Roslyn Karamoko

Originally from Seattle, I moved to Detroit in 2013 and was immediately captured by the city. I'd lived in DC, NY, and Singapore prior and felt immediately inspired by the raw creative energy in Detroit. At the time, the city was undergoing the first wave of its resurgence, and I wanted to contribute to changing the narrative. While I was excited for all of the new development, I'd seen many examples of gentrification in previous cities and wanted to help retain the cultural importance of the Black population in Detroit. The "Détroit is the New Black" tee shirt was an immediate success, appealing to all ages and races. It became a unifying brand that invited both old and new Detroit to band together to build the future city.

Our retail store has become a platform for other minority-owned businesses to sell their products, host events, and interact with a community of like-minded entrepreneurs. The store provides free and low-cost space through our retail accelerator to underrepresented founders at a time when retail space has been economically out of reach for many of them.