For the past decade, Neffi Walker has been redefining what luxury looks and feels like through the Black Home. The mother of five has built a community within her flagship in Newark, New Jersey, so while you scour through racks of shiny skillets, lush candles and gold-plated utensils, you’ll feel like you’re browsing the carefully curated collection of a close friend. No matter what you choose, every object will unleash your inner opulent self.
Brooklyn native Achuziam Maha-Sanchez created a neighborhood staple on a bustling block in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Located on Tompkins Avenue, the store is representative of her African and Caribbean heritage. Achuziam transports customers to her eclectic world in the form of abundant home decor items across all categories. Customers can pop in to shop furniture, skin care products, design objects, and kitchen essentials, with a few midcentury and Scandinavian finds mixed in here and there.
BLK MKT Vintage, housed and operated in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy, is the home to many historic Black and rare vintage antiques. Since 2014 Brooklyn natives Jannah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart have been bringing their curation skills to their antique concept market, specializing in cultural artifacts and forever investments that represent the richness of Black history—housewares, vinyl records, and books galore.
Toni Point and Alysia Fields, the design duo behind the Collective Shop, know exactly how to channel the spirit of NOLA through their locally-sourced curation of home goods, apparel, and even body products. Their vision comes to life in the form of screen-printed tees, confetti earrings, and other home staples that are simply too good to pass up, from Bourbon-scented candles and Southern-inspired tea towels to handmade ceramics and stickers. The pair also creates framable art pieces representative of Louisiana’s finest, and during Mardi Gras season the store is a festival in itself.
“Shop Local and Buy Black” is the founding motto of Reparations Club. The Los Angeles–based brand, run by Jazzi McGuilbert, operates as an independently Black-owned business that offers acclaimed novels from just about any genre to zines highlighting topics of oppression and more, all written by renowned scholars. Aside from books, Reparations Club also has coffee table essentials like puzzles, candles, and incense. Who knows, maybe you’ll stumble upon your next favorite tarot card deck or vinyl record there too.
Since 2018, this Atlanta hotspot has been facilitating an educational atmosphere for the community. Located in the historically infamous Sweet Auburn District, founder Rosa Duffy welcomes visitors to experience an accessible (and affordable) archive of rare and renowned books, magazines, and more. In 2021, she partnered with Solange’s creative agency Saint Heron to launch a free digital library service. You also won’t want to miss their seasonal reading events.
Located at the very tip of Harlem and Washington Heights awaits a bookstore filled with the stacks of African diasporic literature. While shopping in person at Sister Uptown Bookstore, you’ll be immersed in the shop’s cozy abode—it’s also become a space for the neighborhood’s community gatherings. There’s a diverse selection of books to choose from, including biographies of the most emblematic personas in Black history, topics of African consciousness, and so much more.
Paradis Books & Bread isn’t a bookstore: It’s a community space for all of North Miami. The shop curates an impressive selection of new and used books on subjects like Black studies, critical theory, international struggle, and solidarity movements, along with fiction and poetry from smaller publishers. Customers are also invited to participate in Paradis’s library program, so feel free to lounge around with a good book in hand while indulging in baked goods and wine offerings.
When Kai Avent-deLeon originally conceptualized Sincerely, Tommy, she had every intention of making the storefront more than a place to shop. After being in business since 2014, the Brooklyn native’s commitment to building a community hub has fully paid off. While you can always find chunky knits handmade by a range of independent designers, there are also well-crafted objects that will liven up any room–some of which is designed by Kai’s homeware line Raini Home. Once you’re finished browsing the lovely selection of home goods, sit and stay awhile at the coffee bar.
Since opening its doors back in 2021, Telsha Anderson-Boone has made T.A. a dreamy concept destination in New York City. The space caters to women with an inventory full of emerging labels and up-and-coming names across the fashion and design industry. Aside from its sartorial selection, Telsha carries a bit of home decor in her in-store collection that will add character to your coffee table, so keep an eye out for special-edition books, magazines, and other covetable tchotchkes. Print isn’t dead after all!
Source: architecturaldigest.com