to create a 

full-scale artistic stone installation. True 

to their name, Faithful Countertops faithfully 

executed the custom design, and in a 

little over a week’s time, the custom island, 

countertops, and wall installation came to 

life before our eyes. 

Of course it would take more than 

before 

during 

22 aphrochic

quartz to make our kitchen work. For 

the functional aspects of the space, we 

searched for appliances that were not only 

beautiful, but that would aid in supporting 

a healthy lifestyle. As a family living 

with Long Covid (Jeanine was diagnosed 

with the illness in summer 2020), navigating 

food and cooking can be a challenge. 

Jeanine has severe allergies that require 

only eating fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, 

avoiding meat, and staying away 

from smoke and pungent odors that can 

occur during the cooking process. After 

looking at a slew of brands, we settled on 

Fisher & Paykel. The brand’s focus on 

beautiful design and exceptional performance 

was exactly what our family was 

looking for. 

As the family’s primary chef and 

caretaker, Bryan spends a lot of time in 

the kitchen. To make the work easy, we 

developed a whole appliance suite in consultation 

with the luxury kitchen brand. 

Climate control is an important part of 

keeping our food fresh and healthy, so 

we were drawn to the brand’s refrigerators, 

featuring advanced storage 

systems that keep food fresher longer. We 

also brought in a professional induction 

range, replacing an older electric cooktop 

showing signs of wear. Divided into smart 

zones and cooking with magnetic fields, 

the range is energy efficient, using smart 

technology to control temperatures, 

save food from burning, and boil water 

in seconds. An integrated range hood 

overhead, keeps the air clean and cuts 

down on the spread of smoke, making our 

cooking experience clean and fume-free. 

The crown jewel of this cooking space 

however, is a beautiful double oven with 

easy touch-screens, and loads of functions 

and features. With one oven dedicated to 

vegetarian dishes and a second for meat, 

it’s easy to ensure that the two don’t mix. 

And finally, we were thrilled to get a 

new double drawer dishwasher in place. 

Eco-friendly, with top and bottom drawers 

for extra capacity and various sanitizing 

options, it’s perfect for a home where 

people are immunocompromised. 

We were doing good. Paint and appliances 

were in place, as were the new stone 

features and light fixtures. It was a great 

after 

Rose Bay Quartz by Cambria; Island, countertops and wall 

installation custom designed with Cambria and installed 

by Faithful Countertops 

issue thirteen 23


Above left: In the breakfast nook, a vintage 

secretary, passed down within Bryan's family is 

paired with a picture of Jeanine's cousin Marcella, 

taken in the 1960s. 

Above right: Tone Touchless Pull-down Kitchen 

Faucet by Kohler $839.77; Benin Bronze Head 

sculpture from Benin, Nigeria. 

Opposite page: Artifacts Wall-mount Pot Filler 

by Kohler $721.69; Induction Cooktop with 

Smartzone by Fisher & Paykel $3,299; Emery 

Black/Gold Bar Stool by Safavieh $141. 

24 aphrochic

issue thirteen 25


kitchen, but it wasn’t a room. It still needed to become a comfortable 

living space, just like every other room in the Aphro- 

Farmhouse. That meant adding seating, but more importantly, 

personal touches and a bit of memory. 

To create our dining nook, we started with pieces from 

our former Brooklyn apartment. They fit perfectly into the 

nook: a round, dark-stained wooden table, leather chairs, and 

a banquette that can easily seat three. We completed the seating 

area with a handmade Moroccan rug — creating a cozy feel— 

and cafe curtains designed with The Shade Store. 

But memories of just us weren’t enough. The kitchen has 

always been our place for heirlooms, and that hasn’t changed. 

Acting as a china cabinet in the dining nook is a secretary that 

has been passed from Bryan’s great-grandmother to his grandmother 

and mother, and now to him. Above it hangs a photo of a 

cousin Jeanine never met, but always admired her large afro and 

short dashiki dress. By the prep sink sits a chinoiserie style vase 

— another favorite of Bryan’s grandmother. And in the bar area, 

a velvet painting of Isaac Hayes, passed down from Bryan’s Aunt 

Elaine, hangs with pride of place on the kitchen wall. 

Other artworks round out the dining nook. A Barkley 

L. Hendricks print from the Studio Museum in Harlem sits 

opposite two images of Black couples by ThingDesign making a 

total of three couples in the room (counting the Hendricks piece 

and Issac Hayes painting) a celebration of Black Love. And on 

the dining table, a pair of Hip-Hop-inspired, figurative salt and 

pepper shakers from Seraphic Home add the last little touch of 

contemporary Black style. 

After months of planning and weeks of work, our kitchen 

is finally the heart of our home. Blending old and new elements, 

traditional and modern aesthetics and equal parts functionality 

and comfort, it is one of our most-used spaces. The comfortable 

dining nook has become a favorite place to be in the mornings, 

while high-top stools at the island give us the coffee shop vibe 

we’ve been missing while working in the afternoon. Best of all 

it is full of Black art, depictions of Black life, and remembrances 

of those we’ve loved and love still, even though they’re no longer 

with us. The end result is much more than a kitchen. It’s home. AC 

Left: Brenda P. Print by Barkley L. Hendricks at Studio Store 

Harlem $75. 

Above: Clipse Salt & Pepper Shakers by Seraphic Home $65. 

26 aphrochic

issue thirteen 27

MOOD 

IN BLOOM 

When textile designer Althea McNish 

arrived in London in the early 1950s, 

she brought with her a bright and bold 

aesthetic that would help shape midcentury 

design. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, McNish 

emigrated to the UK as part of the Windrush 

Generation — Caribbean citizens of the British 

Empire entreated by the British government to relocate 

to the UK to rebuild a country that had been decimated 

by World War II. McNish brought her “tropical eye” with 

her, marrying the colorful blooms of her childhood with 

the muted and often drab backdrop that she would see in 

her new home. Her blooms would become part of the visual 

language of some of today’s most successful design 

and fashion houses — Liberty, Dior, and Heal’s to name 

just a few. Althea’s aesthetic influence continues to be 

felt today, in floral prints that can be found on just about 

everything — bedding, furniture, wallpaper, art, and so 

much more. An ode to McNish, who passed away at the 

age of 95 in May 2020, we celebrate Black art and design 

that is in bloom this fall. 

Le Jardin Tropical Bowl 

$150 

baughausdesign.com 

Lucille Wallpaper by 

David Quarles IV in 

Flamingo starting at 

$6/yard 

chasingpaper.com 

Brass sculpture from 

The Myths of Eternal 

Life, Chapter II Series 

by Zohra Opoku 

marianeibrahim.com 

contact for price 

Kehinde Wiley Set of 6 

Porcelain Plates $675 

kehindewileyshop.com 

28 aphrochic

Yoruba Beaded Chair 

$2400 

mixfurniture.com 

Jubilation Sateen 

Duvet Cover in 

Maroon $500 

perigold.com 

The Nap Ministry’s 

Rest Deck: 50 

Practices to Resist 

Grind Culture $17.95 

amazon.com 

Floral Inspired Fossil 

by Ron Nicole 

contact for price 

ronnicole.com 

Queen Nandi Sculptural 

Vase $202 

sandragithinji.com 

Cantilevered Stool 

with Strange Dirt 

$2500 

joshua-ware.com 

issue thirteen 29

FEATURES 

Africa Fashion | Building Home from the Inside Out | The Bamileke Stool | 

A Free Spirit | The Goddess Party | Nairobi | Just Breathe | It Never Left

Fashion 

Africa Fashion 

A Celebration of African Culture, Design, Creativity, and Ingenuity 

On a sunny summer morning, I strolled towards the Brooklyn Museum in 

anticipation of previewing the Africa Fashion exhibition. I was curious about what 

the exhibit would be like, as I had never attended an African fashion museum 

exhibition before and my curiosity quickly turned to excitement upon entering 

the room. I was amazed by what I saw, and felt a sense of awe. 

Words by Krystle DeSantos 

Photos by Krystle DeSantos and furnished by the Brooklyn Museum 

32 aphrochic

Fashion 

34 aphrochic

issue thirteen 35

Fashion 

Over the years, I have attended many fashion exhibitions 

at the Brooklyn Museum, but none of them have made me feel 

as connected to fashion as this one. The exhibit is deeply rooted 

in culture, diversity, and history and left me feeling inspired 

and more proud to be a part of the African Diaspora. The works 

felt unique and powerful; offering a sense of connection and 

intimacy. I was struck by the beauty and intricate details, and 

couldn't help but reflect on how long our stories, ingenuity, 

beauty, creativity and craftsmanship, especially in fashion, 

have gone hidden and ignored. 

Africa Fashion celebrates the creativity and global 

impact of African fashions in the present day and retrospectively 

from the 1950s through 1990s, which coincides with 

the African independence era. This era was a time of great 

upheaval, but also one of hope and possibility. It inspired 

dramatic political, social, and cultural shifts throughout the 

continent with a surge in Pan-Africanism that embodied the 

belief that all Africans, regardless of their nationality, share a 

common history and destiny. 

This gave rise to a united sense of identity with fashion 

and artistic expression at its core. The exhibition highlights 

the role that fashion, music, and art played in revitalizing 

African culture during the continent's liberation years and 

how these creative expressions helped to lay the foundation 

for the fashion revolution that is happening today. 

Organized by themes, Africa Fashion is a multisensory 

exhibit that explores the history and future of fashion in 

Africa. It features immersive displays of garments, textiles, 

photographs, literature, sketches, music, catwalk footage, and 

film, as well as works by over 40 designers and artists from 20 

African countries. The exhibition is organized around seven 

major themes: Cultural Renaissance, Politics and Poetics of 

Cloth, Vanguard, Capturing Change, Cutting Edge, Through 

the Photographer’s Lens, and Global Africa. 

There is also a special curated shopping experience 

created at the Exhibition Shop via a partnership with ALÁRA, 

a Lagos-based luxury lifestyle concept store. This store was 

founded in 2015 by Reni Folawiyo and showcases the rich 

diversity of African culture through fashion, design, cuisine, 

and other forms of expression. It was awarded a spot on the 

Financial Times' list of the world's best boutiques. 

Africa Fashion is on view through October 22. You can 

secure tickets and learn more by visiting The Brooklyn 

Museum’s website at BrooklynMuseum.org. AC 

36 aphrochic

issue thirteen 37

Fashion 

38 aphrochic

issue thirteen 39

Fashion 

42 aphrochic

issue thirteen 43

Building Home from 

the Inside Out

46 aphrochic

Interior Design 

How Artist Candice Luter Is Creating Home 

Through Her Work in Furniture and Design 

“When I think of home, I think of a place where…” Stephanie Mills 

sang, and we all know the rest of the words. But home isn’t always 

that simple. Sometimes home is hard. Sometimes it hurts. In place 

of peace and love overflowing, there might be noise and strife. And 

between those moments, there can be nothing at all. Sometimes, 

home is empty. And when that happens, home isn’t a place, it’s a 

project; not somewhere you inhabit, but something you build. 

