CEOMOM 2020 Holiday Gift Guide

2020 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Amy Hampton

CELEBRATING SMALL AND BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES

KAY COLA ORGANIGROWHAIRCO.COM Photo Credit: Jessy J Photo

What inspired you to create OrganiGrow?

My daughter inspired OrganiGrow because she inspired me to wear my own natural hair while teaching her to embrace and love hers.

What is your winter skin care regimen?

In the winter I tend to use our OrganiGlow night cream because it’s heavier and the butters can seal and lock in moisture. I have to be more mindful to keep up my water intake because it’s easy to drink water when it’s very hot, but it’s more challenging to remember to drink water when it’s cold outside.

What makes OrganiGrowHairCo different from other natural hair care brands?

OrganiGrow is different from other hair care brands all around from its intention and inception to how we treat our customers to our formulas. Our intention in creating the brand is as pure and non-toxic as our formula.

Kay Cola

Natural Beauty

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GROW DIAMOND BUNDLE (MEDIUM POROSITY) Recommended for medium porosity wavy, curly, kinky, coily hair. Repair, grow, protect, cleanse, condition, nourish and style with this all inclusive bundle.

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"My daughter inspired OrganiGrow because she inspired me to wear my own natural hair while teaching her to embrace and love hers."

ANTI-AGING BUNDLE Our Anti-Aging Bundle is great for keeping your face timeless all day with an amazing day and night regimen. This bundle has been known to help smooth wrinkles, fade dark spots, and moisturize your skin. Our Ultra Hydro Night Cream evens out skin tone to reveal a clearer, brighter complexion while helping prevent future pigmentation. As a bonus, we have included our Ultra Healing Eye Cream containing Hyaluronic Acid, which is known for its ability to reduce wrinkles and dark circles. This combination of "age defying� products is for anyone looking to hydrate while aiding their skin with intense antioxidants that produce smooth and glowing results!

Photo Credit: OrganiCo

TIFFANY STATEN Photo Credit: Kendra Knight

THE LONDON GRANT All London Grant products are made from mindfully sourced pure, plantbased, organic ingredients, and delivered in eco-conscious packaging.

No synthetic fragrances, silicons, or mineral oil.

What makes London Grant stand out from other body care brands?

Unlike other body care brands, I’ve developed the London Grant collection to be completely versatile with multiple uses for everyone in your home, especially those with sensitive or dry skin, stretch marks, psoriasis, eczema, scars, etc.

The Minimalist Collection is our lineup of staple body care products butters, oils and scrubs. I created all

the products in this collection with the inspiration of “less is more.” I have intentionally developed each formula to include meaningful and effective ingredients to help with a multitude of challenges.

Each product is clean, cruelty-free and fragrance free. Each features hidden talents that support you from head to toe. For example, our Honey Coco Body Polish is awesome as a gentle scalp scrub, with Raw Honey acting as a hydrating and skininfusing mask.

Tiffany Staten

Chai Spiced Latte Body Polish CEOMOM HOLIDAY GUIDE | 7

LONDONGRANT.COM CEOMOM HOLIDAY GUIDE | 8

Cocoa & Jojoba BODY SOUFFLE

Photo Credit: Laura Grace Sears

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Photo Credit: Trejon D. Williams Photography:

What inspired you to turn your love for jewelry making into Arm Candy?

It started with my then 9 year-old son. He wanted to make little plastic bracelets to make money one summer. After he got bored, I took over the business and started sourcing natural gemstones and other high quality materials to create beautiful bracelets.

Over the years, Arm Candy has expanded to earrings and necklaces.

How would you describe your design style?

My design style is boho chic. The use of exotic woods and gemstones demonstrate a cool boho style.

MAYA WILLIAMS

What are your favorite Arm Candy pieces?

My favorite pieces are the meditation Malas and the lava stone bracelets. Both are very stylish, yet functional.

Describe your design process from idea to execution.

The collections I create usually come to me in a dream and are also inspired by places to which I've traveled- the colors, the feel, style, etc. Once I have the idea for collection designs, I find just the right stones and materials to create them. I always make sure that each collection can be paired with another collection.

Customers like to put together sets, so the earring collection must be able to go with the bracelets. Same for necklaces.

