A Northern Liberties boutique dedicated entirely to skincare and fragrances from companies founded by women was one of five winners of a $10,000 grant designed to amplify and celebrate Black-owned, women-owned businesses. Co-owners Morrisa Jenkins and Bonkosi Horn have made the boutique a popular destination for skincare and beauty enthusiasts, with a treasure trove of toxin-free serums, cleansers, fragrances, and elixirs, including products from their own house brand.

In February 2020, Jeannine A. Cook opened Harriett’s Bookshop, both a bookshop specializing in women authors, and a space “for folks to come together, discuss ideas, and debate in a healthy way.” Then the pandemic hit. But Harriett’s has continued to be a vital place for community. During the Black Lives Matter protests, Cook donned a face mask and a large bag filled with books, and handed out free books to the hundreds of protesters at City Hall.

Larnell Baldwin has spent more than 40 years leather-crafting, pattern-making, trimming, hemming, and creating bespoke suiting for celebrity athletes like Malcolm Jenkins and Moses Malone. And since 1988, Queen Village’s Baldwin Fine Custom Tailoring, on historic Fabric Row, has been the hub of his business and fashion institute, where he’s helped nurture more than a thousand designers and tailors.

“Drinking a cup of tea is a form of introspection,” says Viva Tea Leaf Co. owner Christa Barfield. She fell in love with tea in 2018 after taking a trip to the Caribbean island of Martinique. In 2019, she launched Viva Leaf Tea, which sells hand-blended teas from herbs and plants that Barfield grows from seed. The name of the company, Viva Leaf, is a nod to the fresh herbal teas she drank in Martinique.

Kimberly McGlonn’s one-of-a-kind, up-cycled, sustainably made garments are both sustainable and chic. McGlonn and her all-female design team use vintage clothing, as well as virgin fabric, to create stylish tops, bottoms, dresses, skirts, outerwear, and accessories. In 2020, McGlonn won a BeyGood grant, from Beyoncé's philanthropic organization, which helps Black-owned small-business owners deal with the economic impact of the pandemic.

Erik Honesty relishes the art of menswear — the blazers, topcoats, cufflinks, ties, bow ties, pocket squares, tie clips and capes — “the whole gauntlet of getting dressed up.” Honesty’s reverence for fashion history inspired him to create an enterprise that honors the roots of black American culture and corners the men’s designer vintage market in Germantown.

At Trunc, a Northern Liberties artisan boutique, there are requirements for artists who aspire to sell their work there: All items have to be handmade and their art has to tell a story. “I really want to continue to be a vehicle for emerging artists,” said co-owner Dorothea Gamble. “If the Art Museum is looking for new artists, I want them to call us.” The store showcases work from Philly artists and artisans.