The Soulhaus

Now showing: “The Future in its Shell”

Artist Joy Fennell explores Afro-Surrealism and the beauty of Black women in a photo series with themes of nature, water, and the boundless realm of dreams.

A Stay at Ode, Toronto’s Best Kept Secret

Discover Ode, the family-owned and Black-owned boutique hotel on Dundas West in Toronto, Canada, a cultural hub that embodies the essence of hospitality for every traveler archetype.

NOW SHOWING: SKIN!

Bask in the sun-kissed embrace of Jamaica’s natural beauty, with Skin!, a photo series starring artist Suzanna Missenberger and produced by multidisciplinary creatives Marleisse Stephens and Bel Downie to celebrate rejuvenated skin through skincare products crafted especially for the island.

SAMIRA AMALIA IBRAHIM, THE IDEAS WOMAN

Industry maven Samira Amalia Ibrahim invites us into her world of public relations, luxury, fashion, entertainment, and her partnership with the legendary June Ambrose.

Networking While Black’s Inaugural Event Sparks Meaningful Connections and Empowers Attendees

Inside Networking While Black’s Inaugural Event, where empowerment takes center stage

Island Girl Guide: Converting Jamaica’s Tourists to Travelers 

When you think of Jamaica, what comes to mind? Beautiful beaches, reggae music, and vibrant culture, right? Jamaica’s “living culture” is what separates it from many equally beautiful neighboring islands. Welcome to the “island girl” guide to connecting with the contemporary traditions, everyday people, and locales in Jamaica.

Discovering Dopamine Decor: A Self-Care Revolution Through Design

Interior decorator Michelle Wilson shares how dopamine-inducing decor may be the self-care we all needed after such a dark and uncertain time.

 

Liberated Living: Home Decor Inspired By Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour

From lighting to wishlist selections to Black-owned brands – designers, tastemakers, and creative friends of The Soulhaus were invited to contribute home decor that encapsulates the essence of Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour, allowing our audience to bring even more magic home.

The Beauty Revolution: Black-Owned Beauty Brands Redefining The Standard

In today’s evolving beauty landscape, the rise and impact of Black-owned beauty brands emphasize a fundamental transformation, shifting the influence of established luxury beauty players and reflecting an age marked by assertive and vocal consumers.

 

Make Every House a Home: 17 Gift Ideas From Black-Owned Brands

BLACK, BOLD & BEAUTIFUL: STREET STYLE TAKES 2023 NYFW

Hip Hop Takes Center Stage at the 16th Annual Harlem’s Fashion Row

Harlem’s Fashion Row’s 16th Annual Fashion Show & Style Awards brought the essence of “Remix” to life, celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop and intertwining the past with a glance into the future through a floral, boombox, and concrete set as a backdrops to gender-expansive runway presentations.

The Folklore Connect’s NYFW Showroom: Celebrating 5 Years of Catalytic Partnerships

DESIGN, A FORM OF SELF-CARE

HAUME founder, Antoinette Arrington, shares a personal note on the practice of self-investment and care, demonstrating how the two are deeply seeded into the lifestyle and decor brand’s mission.

Inspiring Moments From Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2023

Explore the creativity of designers at Paris Fashion Week, as fashion journalist Tiffany Harrison highlights her favorite moments of innovation, creativity, and mastery craftsmanship that will inspire creativity beyond the runway.

Aesthetics Studio Founder Victoria Adesanmi Dreams Up a Future Marrakesh, Morocco Aēsop Store Location, Using AI

Victoria Adesanmi used AI to develop her own interpretation of an Aēsop concept store in Marrakesh, Morocco that blends the city’s essence with the iconic skincare brand’s identity.

Cover Story: Tracee Ellis Ross Introduces The Beauty Bible with CRWNMAG

Tracee Ellis Ross, in an intimate conversation with CRWNMAG, reveals her arsenal of self-care tools for thoughtful living and takes center stage as the luminary cover star of The Beauty Bible, a newly launched print issue available for purchase online.