Candice Luter is an Iowa-based artist and designer with a growing 

following and a seemingly bottomless creative spirit. Her works 

range from luxe, conceptual mirrors and elaborate rope art to 

modern textural coffee tables. They can be found everywhere from 

West Elm and Wayfair to the lobbies of hotels around the world. 

But before she was an established product designer, Candice 

was an exceptional Etsy seller. Before that, she was a workaday 

employee in search of a creative outlet. And before that…things 

were complicated. 

Words by Bryan Mason 

Photos by Randi Beranek


“My dad was not somebody you would 

want to have kids with,” she begins. “He was not 

a good guy. He was into some very bad things. 

And that's how my mom originally met him.” 

Though her mother would later find herself 

breaking those ties, reconnecting with her 

faith and setting on a different path, Candice 

remembers the home where it all began. “I 

remember gross, old '80s carpet,” she muses, 

“and mirrors on the walls. I remember the layout 

of the whole house, but I only remember actually 

being in the living room. I don't remember my 

bedroom or anything like that. And it's weird 

when I think about it, because I don't remember 

anybody else being there with me. Even as I got 

older, I was always by myself and left to myself.” 

But alone isn’t always lonely. While the 

rooms she occupied may have been empty, the 

world inside Candice’s head was vibrant, alive 

and full. Creative endeavors were always at her 

fingertips, and she seemed able to move in any 

creative direction with an equal sense of ease. “I 

was always creative as a child. I would get graph 

paper and draw out blueprints for houses,” 

she says. “I don't know why. But I was pretty 

obsessed with that for a while.” 

Puppet shows and writing sat alongside 

architectural drawing on Candice’s list of 

favorite pastimes, and as the family moved 

from home to home, Candice spent more time 

in her room, which became another canvas for 

her to create on. “I was constantly switching 

things around,” she recalls. “I would get 

bored and move things. We didn't have much 

money, so I would try to upcycle things before 

upcycling was a thing. I just used what we had 

around to make whatever I wanted to create.” 

Though early on Candice kept most of her creativity 

to herself, her talents weren’t without 

roots. “I remember my mom having a love of 

painting,” she remembers. “She was always 

going to pick up acrylic paints and brushes. Her 

mother was also a very good artist, so I think 

it was just something that was just inherently 

there for me.” 

As her parents’ relationship ran its course, 

the room would not only be a haven for Candice’s 

imagination, but for Candice herself. “As I got 

older, and my mom got divorced and remarried, 

there was just chaos,” she remembers. “A lot of 

yelling and things like that. My room was my 

safe space. As soon as I came home, I would 

go into my room and shut my door. I just knew 

that I could be there. I could dream, I could do 

whatever it was that I wanted to do.” 

To look around the home Candice owns 

today — a bungalow-style structure in the same 

city where she was born and raised — is to reap 

the benefits of her childhood need to surround 

herself with markers of her own creativity. “My 

house is basically the museum of prototypes,” 

she laughs. “I have the original lyric fiber art 

that I made, the original Monolith shelves that I 

made up on my bar. My house is full of, ‘Let's see 

what happens if…’ ” 

What happens, it seems, is something 

amazing. From one room to another, the home 

is an unbroken stream of white walls and earth 

tones — a dangerous combination for an interior 

because it can easily stray into feeling sterile, 

cold, or simply unimaginative. But Candice’s 

home speaks of serenity rather than sterility. Its 

minimalism doesn’t suggest a lack of effort, but 

rather a striving for effortlessness. The palette 

of whites, browns, and grays is kept lively by the 

subtle yet impactful use of textures, which are 

blended in Candice’s rooms in the same way 

patterns might mix and match somewhere else 

50 aphrochic


— and by the unique silhouettes offered by Candice’s 

many creations. 

In the living room, brown leather and wood 

tones are warm against the white walls in a space 

dominated by the gray brick of the fireplace. 

The texture of the brick is reflected in the woven 

surface of the pillows and varied in the woven 

rope wall-hanging — another of Candice’s works. 

Meanwhile, the rough exterior of the coffee table 

mirrors that of the stoneware vessels that line her 

shelves. Towards the back of the room, more of 

Candice’s work completes the scene. An artistic 

shelf-and-mirror installation, from a collection she 

named Totem, sits alongside an earth-toned abstract 

painting, the kind she might have watched her 

mother paint when she was a child. 

As athletic as she was artistic, Candice won a 

scholarship to play volleyball for a local junior college. 

It was the end of her high school career, however, that 

brought her first brush with design. “I did a one-day 

job shadow at an interior design firm,” she laughs. “It 

wasn’t the best. I remember thinking, ‘That's terrible. 

I don't want to do interior design.’” With thoughts 

of a design career set firmly aside, Candice went off 

to junior college. But the next two years didn’t go 

as planned. “I met a boy,” she recounts. “And I had 

gotten pregnant. So I lost my scholarship, transferred 

back home, and finished at a private college with 

a degree in sports health and strength conditioning.” 

As in so many journeys, however, it was just this 

shift in direction that would eventually take Candice 

to where she needed to be — starting with her first 

stab at running a business. “I started an organization 

on campus and recruited people in my field to do 

personal training and teach. We also went to a local 

school in a very poor neighborhood to work with the 

kids on fitness. I thought I was going to change the 

world through health and fitness.” 

Exposure to the larger industry through a job at 

a local gym, and being induced to sell supplements 

to clients soon disabused her of that notion. Ironically, 

that job was followed by a position in sales for 

one of the biggest manufacturing firms in the area. 

“To everybody here, it's like, the end-all-be-all,” 

she explains. “If you can get in there, you're great.” 

And while she enjoyed the new position, she quickly 

found the downsides there as well. 

“It was corporate America,” she shrugs. “The 

policies, traveling to trade shows, the high heels, the 

gross men, and all the stuff you have to put up with 

just being a woman in that environment.” In the 

absence of other female managers or people of color 

on whom she could rely, it wasn’t hard for Candice 

to do the math on the kind of future that lay ahead. “I 

quickly realized I was either going to be one of those 

employees doing the same job for 40 years, or I was 

going to have to kiss somebody's butt to climb up the 

ladder. I'm not built like that, so there was nothing for 

me there.” Moreover, as problematic as corporate 

America was, Candice realized that her biggest issue 

was internal. “I was working just to work, because 

I had a child to support,” she confesses. “Being 

creative wasn't something I did anymore. And I was 

miserable, not being who I was meant to be.” 

When Candice bought her house five years ago, 

she found that the previous tenant had laid some very 

deep roots, leaving her with a lot to do to make the 

space her own. “The lady had lived here since about 

1950,” she explains, “So there were lots of things that 

needed updating.” But, seeing potential, Candice was 

eager to meet the challenge, updating the cabinets, 

shelving and fireplace, mostly with her own hands. 

“Having started my creative journey as a DIY-er, it’s 

in my blood to just jump in and figure it out.” 

By far the biggest hurdle, she recalls, was the 

kitchen, though one would never guess, judging from 

its current clean and open look. “We went from bulky 

wooden cabinets, wallpaper, and outdated appliances 

to open shelving, new cabinets, and countertops,” 

the designer lists. “We even removed an entire wall to 

create a much better flow.” One of the advantages of a 

childhood spent exploring her creativity on her own, 

is that it’s given Candice a high degree of comfort 

with facing problems on her own, and teaching 

herself the skills she needs to overcome them. That 

combination of traits not only reshaped her home, 

but her life as well. 

“I had come across this flyer for a farmer’s 

market downtown,” she says, recounting the last 

days of her career in sales. “And I sort of popped my 

head over my cubicle wall to my coworker and said, 

‘Hey, I'm gonna do this next month.’” And when her 

friend reasonably pointed out that she didn’t make 

anything, Candice responded as she always has: “I 

was l like, ‘I’ll figure it out.’” 

Inspired by Pinterest mood boards and armed 

only with her upcycling skills, a hastily chosen 

business name and whatever she could find, Candice 

52 aphrochic


“There is something 

to be said for peace.” 

54 aphrochic

was a hit at the market. “I’m sure I made no money,” 

she smiles, “I was just so excited that somebody 

wanted to buy something from me. It was the first 

time I was ever really praised. And it was fulfilling to 

me in so many ways.” 

Candice’s business and creativity grew. With 

the blossoming of her talents came attention from 

press and customers alike. And in finding this new 

layer of herself, she found there lay the seeds of yet 

another conflict. “I was married at the time, and that 

person was not very encouraging — more suppressing 

— of my success,” she reflects. “And so now it's like, 

suppress the press, I can't talk about my interviews, I 

can't talk about whatever good is happening, because 

there's just a fight. And when you feel like you have 

to hide your success, you have to hide your wins at 

home…to me it was just not worth the fight.” To avoid 

the fight Candice avoided herself, leaving both the 

good and the bad for the familiar spaces in her mind. 

“I wasn't promoting myself because that would 

have gotten me in trouble at home. Again, I felt myself 

going into myself. I was going back into my room 

all the time, and I was under this cloud of oppression, 

where I just didn't find joy in the things I was 

doing.” This time, however, Candice took control, 

choosing herself, her creativity, and her daughter 

over allowing someone to put her in yet another box. 

And in the process, she found herself again. “Once I 

broke away from that and got a divorce, I felt like, ‘Oh, 

there she is, I forgot who she was.’” 

This transition into the latest iteration of 

herself marked a change in her home and business as 

well. Openly claiming herself as her target audience, 

even against the advice of a few business mentors, 

Candice directed her brand away from what was 

trending and toward the things that inspired her. “I 

have to live in the environment that I'm designing 

for,” she asserts, “and I have to live with every piece 

I design to see how it works in this space, if it needs 

to be modified, or to give more options.” But the 

expansion of Candice’s business has done more 

than transform her product offerings, it’s created a 

community. 

It began with an uncharacteristically emotional 

post on Facebook. Candice broke down over the 

hardships of entrepreneurial life, asking for help 

from anyone who could give it. More than the video 

however, she remembers the result. “I had so many 

women saying, ‘Can I help you?’ ‘Can I volunteer?’ 

‘I will stop what I'm doing and come help you cut 

rope or whatever you need.’” Candice accepted, 

and they came. The work was done and for Candice, 

something new was born. “I saw all of these women 

from different ages, different backgrounds, different 

phases in life, coming together and connecting. They 

were talking and laughing and sharing stories. And I 

remember thinking, ‘Okay, God. This is cool. This is 

what this is about.’ And it just sort of evolved from 

there.” 

