Goal = to ENTHUSE:

The blog originally began in 2018 but has experienced many redesigns and redirections. {Haven’t we all?}

The HBIC started by sharing selected journal entries each month in a blog post, then reflecting on those feelings in relation to the overall “oreo” experience. The term isn’t used much anymore, but the sentiments, of course, still exist.

She wants to reframe that existence for A) the younger black kids and B) any white people who haven’t accepted the real range of Black culture yet. Her appreciation for things that “don’t fit within/match” Black culture is valid and does not diminish her identity - it enhances it.

So, here in 2025, she’ll be sharing [re]designs of projects she started during that estranged time, and explaining how & why she created them throughout this present time of divine redirection. You can read more about this path in “the brief”.

Goal = to ENGAGE:

The HBIC started making zines shortly after her arrival in the Queen City (Charlotte, NC) back in 2022. She found a zinemaker named Bre (from Bre’s Tiny Print Shop) who began her journey when she was unable to get her work in literary journals, and a professor encouraged her to self-publish and monetize her work.

Zines have helped the HBIC navigate her new environment and process old feelings, and they’ve lead her to new upcycling endeavors she once would’ve thought were out of her “artistic abilities”.

There’s a limited shop on this site and an exclusive shop on her Buy Me a Coffee page - one day she hopes they’ll merge as a mobile (like driving) store + small brick & mortar location.

Goal = to EMPOWER:

As the blog took shape and products for the boutique were built, the HBIC decided to develop both to serve 5 ages (13, 16, 18, 21, and 25) and 5 personas (readers, writers, educators, revolutionaries, and “free spirits”).

In her aspiring brick & mortar businesses, she will be investing in black creatives who are also committed to serving these ages and/or personas through their own products and services. More information on this vision can be found in the business tab.