KCRW’s Summer Nights: Local vendors carry our communities and our stories
KCRW’s Summer Nights returned to the California African American Museum on Friday, July 22 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. To make the night even more special, KCRW partnered with the FOUND/LA nonprofit organization to curate a marketplace featuring all local, Black-owned small businesses.
KCRW DJ & Culture Producer Tyler Boudreaux teamed up with KCRW’s Young Creators the JSJ Photo Collective to capture the stories of the vendors at the CAAM marketplace. This KCRW Special Feature is a story about storytellers, and how we see ourselves reflected in the stories we tell.
Lavena Lewis of Vena Vena Handcrafted sells handcrafted leather handbags and accessories. Photo by JSJ Photo Collective.
Vena Vena Handcrafted
Lavena Lewis
“I know what it's like, when you're homeless, oftentimes, you're invisible. And it's good to be seen, and it's good to be represented by someone who was formerly homeless, because they kind of know the ropes, and they know what they're going through, what the obstacles are, what the little rough patches are.”
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The Pinky Rose Boutique features a unique shopping experience. Photo by JSJ Collective.
Pinky Rose Boutique
Pinky Rose
“Pinky Rose is unique. You come in, you shop. And not only do you shop, but it's an experience in that I get to listen, I get to bond, and I get to hug. I get to tell you how much I love you. And then they get to tell me their story. So I want that to keep going because we actually learn from each other as women,” says Pinky Rose.
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Orange Moon apparel was established in 2020 to make women feel “confident, beautiful, and fierce.” Photo by JSJ Collective.
Orange Moon
Koriel "KokoChavon”
“It’s my passion for fashion. It’s fun, you know, I get to style people and put them in what I like,” says Koriel “KokoChavon.”
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Coquette Kouture
Aicha Lo
“Our product is fashion. It’s happiness. It’s vibe. It’s how you feel, and how you want to see the world. Colors, unity. It [means] so much when you see [the bright colors] of Africa…everything that you touch has a meaning. We hold that theory to ourselves, says Aicha Lo”
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Shoot Films, Not People is a t-shirt company that features shirts that focus on educating people on gun violence. Photo by JSJ Collective.
Shoot Films, Not People
Mya Baker
“I just wanted to give a voice to the voiceless in terms of gun violence – talking to people who are gun survivors, talking to people who are advocates, because I just feel like in our communities and communities all over the world, gun violence is an issue that people are really scared to talk about. But art has a tendency of healing and making people comfortable to tackle difficult issues,” says Mya Baker.
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Atma sells handpicked and handmade products with natural and clean ingredients. Photo by JSJ Collective.
Mama Shye’s Hair Care is a black-owned, all natural hair company. Photo by JSJ Collective.
Mama Shye’s Hair Care
Alexandria "Mama Shye" Harrell
“I was 38-weeks pregnant and it just came to me in the kitchen when I was making an oil, and I was like you know what, I need to give this to the world, give this to other moms and other families,” says Alexandra “Mama Shye” Harrell.
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Nyla (left) and Nancy Arnwine (middle) started Dope Soap Sisters during the pandemic to help people keep their hands clean. Photo by JSJ Collective.
Dope Soap Sisters
Nyla and Nancy Arnwine
“We started it during COVID. It was like, l ‘We need to get our hands clean because of COVID.” So we just decided to make soap so other people can also keep your hand cleans in a fun, cute way,” says Nancy.
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Violet Botanic Skincare’s mission is to encourage plant-based skincare by embracing connections to ancestral African healing herbs. Photo by JSJ Collective.
Violet Botanics Skincare
Robbin Turner
“Well, they say necessity is the mother of invention. My family, we have eczema, and the over-the-counter stuff was not working. The steroid creams that the doctors give you actually make your eczema worse over time. So I just thought about my grandmother who used to handcraft these things using herbs and different things. And that's how I got started,” says Robbin Turner.
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Apryl’s Life In A Bottle makes 100% cold-pressed juice. Photo by JSJ Collective.
Apryl’s Life In A Bottle
Apryl Sims
“My juices are designed to be sold in food deserts and food-insecure areas. I'm from South Central Los Angeles where Black and brown people live and there's fast food, there's processed foods, things that have high-sodium content. There's a very limited variety of fresh, wholesome, natural goodness.”
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Guests:
Lavena Lewis
Pinky Rose
Koriel "KokoChavon”
Aicha Lo
Mya Baker
Deanayo
Alexandria "Mama Shye" Harrell
Nyla and Nancy Arnwine
Robbin Turner
Apryl Sims
Credits:
Written by Tyler Boudreaux
Producers: Tyler Boudreaux, Anyel Zuberi Fields, Liv Surnow
Digital producers: Crissy Van Meter and Andrea Domanick
Engineer: Desmond Taylor