Today Candice Luter Art + Interiors is a creative 

collaboration of women using their skills and finding 

their voices together. And for Candice, it is a full-circle 

moment in her personal journey. “I get to put my 

corporate America hat on, and draw out different 

strengths within people, finding what they thought 

were flaws and developing them. It’s also allowing 

people to show up as themselves, which I think is 

something that you don’t get in corporate America.” 

From a turbulent childhood and through a 

turbulent marriage, Candice Luter is finally stepping 

into the light of knowing and loving who she is. Along 

the way, there have been plenty of times when she’s 

felt lonely, but never because she was alone. It was 

because the people around her didn’t know her, and 

kept her from knowing herself. “There's a lot of lonely 

women that are married,” she reflects. And now that 

the house that she bought for herself and her child 

is empty again while her daughter attends college, it 

remains a place of love, where the women with whom 

she works are always welcome. 

“When I look at what home is, I have realized 

that it's not a space,” Candice declares. “I might be 

alone here sometimes, and I might have been alone 

in my childhood. But now I look at myself differently. 

Once I started taking care of me, advocating for 

me, using my voice, my whole environment feels 

completely different. This is home now because this 

is where I’ve come to, what I've chosen, and when 

there are people here, they are the ones I've chosen 

to surround myself with. The space around me now 

feels like home. There's just so much peace here, and 

there is something to be said for peace.” AC 

Explore pieces by Candice Luter, now available in 

the AphroChic shop on Wayfair. 

issue thirteen 55

56 aphrochic

Culture 

The Bamileke Stool 

You may not know it, but your favorite side table is actually a throne. 

That beautiful hand-carved African table you’ve been seeing in 

some of your favorite interiors has a unique history behind it. 

Really, it’s not even a table — it’s a handmade throne, literally 

designed and fit for royalty. The Bamileke stool is a work of art, a 

touch of culture and history, and so much more than a coffee table. 

. 

Words by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason 

Photos by Patrick Cline, Melanie Acevedo, Bryan Mason, and Genevieve Garruppo 

issue thirteen 57

Culture 

Among the many cultures that exist throughout 

the African continent, the creation of handcarved 

stools is one of the oldest and most pervasive 

furniture traditions. There are hundreds of stools 

to choose from, each designed with its own cultural 

context and meaning. Each stool has a distinct 

history and is often not just a resting station for 

objects or bodies. In that way the Bamileke stool 

is but one of many, but distinguished by its unique 

beauty and connection to other Bamileke works of 

art, such as the famous tyn, or juju hats. 

Pieces created by the Bamileke, like the work of 

other kingdoms of the Cameroon Grasslands, often 

play an important role in state ceremonies. These 

hand-carved stools have long been used as ceremonial 

seating to indicate the status and power of tribal 

chiefs and kings. Each stool is hand-carved from 

a single piece of local teum wood and then stained. 

The status of the owner is depicted by the particular 

design. 

The many traditional design motifs found in 

Bamileke stools include leopards, spiders, lizards, 

buffalo, elephants, lions and pythons as well as 

human figures, heads, and other more abstract 

designs. Glass beads are used to embellish the most 

important stools. These are reserved for high-ranking 

nobles in Cameroonian society, including the 

Fon (king), chiefs, and Ma Fo (powerful women). 

Each of the motifs is associated with a distinct 

meaning associated with the traits the animal 

displays in nature and attributing them to the stool’s 

occupant. The leopard is known to be cunning, fast, 

mobile and guardedly aggressive. It signifies the 

ability to survive and is the most important royal 

icon, often being seen as the king's alter ego. The 

spider, often found on more abstract stools, is a 

symbol of wisdom. In fact, the most well-known 

Bamileke stool pattern outside of Cameroon - the 

geometric crisscross pattern seen on many of the 

stools you’ll find in homes today - is representative 

of the earth spider. Considered a more common 

motif, and often less embellished by beadwork than 

the leopard or other reserved symbols, the spider 

and cowrie shell designs are considered appropriate 

for sale and often go to tourists or retail outlets. 

That’s why it’s ok to use them as coffee tables, end 

tables, or even seating. But if you’re ever traveling 

in the Cameroon and you see a gorgeously beaded 

Bamileke stool with an abstract depiction of a fierce 

leopard, it’s not a place to leave your keys and please 

— don’t sit down. 

Unlike those made for the elites of their society, 

the Bamileke stools that are widely available to the 

global market can have a variety of uses in today’s 

interiors. They are great for extra seating and are 

widely used as side tables. The wood used can 

be naturally water resistant, making them great 

outdoor tables as well. 

However you choose to incorporate them in 

your home, it’s important to care for these pieces 

like the works of art that they are. While you may 

not need to keep them reserved for any nobles 

who might drop by for a visit (or maybe you will), 

you’ll want to honor the craftsmanship that goes 

into creating each piece. A beaded piece should be 

reserved strictly as a work of art, and be displayed 

rather than used within the home. However wooden 

stools with common motifs, like the cowrie or 

spider, have been made with function in mind, and 

therefore can be used as furnishings. But, whether 

beaded or wood, leopard motif or cowrie, Bamileke 

stools are impressively constructed, beautifully 

designed and will make any interior feel like it’s fit 

for a Fon. 

60 aphrochic

Culture 

Sources for Bamileke Stools: 

Afrikrea 

Handmade in the Grassfield Region of 

the Cameroon, these authentic Bamileke stools 

are made from rare kola nut wood. The wood is 

resistant to water, moisture and insects, making 

these royal stools perfect for indoor or outdoor 

use. These tables sport the more tourist-friendly 

spider and cowrie shell motifs. 

Khayni 

Khayni’s beautifully hand-carved Bamileke 

stools from the Cameroon come in three color 

ways - black, white and natural. Each features a 

traditional lattice design inspired by the earth 

spider. Stools are shipped worldwide. 

World Market 

The Round Lattice Carved Wood Accent 

Table from World Market is inspired by the 

Bamileke stool. The table can be used as a side 

table, a display piece or a couple can be paired 

together in place of a traditional coffee table. 

Serena & Lily 

Serena & Lily’s Bamileke Outdoor Coffee 

Table comes in both a natural wood finish and 

white. The basketweave pattern is reminiscent 

of a cowrie shell motif. And the table is weather 

resistant making it perfect for outdoor entertaining. 

AC 

62 aphrochic

Food 

A Free Spirit 

Camille Wilson Loves A Great Cocktail: 

No Alcohol Necessary 

Camille Wilson of The Cocktail Snob is a New 

York City-based blogger and the queen of 

happy hour at home. A visit to her website, 

and you are met by Camille's effervescent 

personality and infectious enthusiasm, as well 

as a slew of bold and colorful cocktails that are 

elevated yet approachable, all inspired by her 

Caribbean heritage. Whether you're looking 

for a classic cocktail or something a little 

more daring, Camille has the perfect recipe 

for you. Easy to follow and always delicious, 

Camille's cocktail recipes can be prepared for 

entertaining a whole group, or for the perfect 

single serving. And every recipe can be mixed 

with or without alcohol making them perfect 

for any taste or audience. 

GET THE BOOK 

Recipe reprinted from Free Spirit Cocktails: 40 Nonalcoholic 

Drink Recipes. Copyright © 2022 Camille 

Wilson. Photographs copyright © 2022 Jennifer 

Chong. Published by Chronicle Books. 

Interview by Krystle DeSantos 

Photos by Amanda Crommett 

64 aphrochic

Food 

I sat down with The Cocktail Snob to 

discuss her new book, Free Spirit Cocktails: 40 

Nonalcoholic Drink Recipes, and to find out what 

she’s mixing right now to inspire the signature 

drink at your next get-together. 

AC: What inspired you to start blogging about 

cocktails? 

CW: This will probably surprise folks, but 

I didn’t drink when I was in college because I 

didn’t like the taste of alcohol and couldn’t understand 

what the hype is about. But after 

moving back to New York City to attend graduate 

school, things changed for me. At that time, 

the craft cocktail boom had hit the city. So for 

the first time, I was drinking well-balanced 

cocktails made with fresh, unique ingredients. 

And I actually enjoyed it. So I would go home and 

try to recreate some of the drinks I had when I 

was out and create my own variations. 

In 2018, I started thinking about going 

back to school for a doctorate degree. And I soon 

realized that I would need to get back into the 

habit of writing since I had been out of school 

for so long. I decided I would start a blog but 

needed something interesting to write about, 

something that would make me excited about 

writing. And cocktails were what made the most 

sense for me. 

AC: Congratulations on becoming an author of 

your first recipe book, Free Spirit! As the name 

suggests the recipes in this book are non-alcoholic. 

What inspired and made you decide to 

take this approach given your blogging history 

with alcoholic beverages? 

CW: Thank you so much! Funny story - 

the concept was something that was brought 

to me by my now-editor, Dena. She sent me an 

email back in November of 2020 saying that she 

followed me on Instagram and really liked how 

simple and straightforward my recipes were. She 

said she had a concept for an alcohol-free recipe 

book and was curious to know if I would be interested 

in writing it. I had never even thought about 

writing a book so I was very excited to explore the 

opportunity. Although I enjoy making cocktails 

with and without alcohol, I wasn’t sure if a book 

like this made sense for my brand initially. But 

after giving it some thought, I was excited for the 

challenge. And I also saw it as a way to honor my 

mom, who doesn’t drink and is one of my biggest 

supporters. 

AC: How does your Caribbean heritage play a 

role in the recipes you create? 

CW: I feel like everything I create is 

inspired by my Jamaican heritage, including 

my cocktail recipes. Rum is a very important 

part of Caribbean culture and growing up it was 

something I saw used in myriad ways — everything 

from cocktails to cooking and baking, even 

as medicine. So I love creating cocktails with 

rum. I’m also inspired by ingredients I grew up 

around like sorrel, mango, allspice, and cloves. 

I love finding ways to incorporate those ingredients 

into my drinks. 

AC: What are some of your favorite Blackowned 

alcohol brands? 

CW: There are so many! Speaking of rum, 

I’m a big Ten to One Rum fan. To name a few 

others, I also love Bayab Gin and Uncle Nearest 

Whiskey. 

AC: Talking about Black-owned alcohol brands, are 

there any interesting Black history cocktail facts? 

CW: As most people know, during Prohibition 

it was illegal for people to sell or consume 

alcohol in the United States. So bootlegging, 

the act of illegally manufacturing and selling 

alcohol, became very popular. There is a Black 

woman bootlegger named Birdie Brown who 

was famous for having the best hooch. It was 

known for being safe (a big deal at that time) 

and smooth. Another one is John Dabney, a 

Black mixologist who is credited with creating 

the Mint Julep, the cocktail associated with the 

Kentucky Derby. 

AC: We heard you have a thing for glassware. 

