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Today we’re highlighting three women who have made monumental strides within their careers.
1. Artist, Kashmir Thompson, emerged into social media with her unique paintings showcasing black pop culture. Developing a passion for art and drawing from a young age, Thompson went on to graduate from the Cleveland School of the Arts and later relocate to the Atlanta area. The Cleveland native is the creator of Kashmir VIII, an online store featuring clutches, shirts, bedding, mugs, and so much more all displaying her unique artwork. Thompson’s work is new and refreshing with its bold, faceless images yet still nostalgic as she colorfully paints popular Black icons many of us are familiar with such as Martin, House Party, Friday, Beyoncé, and even some sassy quotes. Her work has been featured in Essence, Ebony, Cosmo, and HBO’s Insecure as well as attracting the attention of celebrities such as Spike Lee, Issa Rae, and Angela Bassett.
2. Mother and cancer survivor, Cashmere Nicole, has persevered through an amazing and difficult journey to now dominate the makeup industry with her brand, Beauty Bakerie. The brand, based on her love for sweets, features lipsticks, palettes, brush sets, and more. Nicole, an Indiana native, went from struggling teen mother to the owner of a multimillion-dollar cosmetic brand. She originally created the brand in support of breast cancer and just one year after the brand developed, Nicole was sadly diagnosed with breast cancer herself. During her recovery, Nicole vowed to find the healthiest cruelty-free ingredients to create her cosmetics line while still making her products long-lasting. After posting an ad to Instagram in fall of 2015, Nicole’s following grew excessively and before she knew it she was collaborating with Ulta Beauty and being featured in Essence, Nylon, and Forbes. She now uses her fortune to give back through philanthropic work and charitable donations.
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3. Shontay Lundy thoughtfully and intelligently developed Black Girl Sunscreen due to her love of being outside. She resented being unable to find a sunscreen suitable for her darker skin that wouldn’t leave behind any white residue. After completing undergrad in Upstate NY and her graduate degree in Miami, Lundy put her MBA to use and collaborated with experts to find ingredients to boost melanin production as well as properly protect and absorb into darker skin tones. Lundy wanted to shed light on the fact that despite having more melanin in the skin, darker men and women are still at risk to damage by the sun. The brand prides itself on not using any parabens or other harmful chemicals and only using the best ingredients for melanin. Since its development, Black Girl Sunscreen has gone international in Nigeria, been featured in Essence, and has even released a kid’s line.
A huge shout out to these three women making major moves within their industries. We hope to see more from these ladies as they continue to nourish and expand their business ventures.
By: Nialani Pringle