We have so much to be thankful for this year, and despite all the unexpected turns, we're grateful to have you, our community, our guiding beacon. We've had to say goodbye (for now) to some incredible women as we've downsized our retail teams, and we're deeply grateful to the women who have stayed on, keeping our doors open, our stores warm and welcoming, our packages moving and all of us connected to one another. We're thankful for each individual on our production team, from Stephen who handles the prints hot off the press in Thika, to Josephine who makes sure that each piece of fabric makes it from Dar, to Edwinah who makes sure that each flawlessly folded dress arrives in NYC in perfect condition. Finally, we're thankful for you -- our customers, our community, the reason we get to do the work we do, our inspiration and our support. While we may not be celebrating the holidays as we always have, we hope that this year will be an opportunity to find joy in change, warmth in relationships new, old, close and distant, and always, always gratitude for each other.
WHAT WE'RE THANKFUL FOR // Great reads by Nicole Dennis-Benn
One of our all-time favorite authors and an inspiring member of our Zuri sisterhood, Nicole Dennis-Benn's novels Patsy and Here Comes the Sun remain staples on my bookshelf that I frequently lend out to friends and revisit often in my memory. Powerful stories about women navigating across cultures, these novels will transport you.
WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO // CYMANDE
Pronounced sah-mahn-day, Cymande was a funk group based in the UK with members from several Caribbean nations that performed in the early 1970's. The band name derives from a calypso word for "dove", which symbolizes peace and love. Fun fact: for those of you who remember the song "The Score" by The Fugees, you'll immediately recognize sampling from track 6 on this album, aptly called "Dove".