What are some glassware essentials for those 

new to cocktail making? 

CW: This is my favorite topic! My love 

for glassware knows no bounds! For anyone 

starting a glassware collection for cocktail-making, 

I think there are three essentials. 

First is a stem glass like a coupe for drinks that 

are served up/without ice. Coupes are also great 

for sparkling wine! Second, is a lowball glass for 

drinks like margaritas, old fashioneds, etc. And 

finally, I recommend a highball or collins glass 

for drinks that are served with a bubbly ingredient 

(i.e. tonic water, sparkling water). Think gin 

and tonics, vodka sodas, mojitos, etc. 

Besides glassware, I think a jigger or 

something you can use to measure the liquid ingredients 

in your cocktails are important. This 

will help you achieve balance. A cocktail shaker 

is also a must — it will help you combine all your 

ingredients and chill them down. And finally, I 

recommend high-quality ice. In my opinion, ice 

is a very underrated cocktail ingredient, so don’t 

get caught out there with bad ice. AC 

66 aphrochic

The Grapefruit Colada 

INGREDIENTS 

3 oz grapefruit juice 

½ oz lime juice 

1 oz cream of coconut 

2 oz gin (I used a butterfly-pea infused 

gin) 

1. In a cocktail shaker with ice, add all 

ingredients 

2. Shake until chilled 

3. Pour into a glass 

4. Enjoy! 

issue thirteen 67

Travel 

The Goddess Party

70 aphrochic

Entertaining 

Gods & Heroes Come Out to Play in 

Morocco’s Jnane Tamsna Resort 

For her 30th birthday, Thaïs Sala wanted to do 

something special. The hotelier, who owns Jnane 

Tamsna, Morocco’s first Black-owned hotel, with 

her mother Meryanne Loum-Martin, decided on 

an event that would bring all of her favorite people 

together to welcome in her third decade of life. 

Interview by Bryan Mason 

Photos by Salaheddine Elbouaichi 

issue thirteen 71

Entertaining 

The five-day event in the Moroccan oasis 

of Palmeraie, involved music, costumes, fire 

breathers, stilt walkers, and a stunning entrance 

on a palanquin by Thaïs, who is also a talented 

songstress. 

Literally one of the most inspiring events 

we’ve seen this century, we were eager to sit 

down with Thaïs to learn about how this epic 

goddess event came to be. 

AC: Tell us about yourself. 

TS: I’m Thaïs Sala, 30 years old. I’m based 

in Marrakech but also call London and Montreal 

home. I’m a singer/songwriter and cultural 

curator. I write music in English, French, and 

Spanish (with more languages to come!). I also 

help run our family business, Jnane Tamsna, a 

farm-to-table boutique hotel and cultural space 

in Marrakech. 

AC: We love the term “cultural curator.” How 

does culture fit into your work? 

TS: I’m a sensitive, curious, and passionate 

being from a mix of cultures. My mother is 

French, of Senegalese/Guadeloupean origin, my 

father is American (Irish/Scottish), and I grew 

up between Morocco and the UK, and have lived 

in Ethiopia and Canada, as well. These heritages 

all feed my love for storytelling traditions and 

my commitment to community and family, 

which includes my blood relations and the souls 

who have joined my tribe over the years. 

Gratitude is a practice for me, and it’s 

the theme of my next release, Toque del Sol, a 

summer vibe produced by Moroccan producer 

Reqteq. I’m committed to the cause of mental 

health awareness and I strive to use my platform 

to spread empathy and dismantle stigmas, to 

open a judgement-free conversation around 

these issues. 

AC: Your 30th birthday party looks like the 

ultimate celebration. What does this particular 

milestone mean to you? 

TS: Gods and Heroes was the theme I chose 

for the final and main night of my 30th birthday 

week. I knew getting everyone involved in 

putting costumes together would build excitement 

and, more importantly, work as a great 

ice breaker at the party, since so many of my 

friends had never met before. I don’t particularly 

attribute much meaning to age as a number, 

but I love any excuse to throw a good party! 

In the months leading up to turning 30, I 

found a deep sense of inner peace, acceptance, 

and an ability to better manage questions of 

ego and perspective, refining my understanding 

of purpose and focusing in on my dreams. 

A lot of this was achieved through “work on the 

self” I did through journaling, meditation, and 

with wonderful life coaches. Something I find 

wonderful is that, in my mind, this whole week 

of parties was about celebrating my tribe and 

how grateful I am for them and the roles they’ve 

all played in my life more than anything else. 

AC: What was meaningful in having this group of 

people celebrate with you? 

TS: Having lived in four countries across 

three continents, I knew I wanted all the people 

dear to me to come together for my 30th. People 

arrived in waves, over the course of three days, 

coming from Los Angeles, Stockholm, Montreal 

Dubai, and more. Over 40 countries were represented 

in the guest list. This is very representative 

of my life and diverse community, which 

transcends borders, boundaries, and backgrounds. 

It meant the world to me to have these 

different characters from different episodes 

and seasons of my life, all mingling in the same 

place. 

As beautiful as the decor and the costumes 

and the setting of Jnane Tamsna were, the 

defining factor of this party’s success was the 

energy. People connected and vibed on a truly 

deep level, and watching that synergy unfold 

and feeling that love is the greatest gift I could 

ever be given. Since the party ended they’ve 

been hanging out in their respective home cities 

— from London to Geneva to New York. It makes 

me so happy to have had new friendships be 

born at the party and then live on. If there’s only 

one reason I throw parties, then that is it. 

AC: What was the menu for the night? 

TS: The party actually started on Sunday 

and ended on Thursday evening — my actual 

birthday — so it was a real festival. There was a 

welcome evening party on Tuesday, the Gods 

and Heroes costume party on Wednesday, and 

a barbecue pool party on Thursday. I wanted to 

have people mingle as much as possible so we had 

a long cocktail with performances, including a 

stilt dancing troupe in incredibly colorful, extravagant 

costumes and an equestrian show of riders 

doing dressage whilst juggling fire. 

Dinner was a short two courses held at 

our iconic candlelit garden table. We had mini 

soups made from seasonal vegetables from our 

organic farm, bruschetta and tapenade and 

goat cheese with smoked trout on barley toast, 

along with traditional Moroccan briouates. For 

dinner, we had a deliciously tender boneless 

chicken with seasonal vegetables, followed by 

a crispy apple tarte with vanilla ice cream. My 

birthday cake was chocolate (of course). We ate 

a lot of chocolate that night. Botanical cocktails 

were served including a lavender gin fizz, a sage 

and chipotle margarita, a saffron whiskey sour 

and a verbena vodka gimlet. All were infused 

on-site, mainly using aromatic herbs from our 

organic garden. 

AC: We recently listened to your song The Genie, 

with Moses Belanger. As a musician, how did 

music help complete the environment? 

TS: I’m very passionate about experiencing 

music in live gigs, festivals or raves, so the music 

program was very important to me. The line up 

was amazing, and though I don’t really believe 

in coincidences anymore, there was a truly 

wonderful sense of serendipity for the event. 

The night before the Gods and Heroes 

party we had an “Oriental swag” party where 

everyone wore clothes inspired by Asia, Africa, 

and the Middle East. We had Senegalese food as a 

tribute to part of my origins, and the wonderful 

Guedra Guedra, an amazing Moroccan DJ, 

played an incredible couple of sets that had 

people vibing before during and after dinner. 

On the Gods and Heroes evening, Fadel 

Lahlou, of the electro-acoustic duo Sound of 

Mint, played a hypnotic set during the cocktail 

hour, on a part of our property that’s anchored 

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y an old earth-built country house. Together with all the amazing 

costumes, it really felt like being transported to another time. 

Daqqa musicians, a traditional troupe that bursts into 

Moroccan parties with chants, percussion and horns, led us 

through the magical candlelit garden paths to the dinner table, 

with myself and four friends being carried in ornate palanquins, 

because why not? We don’t get many opportunities to get carried 

to dinner past our toddler years but I certainly recommend it. 

My dear friend and fantastic DJ, Edamame started off the 

dance floor with some soulful house music and by chance the 

iconic DJ Ali Schwarz, one half of Tiefschwarz — a monument of 

electronic music — was in Marrakech. I invited Ali to join through 

a common friend and he gifted us an incredible set. Afterward we 

had Nairo, who funnily enough I sat next to in class when I was 12. 

He was also in town and offered to play a set. It was an amazing 

afro-house vibe that kept everyone on the dance floor. 

AC: Costuming was a big part of the night, and yours was 

beautiful. How did you choose yours and what did the theme 

mean to you? 

TS: My costume was actually inspired by Yemoja — Yoruba 

orisha of the ocean and motherhood. I knew I wanted to be 

dressed in blue (my favorite color) and as a maternal person who 

likes to look after and nurture others, the motherhood aspect 

also seemed suitable. In high school I was a music/performing 

arts/theatre kid and I’ve always loved dressing up and getting 

into the skin of another character. I knew I wanted to throw an 

epic costume party, and as I was brainstorming about what the 

theme should be, I tried to think of something that would enable 

everyone to be as extra, flamboyant, and wild as possible, while 

still inspiring elegance and chic. Gods and Heroes was the 

obvious choice, both because it met the criteria of inspiring extraordinary 

costumes but also because, quite simply, my friends 

and family are gods and heroes to me. 

And man did my friends show up for the theme! Some 

people planned their costumes for months, others started just a 

couple days before, and everyone looked fabulous. We had gods 

and goddesses, heroes and sheroes from many different cultures 

and the props, headdresses, masks, make up, clothes, and colors 

were absolutely breathtaking. One friend dressed as Shiva, with 

foam arms attached to her sides with red gloves matching those 

on her actual hands. 

I had so much fun designing my costume — from finding 

the perfect blue, to sourcing my cowrie jewelry in the souks of 

Marrakech, to making my crown out of a palm leaf, glued to a 

piece of card board and spray painted gold. I fastened the whole 

thing onto my head with a string. I’m very crafty and love to work 

with my hands, and making headpieces for myself, my brother, 

my dad, and a bunch of my friends was a huge part of the fun. 

The funny thing is that during the evening we shot a 

segment of an upcoming music video for a song I made with my 

music partner, the immensely talented house producer Moses 

Belanger. So I have had to recreate the costume about seven times 

since the party because we’ve continued shooting the video. 

AC: The party was held at Jnane Tamsna, the sprawling, absolutely 

breathtaking resort that you and your mother run, which is also 

Morrocco’s first Black-owned hotel. Tell us about the journey to 

that amazing accomplishment, and why Jnane was the right place 

for your party. 

TS: We run our business as a family. My mother Meryanne 

Loum-Martin, did all the architecture and interior design, and 

my father Gary Martin, an ethnobotanist, did all the gardens and 

landscaping. My brother Edward helped run the space for a while 

as well, before leaving to pursue a Ph.D. in Black Geographies at 

UC Berkeley. 