Don’t Forget the Fifth Wall, Reminds Interior Designer Alvin Wayne

New York-based interior designer and Lumens Innovators Council member Alvin Wayne curates a decadent dining space saturated with rich, nature-sourced hues and a maximalist ceiling, where the Crown Major Chandelier by Nemo takes centerstage.

Beauty and Black Identity in the Workplace

Belgium-based photographer Whitley Isa collaborates with Pouchka Duval Wille, a hair and makeup artist, on a photography series centering the beauty and professionalism of Black natural hair in corporate settings.

TEN TOES DOWN, A BLACK BALLERINA

A Mother’s Letter

A Mother’s Letter is a photography series by Chucha Studios that aims to bring visibility to the experiences of Black mothers to build community. This series showcases the story of Sophia Said, a young Black woman’s journey with pregnancy as she reflects on her choice to become a mother and the experiences that followed.

Discovering Destiny On A Detour

In an inspiring personal essay, Khari Clarke shares how he tapped into his inner reservoirs of resilience to face his mental health, ultimately leading him to a London move after a lifetime of calling New York home.

PRAISE AND WORSHIP

A photography series and film, captured O’shane Howard and Tristan Barrocks, exploring different forms of praising and worshiping Jesus Christ through dance and music.

The Folklore Connect and RAISEfashion Advance the Next Generation of Black Designers

Upstart brand, Shekudo’s NYFW debut reveals how The Folklore Connect and RAISEfashion are a powerful resource exchange, uniting two organizations intentionally focused on advancing BIPOC designers, from New York, London, Nigeria, Ghana, and around the world.

NYFW Showroom Launch Party Hosted by The Folklore Connect x RAISEfashion at Shopify NY

Nail Art Is More Than a Fad to Black Women, It’s Culture

Nail art is a vehicle of self-care, self-expression, and autonomy.

SOLANGE’S MUSICAL DEBUT AT THE NYC BALLET 2022 FALL FASHION GALA

An evening of avant-garde fashion, ballet, and an original musical score by multidisciplinary creative Solange Knowles.

MEYOURGE, NOT YOUR MAMA’S ANKARA

Ankara print, but make it modern. Aesthetically adorn your home with bold, stunning statement home decor and apparel by Meyourge – a brand that is cultivated on the principle of circular design and manufacturing.

A Leading Light: Solange Knowles

A five-piece photomontage series, by artist Langston Amadi, paying homage to luminary Solange Knowles.

Soulhaus Visits: Ashya Creative Studio

ASHYA CO-FOUNDERS AND CO-DESIGNERS ASHLEY CIMONE AND MOYA ANNECE CURATED A RE-ENERGIZING CREATIVE HOME BASE WITH THE INTERIOR OF THEIR RETAIL STORE AND CREATIVE STUDIO. 

Whitley Isa Captures Street Style at the Paris Fashion Week Spring 2023 Shows

Manifest The Moon

A celestial digital photo essay and NFT project by Max Hemphill centered around manifesting an abundant life through harnessing the energy of a full moon.

Paradise Found on the Green

Inside the Caribbean’s rich history of professional golf, Marleisse Stephens visits one of the oldest golf courses on the island of Jamaica, The Constant Spring Golf Club and Clubhouse Brewery.

VILLAGE OF WOMEN

In a lesson of love, humbleness, and forgiveness – Herrana Addisu poetically pens a powerful memoir inviting us into the ethos of her founding Chucha Studios, a creative platform and production studio connecting the art of visual storytelling with systemic change.

Jamaica’s Divine Design

Writer Marleisse Stephens pens a powerful piece immersing readers in the divine design of leisure and lifestyle in the epicenter of the Caribbean – Kingston, Jamaica.

HARLEM’S FASHION ROW: FUTURE’S PAST

Harlem’s Fashion Row gathers the diaspora during NYFW 2022 to celebrate the palpable shift in luxury fashion. This year, with world leader in luxury, LVMH, as its history-making sponsor. 

In Transit with Moya Annece and Marleisse Stephens

In a personal essay, Marleisse Stephens compels us to reimagine the geography of home during a night out in Kingston, Jamaica with Moya Annece, co-founder of Ashya and a like-minded global resident.