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AMYHOLLY.COM

Photo Credit: Octavia Whitlowe

"I beam with bliss whenever I am stopped by women on the street, or at the airport, or at the local grocery store, and on Martha’s Vineyard, who tell me that they love my beautiful caftans. They often ask where they can purchase them. " Story of Amy Holly ... “Holly” was the nickname of my phenomenal grandmother who battled leukemia, and who raised me and taught me how to sew on my hand as a child. She was a business woman, mother of nine, and an innovator beyond her time. She would make and wear ‘house dresses, glamorous caftans and comfortable mumu’s to entertain and host at her house parties. I loved watching her glide among the crowd of guests and friends in sheer admiration and amazement!

Also, I love wearing caftans and resort wear is my jam when I host small gatherings, to large wine festivals to strolling through Whole Foods or picking up my daughter in school carpool. They are like the go to chic Garanimals for busy moms, like myself. Yet the Amy Holly Resort Collection speaks to cool boho minimalists, to the preppy Nantucket gray lady summers, to the glamorous red carpet celebrities, and to the St. Barts yacht partygoers.

When I think about “Holly” the first words that pop in your head are “fun and freedom”... I believe that’s how life is supposed to be.

A “Holly” is also a play on words of Hollywood, fun festivities, and fabulously long vacations called holidays. I want clothing that makes women feel free to just, BE! When you adorn an “Amy Holly,” it can feel like a Hollyday, everyday!

Amy Hampton #BEHolly

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AMY HAMPTON

Photo Credit: DLacy Photography

NyAira Harris & Shantaquillette Carter GIRLBNATURAL.CO CEOMOM HOLIDAY GUIDE | 18

HerStory

Every amazing idea comes from a product. Our idea was simple: inclusive beauty and wellness. For almost six years I didn’t feel well. I was constantly in and out of the hospital; doctors could not pinpoint what was wrong. In 2018, I had a heart attack, and by 2019 a stroke. I started to take my health into my own hands. I wanted to create products for women that were natural with innovative ingredients and health benefits. I literally found the solution in my own back yard through herbalism and research. My first solution was creating a patent pending natural body deodorant for sensitive skin, that focused on odor, chafing and a healthy lymphatic system. This led to the creation of Girl B Natural Sweet Pits. In speaking to women in the breast cancer community and those with other autoimmune diseases, we were amazed how hard it was to find effective products. I couldn’t find any options, so I created them. We donate a portion of proceeds to women’s health causes.

Photo Credit: Octavia Whitlowe

Photo Credit: Mala Deepak

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Photo Credit: Sivan Miller Photographer

KIDRAQ.COM What are your most popular designs?

My most popular designs are the matching styles with the “Mommy and Me” and “Daddy and Me” concepts.

What can we expect from future collections?

KidRaq will continue to evolve with trending silhouettes and powerful affirmations. Also, we’re very much attuned to our customers. So count on the brand to be responsive to the customers’ feedback in the creative process for the next collection.

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What inspired you to start KidRaq? Beyoncé and her daughter inspired me to create KidRaq. As Beyoncé’s stylist, I had pulled some cool eyewear for her. Well, as fate would have it, she loved them, and so did Blue, her oldest daughter. The sunglasses looked really cute on her, but they were too big, of course. It occurred to me that Beyoncé and Blue would look really cool in matching styles, so I contacted the designer to get a pair for Blue. I’m sure you can imagine my disappointment when the designer said it would take 3 or 4 months to make them. It was then, I decided that I could do it myself. I had a hunch that it was a niche that needed to be filled. And, that was the primary seed of my inspiration, in addition to my son's constant request for eyewear to match my select style.

Raquel Smith

Photo Credit: Drea Nicole Photography

The KidRaq brand was created by a woman of color who also happens to be a single mom. To my knowledge, no other children’s eyewear brand can make that claim. That’s why it’s important that KidRaq empowers children and families.

As a single mom who has learned a few things about turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones, I believe that I have a moral and ethical responsibility to do what I can to support others. I routinely volunteer to work with youth and families. I believe strongly in mentorship, and because of that, I’m always looking to give young people an opportunity to develop their talent and skills by working with the brand.

KiidRaq also offers cool silhouettes in fun colors and matching styles for kids and their parents, each with an affirmation engraved in the temple as a permanent reminder to be your best self.

KidRaq Empowers Children

Photo Credit: Tolliver Boyz Photography

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Raquel Smith, KidRaq Founder

Photo Credit: Channdaily CEOMOM HOLIDAY GUIDE | 27

WHATLITTLEWONDER.COM

What inspired you to start What Little Wonder?