My parents had very different upbringings on completely 

different sides of the planet before meeting by chance on the 

Zocalo, a busy central square in Oaxaca, Mexico. He lived in a 

remote village with no phones, so for two years they wrote each 

other letters and met up for trips every six months or so. Eventually 

he made the jump to Paris to be with her, and my brother and 

I were born there. 

My mother’s parents were in search of a holiday home and 

my mother, who’d dreamt of being an architect, but became a 

lawyer like the rest of her family, took the opportunity. Traveling 

to Marrakech, she was spellbound by its beauty and magic, and 

made two beautiful houses that she would rent out when we 

weren’t on holiday. They became an instant success, with press 

and a loyal A-list clientele. 

In the late '90s, my parents left Paris for Marrakech and 

created their own project — Jnane Tamsna. Crazy enough, my 

father used to cycle around the Palmeraie, the area where we’ve 

always lived, years before even finding our land. He’d see it and 

think, “I could plant lots of things here.” And as destiny would 

have it, this is the land they were shown by the real estate agent. 

The name began with the previous property’s name. 

“Tamsna,” referring to the village across the street. It had 

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Entertaining 

become the brand my mother was known for, so they knew it 

would be included. “Jnane,” which in Arabic means, “garden of 

paradise,” usually refers to a farm. When signing for the land, the 

agent asked them what they’d call it and they answered, “Jnane 

Tamsna.” Confused, he asked again, and, equally confused, they 

repeated it. He said, “But this has been the name of this land for 

generations.” Destiny, again. 

There are many pioneering factors of our space. My mother, 

a Black woman, pioneered boutique hospitality in Marrakech 

back in the '80s with her first project and then again in 2001 with 

the opening of Jnane Tamsna. We are a socially and environmentally 

responsible, farm-to-table hotel with production headed by 

my father, who plants, among a dizzying number of other things, 

over 40 varieties of tomatoes of all different colors, shapes, sizes, 

and flavors. My father also founded the Global Diversity Foundation 

over 20 years ago, and our guests have the opportunity 

to give back through their stay, wedding, or retreat, supporting 

projects from girls education, to the conservation of ancestral 

knowledge, and local production commercialization to enable 

rural communities to thrive. 

We also host special cultural experiences. Philoxenia is a 

writer’s retreat we launched this year with workshops led by 

brilliant minds such as Pulitzer Prize winner Tyehimba Jess. A 

scholarship for HBCUs through the Global Diversity Foundation 

gives students a full ride to this life-changing week of learning, 

writing, and exchange. 

Our land has a special energy, it’s magnetic and calming 

yet inspiring and energizing. Aside from it being my home and 

the fact I love the events we throw here (the weddings we do are 

truly spectacular) there was a defining factor in that energy. It’s 

difficult to describe. It must be experienced. 

AC: The African Diaspora is full of more stories and histories than 

we can imagine, and far more than we usually tell. You’ve mentioned 

your work in documenting your own ancestral history. How far back 

have you been able to trace your story? Have you been amazed by 

what you’ve found? 

TS: I’m fortunate to have a rich archive of documents, 

newspaper articles, and photos of my Caribbean family dating 

back to the late 19th century. Our ancestral story is so well known 

in my family, that we’ve heard the collection of tales since we were 

kids. My great-great-great grandfather was a Guadeloupean 

slave, whose parents were born in Africa. After emancipation, he 

saved enough money to buy back the land that he and his parents 

had worked on. His son became one of France’s first Black congressmen. 

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, and we are very lucky 

to have an archival trove of so many writings and images. 

I’m slowly writing it all into a book, which may eventually be 

a screenplay, documenting over 100 years of my family’s history. 

It sometimes seems like a colossal responsibility, to honor the 

lives of my ancestors, but when I remember that they fought relentlessly 

for the promise of a better future for their children 

and all those who would follow, and I realize that my brother, my 

cousins and I embody the realization of their wildest dreams, I 

am empowered and motivated to take on the mission of telling 

our story to the world. AC 

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City Stories 

Nairobi: Inside 

Kenya’s Capital 

Founded in 1899, Nairobi is the capital of Kenya and the largest city in East 

Africa. With a population of over 4 million people, its name was derived from 

the Maasai term "Enkare Nairobi" which means "cool waters." As African independence 

movements began during the 20th century, the Kenya Africa Union 

(KAU) gained momentum. Formed in 1944 by a group of leaders including Jomo 

Kenyatta, the movement's objectives included advancing African interests, 

constitutional reforms, and fighting for better living and working conditions. 

Kenyatta would later become the president of Kenya with the KAU movement 

helping to unite Kenyans and paving the way for independence from the 

United Kingdom on December 12, 1963. 

Words and Photos by Krystle DeSantos 

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City Stories 

Today, the capital city’s culture is rich and vibrant. While a major center for 

business and commerce, during your visit to Nairobi you can also see museums, art 

galleries, markets, and historical sites, including The Nairobi National Park, a UNESCO 

World Heritage Site that is home to a variety of wildlife, including lions, zebras, and 

elephants. 

Where to Stay 

Radisson Blu, Nairobi Upper Hill 

This hotel boasts beautiful contemporary decor with views of gorgeous manicured 

grounds, an outdoor heated pool, and restaurant as well as bar options. Buffet-style 

breakfast is included with the stay and in the evenings when the temperature drops, the 

outdoor fire-pits are lit to keep you nice and cozy while you dine or enjoy a cocktail. 

Trademark Hotel 

Trademark is fairly new, located in Village Market and is a sister to the stunning and 

popular Tribe hotel. This luxury accommodation has innovative and culturally-inspired 

design, offers delicious dining options, a rooftop pool as well as a bar, and grants easy 

access to over 150 shops in the adjoining market. 

Masai Mara Sopa Lodge 

Located high on the slopes of the Oloolaimutia Hills, Masai Mara Sopa Lodge was 

one of the first safari lodges to be built in the Masai Mara Game Reserve. The buildings 

are designed similarly to traditional African round houses with conical roofs, and stretch 

along the perimeter of the hills with a stunning swimming pool at the center. 

Where to Eat 

Larder - Radisson Blu Hotel 

A modern dining experience that uses local produce at the heart of every dish, 

offering local and international specialties from breakfast through dinner. 

Vogue Cafe - Nairobi National Museum 

Situated at the National Museums of Kenya, Vogue Cafe boasts two restaurants 

offering healthy, contemporary style food, gourmet coffee, as well Kenyan tea. 

Jiko - Tribe Hotel 

Located at the Tribe Hotel, Jiko offers stunning tropical-inspired decor and 

a seasonal menu that pays tribute to the local farmers, with fresh organic ingredients 

combined in creative flavor profiles and playful presentations. 

Talisman 

The Talisman is stunningly decorated and situated in an old house in Karen with an 

eclectic menu that can only be experienced. Try the Zanzibari Seafood Soup. 

The Lord Erroll 

In the mood for French? Lord Erroll is the perfect gourmet restaurant located in 

East Africa. There is an array of al fresco seating areas that overlook enchanting green 

gardens, ornate waterfalls, streams, and ponds. 

Harvest - Trademark Hotel 

Kenyans love their meat and this open grill Brasserie focuses on farm fresh ingredients 

carefully paired for a true culinary journey.The restaurant also features a curated 

selection of wines from all around the world. 

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City Stories 

What to See 

B-Club Nairobi 

If you're looking for a night out on the town and an opportunity to 

dance and listen to afro-beats and more, check out B-Club. A fun vibe, 

tunes that keep you dancing, and drinks that are pretty good. Uber and 

taxis are not allowed to enter the compound so you’ll have to get out at the 

gate and take a short walk towards the building. 

Nairobi National Museum 

The National Museum is located in the heart of the city and showcases 

Kenya's rich heritage, highlighting the country’s culture, nature, history, 

and contemporary art. There is also a restaurant, Snake Park, botanical 

gardens, and small gift shops within the compound so be sure to explore 

those as well. 

Masai Market 

Check out the Masai Market at The Junction Mall for local accessories 

and souvenirs. The market occurs daily but in different locations so be sure 

to check the schedule on africanspicesafaris.com. The experience can be a 

bit overwhelming as the vendors will fervently try to get you to buy items, 

but remain confident and be prepared to haggle. If you’re not satisfied with 

the quotes or no longer want an item, say no and walk away. When haggling, 

be sure you’re being respectful and reasonable in what you’re offering to 

pay since you’re supporting small businesses that cater to tourists. Do not 

accept any “gifts” from any of the vendors unless you’re willing to purchase 

and if you have any local acquaintances or friends, you can have them shop 

for you and they will often get a better deal. 

Village Market 

Explore over 150 shops and a wide selection of restaurants in the 

Village Market. There are incredible specialty food shops, ice cream, a 

retro-style bowling alley, and fashion boutiques with stunning locally 

designed pieces. 

Giraffe Center 

You’ve probably come across the swoon-worthy photos of people 

eating breakfast in their hotel while a giraffe casually peeks its head inside. 

That hotel is called Giraffe Manor and just beyond the courtyard is Giraffe 

Center. The same giraffes reside there and you can visit the center for a 

fraction of the cost of staying at the manor. You will have the opportunity to 

come into contact with and feed the elegant giraffes. 

Masai Mara Game Reserve 

One cannot visit Nairobi and not take advantage of the adventure that 

allows you to experience Kenya’s finest wildlife. The game drive begins at 

dawn with a stop at Narok town for a homemade breakfast. After breakfast 

the drive continues to the Northern Serengeti where the great wildebeest 

migration takes place. The sprawling reserve has hilly savannas, rolling 

grasslands, and a gallery forest on the Mara River. This is where you’re sure 

to spot the ‘big five’ as well as other enthralling animal species. The entire 

experience, curated by Natural Tours and Safari, included two game drives, 

a visit to the Masai village, meals, a picnic on the reserve, overnight lodging, 

and a stop to view the Great Rift Escarpment. 

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City Stories 

A Few Quick Tips Before You Go 

1. Check the weather for the duration of your stay. Days can be warm and cool 

and the nights are much cooler, so light outerwear is necessary. 

2. The yellow-fever vaccine isn't needed if you’re traveling from the United States 

to Nairobi. Be sure to double check as rules may change, and check with your 

doctor as well as CDC guidelines for more information. 

3. A visa to enter Kenya is required if traveling from the U.S. and can be applied 

for online. Rules vary by country so check to see if your country is on the requirement 

list. It can take a few days so be sure to apply well in advance. 

4. Expect heightened security everywhere in Nairobi. The country experienced 

a terror attack a few years ago so security screening is very strong. Usually when 

you arrive at any public place such as a shopping mall, hotel, or restaurant, 

your car/taxi/Uber gets checked before being allowed to enter. You will also go 

through a metal detector screen that is similar to the process they use at government 

institutions or airport screening. 

