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Hello friend,

We have covered many fabulous black women-owned brands since we launched Genuinely Stellar nearly a year ago. To celebrate Black History Month, we decided to focus on five Canadian women who have overcome unique challenges to find success. Their stories are incredibly inspiring and their products, highly covetable! 

In this week’s issue, meet the Nigerian-Canadian fashion designer with a modern aesthetic inspired by her African roots who wants other African creatives to follow in her footsteps; we introduce the former gymnast who turned tragedy into opportunity with a line of organic teas; meet the beauty founder whose skin flare ups prompted her to pop the hood on conventional body products; the former military officer whose new mission is representation in the cosmetics industry; and the Kenyan-born entrepreneur in Vancouver who brings handmade crafts from her homeland to a global audience. 

Beehiiv, our beloved newsletter platform is our sponsor this week. If email marketing is under your perview at the office, you will want to check it out. We’ve never used such a robust email platform and can’t recommend it enough. Be sure to click on the ad to learn more about all Beehiiv can do for you. 

Enjoy! 

 Get vacation ready with this brand of ready-to-wear, resort wear and swimwear that is African-inspired, runway worthy and just a starting point for an African-Canadian entrepreneur on a mission.

When you learn the story behind this brand of organic teas, you will add to cart like we did. The inspiration factor is off the charts and the tea is tasty too.

Rev your engines for a skincare line that is designed to give you a derma tune-up while saving one of our most precious resources.

A stint in the Canadian military created a path toward a need in the cosmetics industry for this Montreal-based entrepreneur. Her new mission is representation.

Kenyan handmade crafts made accessible to Canadian consumers from a Kenyan-Canadian who is supporting Canadian black entrepreneurs while selling artisan goods.

Watch this space for five quick things to make your life a little richer.

The guilded and revered restaurant chefs who receive prestigious Michelin stars have traditionally been men. A small extremely skilled group of women are part of this elite group, and American Mariya Moore-Russell is the first Black woman in the Michelin Guide’s 94-year history to receive the honour. Ca, c’est très impressionnant!

The likes of Drake and The Weeknd may have put The 6ix firmly on the musical map. And we know you have heard of Maestro Fresh Wes and Kardinall Offishall but one Toronto’s OGs of the Toronto rap scene from “back in the day” is Michie Mee, ask any of those four men and they will tell you… she is the Godmother of Rap. Respect.

We love ourselves an HBO series, and Get Millie Black (on Crave) introduced us to the wonderfully talented British actor Tamara Lawrance. In the 5 episode thriller, she plays a Scotland Yard detective who returns home to Jamaica and lands a case that will shift her world, we’ll let the trailer take it from here…

If you’re like us some of your IG scrolling takes place in a hot bath of bubbles, and one of the feeds that can “feed” you with loads of beautiful visuals is that of Nara Aziza Smith. A model and stellar home cook whose voice is hypnotic. Just don’t fall asleep while you’re enjoying her beautiful outfits and delicious from-scratch creations.

If you’re of a certain age, you may recognize the names of these three beauties; Karen Alexander, Veronica Webb and Tyra Banks. This clip revisits these 80’s OG supermodels, who helped to start to break down racial barriers in modelling at that time.

Do you have a stellar find? Share with us at [email protected]

Did you miss last week’s newsletter? Get insights from five fabulous Canadian women entrepreneurs on a potential tariff war here.