Entrepreneur/ graphic designer creates the coolest Black-to-school supplies ever!
Entrepreneur and graphic designer Makeba Griffin, from Winstonville, Mississippi, is the founder of a fashionable life-style brand of clothing and accessories mostly designed for young boys and girls. Her designs and prints are attractive, delightful and relatable Black characters illustrated on perceptible goods such as t-shirts and backpacks! Students and parents alike love the products, and are calling them some of the coolest “Black-to-School” supplies ever!
How it all began
It all started during a family vacation. Makeba explains, “We were planning our first family trip with my six siblings, parents, spouses and children. We had enough to make it a family affair, but needed shirts because it was so many of us. I didn’t want just any shirt – I wanted it to be meaningful, fun and appealing. I couldn’t find anything in stores or online, so I decided to design the shirts myself.”
After realizing how good she was, Makeba decided to start a business and make it her source of income. “I went from designing family vacation t-shirts to designing natural hair t-shirts; and then from selling them from home to selling them at multiple events,” she says.
Then she came up with the genius idea of printing her designs on travel bags, and also started selling her products on-line.
Why Afrocentric school supplies?
After having a lot of success selling t-shirts and travel bags, Makeba realized that there was another void that she could fill – afrocentric school supplies. She comments, “I wanted young Black children to be able to look at my products and say, ‘Hey that looks like me!’”
She continues, “I wanted to create designs that represented me and the love I have for my natural hair. So, I started creating illustrated African American young women that represented them as being vibrant, bold, fun and strikingly beautiful.”
She adds, “I was inspired to design backpacks, lunch bags and pencil holders, too! I couldn’t stop there though, since there is a great need for African American boy stuff, too (there is literally so much out there for girls). Our boys need to feel empowered and confident, too!”
Her idea was a hit
Makeba’s idea to fill that particular void was right on! Her afrocentric products (especially the backpacks) are so popular that many of her designs have gone viral on social media, and the orders are pouring in.
All of her products are made with a vigilant attention to detail and remarkable quality; and many of her items feature the color pink because she says it’s the color of passion, hope, nurturing, and… love.