5. “Jambo” is a form of saying hello/greeting others. 

6. You can pay by credit card or with local currency. The local currency is called 

the Kenyan shilling and you can exchange for a good rate at the airport or local 

approved cambio. 

7. Uber is readily available. You can use the service to get around with the average 

cost being about $2 to $6 USD per ride. AC 

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THE AMUR 

SCONCE 

W A Y F A I R . C O M

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Wellness 

Just Breathe 

Kiesha Yokers and the 

Importance of Breathwork 

It's our first thought when we're stressed and overwhelmed, the first 

step we're taught to take when a moment is in danger of spinning out 

of control. Just breathe, and it will all come back into focus. But what 

about the rest of the time? Do we need to focus on our breathing even 

when things aren't terrible? And what if the anxiety lasts for more than 

a moment? What if it's rooted somewhere deep in our pasts or — just as 

likely — the present strain of making worldwide sickness and economic 

uncertainty, together with political, social, and environmental 

upheaval all seem like business as usual? Can just breathing help for 

more than a moment? Can it work to regulate our bodies as well as 

our minds to create the kind of wellness we need to survive the world 

we find ourselves in? According to wellness guru and breathwork 

specialist Kiesha Yokers, the answer to all of these questions is yes. We 

sat down with the Seattle-based Breathwork Facilitator & Somatic Life 

Coach to talk about her own journey to breathwork, the power of daily 

practice, and the potential she believes it holds for us all. 

Interview by Bryan Mason 

Photos by Lindywell 

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Wellness 

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AC: You’ve mentioned in your bio that you were 

nervous as a child and grew into an “anxious, 

over-pleasing adult.” What do you feel was the 

source of your anxieties? How did you learn to 

move past over pleasing behavior? 

KY: Trauma, for sure. Trauma in my 

childhood had me very anxious inside. On the 

outside, you would have seen a high-functioning, 

high-performing, over-achieving people-pleaser 

who was sunny and bright. Inside I 

was worried about everything and everyone. I 

now understand this to be hyper-vigilance. 

Because life felt unpredictable, I carried 

with me the desire to ensure everything was 

okay everywhere I went. This started at seven 

years old. By the time I hit my 30s, I was severely 

burnt out. 

Folks think that trauma has to be massive. 

That is the biggest wake-up call of all. There 

is "big T trauma" and "little t trauma, " which 

all matter. It affects our developing nervous 

system. Trauma isn’t necessarily what happened 

to you but how it gets integrated into your life 

afterward. When I learned that, it really hit me 

hard. That was the catalyst for a change. 

When my “self-care” wasn’t self-caring, 

I knew I needed help. I am all for a bubble bath 

and a good book, but performative self-care did 

nothing for my nervous system. I found a great 

therapist and somatic teacher to help me move 

past pleasing people (it took time), reparent 

myself in many ways, connect with that inner 

child who had to grow up before her time and set 

real boundaries that gave me my power back. 

AC: 2020 was a turning point for the world in a 

number of ways. For you, it was the beginning of 

your journey into breathwork. What prompted 

your transition from conventional therapy into 

breathwork and how did it lead to your transition 

into a somatic coach and breathwork facilitator? 

KY: I had a long career in education. But 2020 

changed the field so much. I was home with my 

children, a military spouse in a new duty station, 

and a Black woman in a community that was 

hostile toward me. 2020 felt unsafe in so many 

ways. But the straw was watching George Floyd 

take his last breath. It hit me hard that the Black 

breath is short. By December of that year, I realized 

I was struggling with my mental health. I Googled 

how to breathe and discovered breathwork. 

Within 10 minutes, something in me had broken in 

the most beautiful way. The simple act of slowing 

my body down, inviting rest, and breathing felt like 

the most radical act I’d ever taken. 

My breathwork journey started there, and 

I knew that breathing was the key to unlocking 

something that needed to be freed inside of me. 

It allowed me to take the next step in my mental 

health journey. 

I am a big believer in therapy. I worked 

with a therapist who used somatics (a 

body-centered approach that emphasizes 

internal physical perception. It teaches you 

to pay attention to sensation and helps you 

release stored emotions that weigh you down). I 

continued breathwork and was so transformed 

by this work that I decided to start my somatic 

training to teach others this work. Somatic work 

has made such an impact, and I wanted to make 

this work accessible for everyone to learn from. 

AC: What are breathwork, somatics and embodiment? 

How do they work individually and collectively 

and to what respective ends? Are there 

other methods that you advocate? 

KY: Breathwork is a conscious manipulation 

of the breath to achieve a specific outcome 

(i.e. energy, relaxation, elimination of mind 

chatter, and pain). 

When people ask me where to start, I 

advise them to begin with breath awareness. 

Awareness of how you are breathing right now 

or at any given point gives you insight into how 

you breathe. Studies show that most of the population 

is not breathing correctly, but you must 

start paying attention to how you breathe and 

notice how it feels. 

Do you take short, shallow breaths? Do 

you breathe through your nose or mouth? Is 

there tension anywhere in your body? Breath 

awareness is an ongoing practice that will allow 

you to move on to trying different forms of 

breathing. 

Soma is the Greek word for the living body. 

Our soma is our first-person experience and intelligence 

of our body. It's what we experience 

from within, from sensations to emotions. Your 

soma holds your thoughts, emotions, and expression. 

Somatics is the study and practice of soma 

through a growing internal awareness. It is a 

mind-body practice encompassing bodywork, 

movement, and mindful strategies that call you 

into experiencing what it's like to be in your 

body. Somatics is used in dance, movement, 

body rehabilitation, therapy, and more. 

Somatics is also awareness. One crucial 

key to somatics is awareness of the internal 

body (interoception) and awareness of how the 

body moves in space (proprioception) 

Embodiment allows our bodies to take the 

shape of the traits we want to show up with. We 

all know what an angry person looks like. They 

embody the trait of anger. What would it look 

like to embody traits of rest, healing, peace, 

sweetness, or softness? The work I do teaches 

people how to use their minds and body to 

create this new shape they would like to take on. 

That is embodiment. 

AC: Modern breathwork seems to have strong 

roots in Pranayama, one of the eight limbs of traditional 

yoga. How would you compare/contrast 

the practices? 

KY: There are many different lineages in 

both somatics and breathwork (one somatic tool). 

Breathwork comes out of Southeast Asia and has 

roots in Africa as well as other parts of the world. 

Many of my teachers are working tirelessly to 

trace the roots of modern breathwork. 

People may be familiar with Pranayama, 

an ancient and beautiful lineage known as one 

of the eight limbs of yoga. Psychiatrist Stanislov 

Grof developed Holotropic breathwork in the 

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Wellness 

'70s as a drug-free method to change a person's 

state of consciousness. It seems like an old trend 

made new, but it demands more respect than 

that. Thousands of years old, breathwork is a 

practice that has been used therapeutically and 

for spiritual awakening by the ancestors. 

At Lindywell, I use many lineages, 

including Pranayama. Wim Hof has also grown 

quite popular recently. If someone has tried 

breathwork and it “didn’t work for them,” I 

remind them that there are many different 

styles and teachers. Breathwork, first and 

foremost, is for everybody. Which type you use 

and the teacher you learn from is based on your 

specific needs. If one style doesn’t work for 

you, try another because breathwork is unlike 

anything you will do. It can radically free you in 

so many ways. 

AC: Do you have experience with or incorporate 

any aspect of the remaining seven such as ethical 

and spiritual disciplines, posture, or cultivating 

greater levels of concentration? 

KY: I love yoga. Yoga is very popular where I 

am from, but you won’t see many folks who look 

like me in the studios. Yoga has been so horribly 

appropriated that it makes sense why many of us 

don’t want anything to do with it. 

It wasn’t until I read the work of Susana 

Barkataki and Jessamyn Stanley that I began 

to see myself in the work. Susana first taught 

me about Ahimsa (non-violence) and how I can 

apply that to my mind and thoughts. It is from 

Ahimsa that I have learned to love myself truly. 

Bringing yoga back to its roots has taught me 

to respect and honor the culture it came from. 

I work to do that in my breathwork and somatic 

classes. 

AC: Tell us about Lindywell and your role as head 

of its breathwork center. Are there ways that 

you find you need to tailor your approach to 

breathwork for it to better fit with Pilates? 

KY: Great question! I am the Head 

of Breathwork and Somatic Programs 

for Lindywell, a wellness brand offering a bestin-class 

Pilates and breathwork app and live 

somatic and breathwork classes. It is my dream 

job! We are a woman-owned company with 

a unique perspective. We take a grace-overguilt 

approach to wellness that makes wellness 

accessible to all bodies. We are proud of our 

diverse Pilates instructors and are committed 

to ensuring that all women live life to the fullest. 

I’m there because Lindywell gets that breathwork 

is transformative. This is not a fad or 

a trend we are jumping on. It’s core to our 

approach. 

Breath is one of the central components of 

the Pilates method. Pilates utilizes breath within 

exercises to support the mind-body connection, 

engage specific muscle groups, and facilitate 

healthy movement patterns. The focus on 

breath throughout Pilates is one of the reasons 

it is so good for your physical and mental health. 

Given that stress is a primary concern for our 

members and community, we wanted to provide 

more specific guidance and support for using 

breathwork not just in Pilates but as a standalone 

wellness practice. 

AC: America has not typically been concerned 

with the wellness of Black people, and the 

realities of Black life in this country have 

usually left us with little time to emphasize it for 

ourselves. Yet as we consider more and more the 

unique pressures and stresses of being Black 

in America, we are finding a need for strategies 

that enable us to do more than continue shouldering 

the burden. How can breathwork fit specifically 

into that space? 

KY: Amen to that! Our hustle-and-grind 

culture has left us bone-weary, and the beautiful 

but misunderstood concept of Black excellence 

has our spirits depleted from the constant 

pursuit of absolute, always-on excellence. 

What time do we have to care for our hearts 

and get a workout in? But the time is now.We must 

reclaim our peace through peaceful practices 

addressing the root cause (our disregulated 

nervous systems and dissociated bodies). We 

have escaped our bodies for far too long, and it's 

time to come home to ourselves. Many of us have 

never felt safe in our bodies, which is why this 

work is even more impactful in Black and Brown 

spaces and why I created a live BIPOC breathwork 

class. There is no other way to heal than to 

nourish our souls. There is so much power and 

healing in reclaiming our breath. I remind my 

classes that we are worthy of countless breaths. 

Take every one of them in as your divine right and 

exhale into your peace and freedom. 

AC: You have mentioned that the wellness 

industry as a whole is not welcoming to people of 

color. What has been your experience as a Black 

woman carving out a space in this industry? 