My son was the true inspiration behind the shop. After becoming a mom, I realized how challenging it was to find apparel and little essentials in colors that weren’t so “loud” and “baby-like”. I wanted to offer moms products that were both aesthetically pleasing while still being functional. I also enjoyed shopping small and wanted to find a way to bring those brands and products to more moms that were looking for modern, trendy items.

How do you select the brands you carry?

Most of the brands we carry, I stumble across while browsing on Instagram or Google.

However I have a general idea of the types of products I’m looking for, and I intentionally seek out small and independent brands.

Personally, I’m a very picky shopper, so I’m extremely selective – focusing on the details and the quality.

Sarah McNamee Photo Credit: KaLee Kilgrow & Lily Jieru Muir

Crib Sheets

Blankets

Onesies

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Photo Credit: Esther Huynh

The Shop

What makes What Little Wonder stand out from competitors?

Each and every item is thoughtfully curated and I hone in on certain color palettes that work well across all items in the shop. Our shop makes it easy to mix and match a handful of products to create the perfect gift from various brands. Also, What Little Wonder is unique because as a small shop, we support other small (to mid-sized) independent and mama owned brands in efforts to expose our moms to fresh, new product that they may not find on their own. I feel it’s important as a small shop to support other small brands. I’m also very mindful in offering products at price points that make sense for our customers; babies are expensive and there’s no reason to break the bank just to have cool products for your little one. As our little shop grows and offers more items, we will maintain that “small shop” feel. That’s extremely important, because aside from providing products to our mamas, I want to build and maintain a relationship with our customers.

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NATURALICIOUS.NET

GWEN JIMMERE

Photo Credit: Sylvia Jarrus

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What are your Naturalicious must-haves for the winter season?

My top winter must-haves are the Naturalicious Step 2: Moisture Infusion Styling Creme and Step 3: Divine Shine Moisture Love & Frizz Fighter. The air is exceptionally dry in winter months, in most environments, which wreaks havoc on our hair. It makes hair drier, and more prone to brittleness and breakage. Using these two products daily keeps hair hydrated and breakage free while full of shine and volume.

What are your signature products?

My signature products are all in the Naturalicious Hello Gorgeous System. It's 3 easy-to-use, plantbased products that deliver the results of 12 products! Better hair in half the time. It's literally my favorite thing!

What inspired you to create the Naturalicious brand?

I started in my kitchen with $32 in the bank. I was a newly single mother to my then-2-year-old son, recently divorced from an emotionally and physically abusive marriage. At the time, I was having an extremely hard time finding hair care products that worked great for my coily hair, were vegan, and didn't force me to spend hours managing my hair. As a new mom with no help, I needed to look and feel great about myself and my beauty, but I couldn't afford to spend a ton of time doing my hair. I couldn't find a solution to my problem, so I created it. They say "the struggle is real" when it comes to managing textured hair, so I created the first patented system that makes it effortless, giving our customers better hair in half the time.

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HOUSEOFMERCI.COM

SHAUNTAE BENTON What can we expect from future collections?

Our future collections will include more timeless pieces, with pops of colors, statement collars, and voluminous dresses. We will

Photo Credit: PhotosbyLJK

incorporate a little more fringe onto our dresses and coats, as well as statement sleeves. We will continue with femininity while adding more off duty pieces to your closet, i.e sweater, blouses and pants.

Shauntae Benton

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Describe the House of Merci woman?

A Merci woman is mature in age and wisdom.

She is a career professional or entrepreneur/mompreneur who juggles life by calendars, cell phones or iPads. She is usually on the go but family and her girlfriends are always a source of recharge and connection.

She knows what she wants in life and in her closet. She enjoys a great event with great food and spirits. She is a woman who has worked hard for her accomplishments and enjoys the fruits of her labor!

Photo By Vendor Latiste

What inspired you to create House of Merci?

My inspiration came from the women in my family and their group friends. They were always "put together" and styled in their best fashions from head to toe. I was inspired by the feminine touches of the heels, colorful statement pieces and clutches that were paired with the classiest dress or two piece suit. I wanted to bring femininity back in the form of Diahann Carroll and Lena Horne with a modern twist. I felt that this woman was missing in the fashion world, boutiques and stores were catering to the appeal of the younger woman and of a certain size woman. As the creator, it was my mission to ensure that EVERY woman, no matter the size or shape felt confident and powerful in their style.