EDITOR’S LETTER:
RE-IMAGINED ACCESS AND VISIBILITY
SEPTEMBER 06, 2022
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
JOCELYN MCCALL

EDITOR HEADSHOT
PHOTOGRAPHER ELWOOD TAYLOR

Today, the launching of The Soulhaus is a celebratory release after a multi-year journey of resilience. With an inspired imagination of what could exist and faith in the power of possibilities, I can gratefully say the unseen moments that felt insurmountable during the foundational build have finally passed. While I take this moment to pause and reflect on the experiences and learnings that helped see this milestone through, I am encouraged by the newly created visibility and access.

I’d be remiss to celebrate today’s launch of The Soulhaus  without also acknowledging that it happens to fall one day after Harlem Fashion Row’s 15th Anniversary Fashion Show & Style Awards — this year, with world leader in luxury, LVMH, as its history-making sponsor. In anticipation yesterday, we were all refreshing our emails for the disclosure of the venue set to gather the diaspora in celebration of luxury fashion’s palpable shift in trajectory. What we do know is that designers Clarence Ruth, Johnathan Hayden, and Tolu Coker have reimagined someplace in culture-rich Harlem, NY, to showcase their collections. The power in the possibilities are endless. As a media outlet committed to documenting the current-day Black creative renaissance, we began with covering last night’s event, curated by Brandice Daniel and her growing team.

“Documenting the current-day Black creative renaissance”

Over one hundred years ago, Harlem, New York, birthed the Harlem Renaissance — one of the most documented and celebrated periods of multidisciplinary creativity within the Black community. The Black-owned publications during this period of time made space within print for writers and artists to explore relevant themes and have mass visibility. Many of the names synonymous with artistic excellence, such as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Nella Larsen, and more, launched their careers through having visibility. Simply being seen. Imagine the resilience needed when you have been born to be creative and the world deems you invisible. This inequitable reality still exists today.

Unknowing of the journey I would eventually be inspired to embark upon in creating  The Soulhaus, I always held an appreciation for access to art and culture.  During a chapter in my 20s, I lived on Edgecombe Avenue, an iconic street revered as part of the historical Sugar Hill neighborhood. There was a magic that I felt as I emerged from the subway steps of the 1-4-5th stop (IYKYK) and quickly turned up Edgecombe. As I observed the architectural layers of history in the neoclassical elements on the buildings perfectly perched uphill, I often slowed as my favorite uninterrupted view revealed a decrescendo of mature trees nestled around Jackie Robinson Park. At the time, I was living with multiple roommates, each of us on our own paths to make it in our respective industries. The squeeze from the lack of square footage was worth it. Harlem granted access to the resounding historical energy of the spaces, places and faces that shaped culture. 

The Soulhaus was conceptualized with the goal of helping further the access we’ve known to be integral, but also gate kept over time.  My hope in building The Soulhaus is that it serves as one of many conduits of  the current-day Black creative renaissance. With the world as an audience, our global collective of resident contributors will explore thought-provoking themes in the form of immersive creative works. By fostering a global literary culture, our outlet’s multidisciplinary editorial verticals of Architecture, Spaces, Art & Design, Real-estate, Home & Living, and Travel will serve as guideposts for the intersectionality within the topics we explore. 

Dear Black creative, you are the reason Donald – my co-founder and husband – and I persevered to reach this day. As I reflect and wrap this note to you, a hummingbird is perched nearby my laptop long enough for me to acknowledge and identify it. Given that this is its third visit within a week, and I genuinely had  never seen a hummingbird with my own eyesI turned to Google to learn of the significance. From what I gathered, hummingbird sightings symbolize the end of challenging times and the beginning of healing.  You know what? I will take that for us. I will take that as a powerful whisper saying that the resilience in each of our respective journeys will be met with a breakthrough. I hope that the launch of The Soulhaus can be part of that breakthrough.

Please join me in seeing and celebrating the Black creatives of The Soulhaus’ first-ever published* works. 

A CLOSER LOOK
THE FEATURES
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