What advice or strategies would you offer to 

anyone looking to increase the number of Black 

and brown instructors and industry leaders? 

KY: What I know is that the wellness 

industry needs to talk to us (but isn’t). They need 

to include us in the conversation because our 

health is at stake. For instance, Black women 

purchase more personal care products than any 

other group. 

Yet, we have a higher amount of toxins in 

our products that are specifically marketed 

to us. Black maternal health outcomes are 

criminal. Toxic stress is killing us, yet access to 

mental health services is abysmal. 

Breathwork comes from Brown and Black 

bodies but is not mainstream in our culture 

and is often inaccessible. Even if it was, many 

wellness studios talk about this being a safe 

space, but we know that is false. 

My body can feel unsafe when I am 

the only Black-bodied person in the room. A 

vigilance is present in the back of my mind when 

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Wellness 

I hear those words. “This is a safe space” is not 

a trauma-informed statement. For example, 

trauma-informed teachers know that asking 

people to close their eyes may create anxiety in 

the body, so the invitation to soften their gaze or 

keep their eyes open needs to be made. Students 

deserve to be reminded that they have agency 

over their bodies. 

There are some incredible thought leaders 

in the somatic space (Sonya Renne Taylor, 

Prentiss Hemphill, and Resmaa Menakem), but 

there are not enough. I believe that this work 

has the power to change minds and bodies, our 

homes, and our entire communities to heal from 

trauma. 

I want to see more black and brown instructors 

in somatic work, whether it is breathwork 

or any other form. My advice is to reach out 

to those you admire doing the work. Connect 

and ask questions. There is enough room for 

us all to thrive, and we need us to be leaders in 

this space so that it is truly accessible to all. Hire 

black women for leadership roles. When black 

women are at the helm, there is a different perspective 

at the table. 

AC: As wellness becomes more of a watchword 

for our community, do you feel there is a need 

for approaches to the work that are specifically 

rooted in or focused on our cultural perspectives/realities? 

What would that entail and what 

might some of the benefits be? 

KY: Without a doubt! Wellness is not 

created equal. Wellness looks different 

depending on your vantage point, access, 

and opportunities. This is why I love somatic 

work. Breathing is free, and the breath is a 

clear roadmap to the nervous system. How 

we breathe tells us how we are doing — short, 

shallow breathing may indicate stress or 

anxiety, a sympathetic fight or flight state. 

Whereas long, slow breaths move us into our 

parasympathetic nervous system. A few breaths 

that are low in the belly and slow can get us back 

to a regulated state quickly. 

We all know what it feels like to walk into 

spaces made for us, by us, and by folks who understand 

our unique perspectives and realities. 

Finding and creating more Black and Brown 

trauma-trained instructors is essential. We 

deserve to have spaces where we can truly 

breathe. This is one of the reasons I created a 

BIPOC breathwork class at Lindywell. Additionally, 

we have financial assistance so that 

many people can attend the class and begin their 

somatic healing journey using breathwork. 

AC: What is your personal breathwork practice 

like? What are some of the ways you incorporate 

it into daily life? 

KY: Because breathwork is so simple, I 

wake up and do energizing breathwork for a 

few minutes before I get out of bed, which gives 

me a jolt of energy. I check in with my breath 

throughout the day because I have made this a 

habit. I use various techniques throughout the 

day when I feel stressed, particularly when my 

kids come home from school. 

Breathing is huge in our house. My partner 

and I practice breathing with and in front of our 

children so they see us calming down when we 

get overwhelmed. By showing up as emotionally 

regulated parents, we can co-regulate our 

children and soften their outbursts so we can 

connect before we ever launch into correcting. 

Our goal as parents is to raise emotionally 

intelligent children who are aware of their 

nervous system and become adults skilled at 

regulating their emotions. 

Can you imagine if we started learning this 

young? I’m on a mission to do that for us! I invite 

you to join me! AC 

Sign up for a free virtual Exhale Hour class 

with Kiesha Yokers at Lindywell. 

106 aphrochic

issue thirteen 107

SOUNDS 

It Never Left: Acantha Lang’s Debut 

Album Brings Us Back to Soul 

For African Americans — and Black people around 

the world — “soul” is a word of last resort, because we 

use it to describe something about us that cannot be 

described in any other way. Like all such words, the 

idea it explains is something amorphous and abstract, 

in that no one can really say what it is. We recognize 

it, however, by what it does. It holds, in near perfect 

balance, our strength and our pain, our suffering and 

our joy. It provides an eternal wellspring of creativity. 

It expresses our experiences, those unique to us as 

individuals, those shared between and among our 

many groups, and those that are universal to everyone. 

Most of all it makes us feel. And we never feel so close 

to it as when it is being expressed through us, in our 

clothes, our food, and most especially our music. 


Photos furnished by Shorefire Media 

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issue thirteen 109

SOUNDS 

The soul music of the 1960s, some would argue, was 

the high point of the confluence of Black experience and 

Black auditory expression. Whether it was the storytelling 

of Gladys Knight, the social reflections of Marvin Gaye 

and Nina Simone, the brush with enlightenment that was 

Earth, Wind & Fire, or the near supernatural talents of 

Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, these artists along 

with so many others created a sound that was raw, unapologetic, 

and most of all, full of emotion. For anyone 

who’s worn out the needle on a record player listening for 

that sound, searching for that feeling, Acantha Lang might 

be the answer to a musical prayer. 

A rising star in the Modern Soul genre, with a 

growing list of accolades to her credit, Lang gets her soul 

chops honestly. Born and raised in New Orleans, the 

singer/songwriter embarked on her stage career in the 

same place where so many other luminaries, legends and 

icons began their journeys: Harlem. There she headlined 

a Monday night Blues show and became the first female 

master of ceremonies at The Box, a mainstay of Manhattan 

nightlife known for its celebrity clientele and risqué 

stage shows. Continuing in the role for the club’s newly 

opened London location whisked Lang overseas into the 

open arms of the London Soul scene and into the studio to 

record her first album. 

Beautiful Dreams is an album that cites its sources. 

Comprised entirely of original compositions, it does a 

beautiful job of capturing the sound and soul of some 

of the genre’s very best. Notes of Gladys Knight, Mavis 

Staples, and even Aretha can all be found in Acantha’s 

voice, backed by pleasingly throwback musical vibes that 

alternate between soul, Blues, and funk, with touches of 

the ever-present gospel sounds from which all of these 

other traditions derive. But the real accomplishment 

here is not just the album’s ability to pick up the threads 

of these past artists, it’s tying them together in a way that 

is at once unique to this artist, and perhaps even more 

importantly, resonates with the whole reason the genre 

existed in the first place. 

Soul music is about emotion. Whether a whisper or a 

shout, every note feels like it’s called up from the deepest 

part of the singer’s being. It’s that emotion that we 

connect to, because it feels how we feel, and gives weight 

to what the singer has to say. 

Usually, they have a story to tell, from Stevie-guided 

tours of Village Ghettoland to Otis sitting by the bay. 

But those stories aren’t just for fun. They’re a reflection 

on where we are as a people, on the things keeping 

us there, and ultimately where we need to go. Soul music 

isn’t afraid to tell it like it is, or like it should be. Because 

of that, despite its lamentations and moments of despair, 

soul music — like the intangible, unfathomable, whatever-it-is 

that it conveys — is constantly forward-looking, 

relentlessly forward-moving and unshakably, even if 

seemingly incongruously, optimistic. 

In Beautiful Dreams, Lang hits all of these notes 

perfectly. Her voice is a warm sea to sink into, get lost in, 

and float away on. She sounds like Black people talking to 

Black people, giving encouragement, advice or admonishment, 

with the honesty and feeling that we typically 

reserve only for each other, and what she offers, she offers 

in narratives. The very first words of the album, “Sugar 

woman has lost her sweetness,” read like the start of a 

parable or a poem. And in “Lois Lang,” a touching ode to 

her mother, complete with an intro from mom herself, 

Acantha showcases, along with her singing, the poet’s 

ability to convey volumes in just a few syllables. 

Perhaps the best thing to be said for Lang’s efforts 

is that this is not a throwback album, recounting only 

what the music of the past once sounded like. There are 

timely tracks on this album, like “He Said/She Said,” an 

honest look at how the chaos of our time, seen through the 

fractured lens of social media, has us constantly repeating 

everything while wondering aloud if we can — or do — 

believe anything. And there are timeless messages, like 

“Keep On,” a song equal parts encouragement and lament, 

about the drive to move forward long after we’ve forgotten 

how or why. And most of all, it retains the optimism of the 

genre with the the self-explanatory, but much needed, 

“It’s Gonna Be Alright.” 

With her first studio album, Acantha Lang stands on 

the shoulders of giants. Even more impressive than her 

ability to get up there however (it is a climb), is what she 

does once she’s there. In a moment where the internet is 

covered, from Reddit threads to the student newsletter of 

Johns Hopkins, with lamentations over the homogenization 

of American music, yet we still seem all too ready to 

hand our creative responsibilities over to AI, this album 

is a much-needed refresher on the role of human experience 

and emotion in art — and vice versa — reminding 

us of a long held truth: that when it comes to Black music, 

you gotta have soul. AC 

Listen to Acantha Lang’s debut album Beautiful 

Dreams at AcanthaLang.com 

110 aphrochic

issue thirteen 111

PINPOINT 

Artists & Artisans | Hot Topic | Who Are You

ARTISTS & ARTISANS 

Bambo Sibiya: Windows to the Soul of a People 

It’s the eyes that tell the story. The bright colors, the 

intricate patterns, the heavy expressions, the meaningful 

gestures, they all play a part. But when seeing the work of 

South African artist Bambo Sibiya, especially for the first 

time, it’s the eyes that you can’t look away from, that stop 

you in your tracks, that make you listen to hear what the 

artist is trying to say. 

Sibiya was born in KwaThema, 

Springs, a town some 30 miles east of Johannesburg 

that was established in the 

early 1950s when South Africa’s apartheid 

government declared nearby Payneville to 

be for whites only and had all of its Black 

residents removed. Though the formerly 

independent city of Springs — now part 

of Ekurhuleni — was originally named for 

the large number of natural springs to be 

found there, it is better known for its gold 

and coal mines. The history of mining and 

the culture of the miners, including that 

of the Swenkas — miner/dandies whose 

competitive performances are equal parts 

pageantry, choreography and philosophy 

— have inspired some of Sibiya’s most 

striking works. 

It became clear very early on that 

the visual arts would be Bambo’s calling 

in life. His list of schools is second only to 

the list of accolades that were to follow. He 

studied with mixed media artist Paul Madi 

Phala at the Mbira School of Music and Art 

while in high school, then graduated from 

Benoni Technical College with a certificate 

in graphic design. Phala also pointed 

him to Artist Proof Studio, a printmaking 

and teaching collective in Johannesburg. 

