Away from Africa

Zuri dresses in San Francisco Thanks to the internet, and the global economy, Made in Africa fashion is becoming more mainstream than ever before. Two partners had a hit on their hands when they designed and produced one simple dress, in a variety of African print fabrics:  Zuri. The company has been featured in the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle , among other publications. Zuri has a brick and mortar shop in New York City, but San Francisco residents got a first taste at the pop up shop, in October 2017. The dresses' reputation caught the attention of Eden Stein, owner of Secession Art and Design . Usually only local designers are featured, but her customers were clamoring for the dresses. A Zuri dress in the Secession store window In her words:  " I was at a gala for Artspan , mingling with 800 emerging and established artists, when I saw artist Soad A. Kader in her Zuri dress. I beelined to give her a compliment. She told me about a ...

Atim in the Front Street store Calabar was an international sea port as far back as the 16th century. Calabar Imports is a fitting name for Atim Annette Oton's Brooklyn-based stores. I visited her in the seasonal Dumbo store, at The Shops at 145 Front Street. Atim is one of the first African-born architects we met in New York. At the time she was teaching, and publishing a design magazine called Blacklines; she had interviewed my spouse, Epée Ellong , for an article about his architectural projects in Cameroon. It's now my turn to write about her! The store is in Dumbo, in the shadow  of the Manhattan Bridge The store and business is owned by  Atim Annette Oton and her mother,  Heloise Annette Oton.  The main store is located  in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY.  Calabar Imports carries a dizzying array of unique handcrafted items: affordable fashion clothing, fashion accessories, jewelry, home decor and gifts. T...