The collective’s artistic focus, founded 

on the hopeful social perspectives of a 

South Africa that was witnessing the end 

of apartheid in the early 1990s, was encapsulated 

by the more ancient tenet of Zulu 

philosophy, “Ubuntu Ngabantu,” — “I am 

what I am because of who we all are.” For 

Bambo, the saying has continued to play a 

central role in shaping his work. 

Sibiya’s background as a printmaker 

appears frequently in his work and to great 

effect. His mastery of color, pattern, and 

repetition never fails to frame his subjects 

in arresting ways, presenting them as 

people inhabiting a concept or emotional 

state rather than a mere physical environment. 

The effect serves to magnify what is 


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Goddess 2022 

issue thirteen 115


African Lady 2022 

116 aphrochic

sacred and profound in these images of everyday people in everyday life, offering a chance 

to see and consider all that is meaningful in those we might otherwise pass on the street. 

While speaking directly from and to his South African culture, the universality of 

Bambo’s work is never far from the surface. Images of masked faces and gloved hands 

speak directly to the COVID-19 pandemic which continues to impact the world as a whole, 

while the frequently appearing message, “There is no Planet We Can Go To,” is a hauntingly 

urgent reminder of the environmental realities which will continue to shape our future. 

Equally however, Sibiya’s work is a beautiful moment of recognition in Diaspora. His 

dual critiques, the demand to see the world “Humanize Blackness,” and to know “What’s 

Wrong with This Skin?” echo the call of Black Lives Matter, speaking to realities that we 

all face. But even more than these messages, his subjects themselves are familiar to us. 

Wherever in the Diaspora we may be from, his subjects offer us, in each work, the dual opportunities 

to see and learn about the artist and his culture while simultaneously seeing 

our own versions of the people he knows: the concerned mothers; the sharp dressers; 

knowing elders and headstrong young men; the unbroken and unbowed. 

Through colorful backdrops, piercing stares, pressing messages, and elevations of the 

people, Bambo Sibiya’s paintings speak to us as an international community, reminding us 

of a fundamental truth of Diaspora: “I am what I am, because of what we all are.” AC 

Soul Sisters 2022 

issue thirteen 117


Sunny Days 2022 

118 aphrochic

Afro Punk Day 2022 

issue thirteen 119

HOT TOPIC 

Code Switching: Euphemism and 

Reality in Questions of Diversity, 

Equity, and Inclusion 

Since the explosion of the Black Lives Matter 

movement in 2020, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 

or DEI, have been the buzzwords filling the air in 

every brand meeting, workplace, and industry event. 

It has resulted in a multitude of efforts, programs 

and seemingly endless lists of Black brands for 

conscientious consumers to support. Predictably, 

it has also drawn fire from conservative corners, 

with ironic claims that the real injustice, the real 

racism, is trying to give away jobs and funding to 

people in what is supposed to be a merit-based 

society, solely on the basis of skin color. Though 

the businesses and industries contemplating or 

enacting DEI strategies vary widely — from banks 

and universities to fashion and design — the 

conversation remains largely the same, making 

it possible for discussions in one industry to shed 

meaningful light on the conversation as a whole. 


Photos by the International Contemporary Furniture Fair 

120 aphrochic

Bryan Mason and Jeanine Hays at ICFF 

issue thirteen 121

HOT TOPIC 

A few months ago AphroChic was 

asked to participate in a talk at the International 

Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) 

held at the Javits Center in Manhattan. The 

panel discussion was titled, Diversity in 

Design: A Discussion on Personal Identity, Inclusivity, 

and Creativity. When preparing 

for the discussion, panelists were asked to 

consider the following questions: 

How do we balance our professional 

and personal identities when they 

differ from the established — and 

widely accepted — social and cultural 

references of the design industry? 

What can ‘being different’ add to 

the creative process? The panelists 

will address this timely subject 

with valuable input from their own 

personal experiences and insights into 

the topic. 

During the talk, the questions that had been 

presented steadily nagged at me. In fact, they 

had been bothering me for about a week prior 

to the discussion. And it wasn’t until a fellow 

panelist pointed out the importance of asking 

the right questions that I realized what had been 

distressing me the whole time. When it was my 

turn to speak, after repeating the question for 

the audience and admitting that I’d struggled in 

answering it to that point, this was my response: 

I realize now, that the problem with this 

question is one of euphemism. Because we 

euphemize — we say “established and accepted 

references,” when we mean, “white privilege,” 

and we say white privilege, when what we really 

mean is white supremacy. And now, before we get 

too nervous about that, white supremacy — it’s 

important to understand — is not, at all points, 

synonymous with hate. It is entirely possible to 

feel no direct anger, no seething hatred toward 

Black people, to people of color, and still have a 

white supremacist perspective, simply by dint 

of the fact that we are formed, growing up, and 

living in, a society that’s based on white supremacist 

ideals and principles. But when you take 

the euphemism out of it, and we start to look at 

it honestly, the question becomes something 

more like: “Design is a white supremacist 

space that only allows for a very narrow range 

of cultural perspectives originating from the 

European continent. How do we, as designers 

of color, falling outside of that range, take on the 

imposed responsibility of self-marginalizing 

our own cultural perspectives to better ensure 

the comfort of white people and our acceptance 

in this industry?” And when we put the question 

that way, it becomes apparent very quickly — I 

hope — that this is the wrong question to ask. 

One of the reasons why this is the wrong 

question, is because design is a human universal. 

It is an innately and intensely human thing to 

do. Of all the creatures on the earth, we are the 

only ones that do it. And every group of people, 

every culture that has ever existed or will ever 

exist contains its own ideas on what design is. 

So to deny the design of a group of people, to 

declare that it does not fit within the definition of 

what design is, is to deny that group of people’s 

humanity, which ultimately is what racism is. It’s 

the idea that there are degrees of humanity, and 

that those who are of European heritage have 

more, while those with darker skin, who come 

from, essentially, anywhere else, have less. So 

when we look at the problem that way, the catch, 

we find, is actually something that James Baldwin 

spent a lot of time trying to reveal to people, that 

is, the “cage” of whiteness; the ways in which 

whiteness functions as a self-imposed prison. 

It’s a question that we ask often at 

AphroChic: “If every form of racism ultimately 

serves to benefit the same group of people, then 

to what extent are they actually different?” And 

the answer, of course, is that they aren’t. They may 

vary in detail and process, we may have Muslims 

interned at airports and Latinos interned at the 

border; we may decry Asian hate or yell Black Lives 

Matter, but the racism itself is no different. And if 

every form of racism this country has to offer ultimately 

serves to benefit the same group of people, 

then that group of people are, themselves, trapped 

within their own box. Now we tend to think that’s 

ok because we call that box “privilege,” and we 

label the people in that box “winners.” They’re 

at the top of this imaginary, racist organizational 

chain. But what we don’t do, what we can never 

be allowed to do, whatever our position in this 

system, is to count the cost of being in that top box, 

because the cost is dear. 

To oppress me, oppresses you. In order 

to deny my humanity, you must surrender and 

sacrifice your own. If I am imprisoned within 

this system of oppression, my condition leaves 

you with no possible identity but that of guard, 

because all of your effort must go into keeping me 

within this box. Add to that then, the extra strain 

of working equally hard to convince us both — 

you and me — that the walls that enclose me are 

natural, that you are in fact exerting no effort at 

all, that my imprisoned condition is justly mine 

and nothing to do with you. This, then, is how we 

get to the strange situation of designers of color 

being asked how best to end our own oppression. 

Which again, when we take the euphemism out 

of it, we find becomes a very strange question, 

because we are not the cause of it. 

So what does this all mean, and how does it 

relate to our efforts to increase diversity, equity, 

and inclusion in design? It shows us that design 

does not need the work of diversity. Design is 

diverse by nature, because the world is diverse 

by nature. The design industry, by comparison, 

is a very narrow perspective that has been forced 

onto the natural condition of design. And it 

means that we’re saying that the question of DEI, 

in the way that we’re currently approaching it, is 

entirely backwards. 

The current perspective, the one that the 

question of this panel was originally formed 

from, is premised on the assumption that the 

design industry, as it currently exists, organically 

represents all of design — that design is 

narrow, it is white, it is exclusive — and that 

122 aphrochic

Paul Clemence, Ana Mengote Baluca, Yadiel Rivera-Díaz, Bryan Mason 

and Jeanine Hays discussing Diversity in Design at ICFF 

issue thirteen 123

HOT TOPIC 

we are now forcing diversity onto this natural 

state through the work of inclusion. What we’re 

saying however, is that the job before us is not 

to do the work of inclusion, but to stop the work 

of exclusion, widening our view of design to see 

and embrace its natural diversity and allowing 

all who participate in it to benefit equally from 

their contribution. How best to do that, is the real 

question. 

So it changes things, when we take the euphemisms 

away, and we start to see how, through 

design, we’re also talking about ordering principles. 

The design of a room, the design of a 

product and the design of a society are all very 

similar in that they all come down to us — they 

represent a series of choices that we, as human 

beings, make. So when we ask, “How do we do the 

work of inclusion, how do we create diversity?,” 

the answer is we don’t have to, it’s already here. 

The real question is, “How do we stop excluding 

people?” And it’s a question that, if I’m being 

entirely honest, is not ours to answer alone, as a 

group of designers of color assembled in front of 

“the industry,” because again, the exclusion that 

we collectively face — doesn’t come from us. So 

any solutions that can be found are solutions that 

have to be found together. Because it would be as 

unreasonable and unhelpful to have a fully white 

group of people reflect on lessening the obstacles 

to presence and success in the design industry as 

it is to present a collection of designers of color 

with the same question. And it’s only when we 

accept our shared condition of being mutually 

trapped within this lopsided and unjust arrangement, 

and jointly commit to undoing it, that 

we can approach the question with the kind of 

honesty required to answer it. So we all have to 

accept the shared responsibility to, first, remove 

the crutch of euphemism and face the question 

directly and be honest about what it is we’re 

asking. AC 

- Diversity in Design discussion at ICFF 

Stop Asian Hate protest by Jason Leung 

124 aphrochic

WHO ARE YOU 

Name: Tahir Juba 

Based In: Baltimore, MD 

Occupation: Video producer 

Currently: I’m employed full time at a video production house in 

Baltimore and am a graduating senior at Morgan State University. 

Black Culture Is: A combination of visual arts, performance arts, fashion, 

music, language, literature, history, and understanding that is shared 

among the Black community. It is the style that we bring to the world that 

is recognizable and respectful to each other. 

126 aphrochic

THE KEISHA 

BUST 

PERIGOLD.COM

AphroChic Magazine: Issue No. 13.

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