As a product designer I spend alot of time going to tradeshows, trend forecasts, meetups and networking events and always notice the lack of diversity in the room. For the last few years I have spoken to other designers and even bloggers about why nobody ever does a designer of color spotlight atleast during the month of February. I decided over a week ago to fill the void myself. My inspiration came most recently from following Wayne Sutton and his #28 Days Of Diversity: People Impacting Social Media blog. I have connected and learned about fellow colleagues in social media that I was unfamiliar with and hope to offer the same benefit by introducing you to a few brilliant creatives in the world of design. Sure we are jumping into the beauty of a new month, but history of people of color is happening daily. So lets continue into March, celebrating the color of design.

Day 11: Meet Jeanine Hays
I have been a fan and virtual friend of Jeanine by way of her design blog Aphrochic. It seemed only fitting that at some point she would create her own collection. Jeanine launched a line of beautiful pillows last year during Design Philadelphia. Jeanine is the spokesperson for modern, soulful style. Her designs all have very ethnic references with a modern spin, the use of color and detail, give it great style while not loosing the ethnic allure. Jeanine prides herself on building a brand surrounded by being conscious of her environment, and incorporating sustainable practices by considering her choices for fabrication and printing. Her fabrics are truly luxurious, using primarily 100% Belgium linen. These pillows will upgrade your living area to give you modern soulful style with its global appeal and bold graphics. To see more of her designs visit her website (which is so easy to get lost in with the beauty and brightness of it colors and the pictures) click here.

All photography by Patrick Cline

As a product designer I spend alot of time going to tradeshows, trend forecasts, meetups and networking events and always notice the lack of diversity in the room. For the last few years I have spoken to other designers and even bloggers about why nobody ever does a designer of color spotlight atleast during the month of February. I decided over a week ago to fill the void myself. My inspiration came most recently from following Wayne Sutton and his #28 Days Of Diversity: People Impacting Social Media blog. I have connected and learned about fellow colleagues in social media that I was unfamiliar with and hope to offer the same benefit by introducing you to a few brilliant creatives in the world of design. Sure we are jumping into the beauty of a new month, but history of people of color is happening daily. So lets continue into March, celebrating the color of design.

Day 10: Meet the Designers Behind Royal Hut
Royal Hut is one of the first luxury brands in the world focused on creating products using African cloth. Mary Vinson founded Royal Hut in 2001, inspired by the beauty of the costumes worn by Nigerian Musician King Sunny Ade and his band. She created apparel and luxury home products of pillows, sheets, towels, kimonos and cusions all reflectiing the beauty of West African Textiles. Mary Vinson died in 2004 of cancer but her legacy lives on through London based Andrew Bannis who took over. He continues to research and source the most beautiful of West African textiles employing the beauty of tradional African arts to show how modern a look you can achieve with African Textiles. Andrew Bannis is set to launch a mens and womens collection using West African cloth this Spring as well. To read about the foundation set up to keep her creative spirit alive in Jamaica go here To explore the beauty of the textiles and the offerings of Royal Hut visit Royal Hut Tokeep up with Andrew Bannis and his upcoming fashion line and work with Royal hut visit his website http://www.lacompagnie.co.uk/

Each one teach one, if you have never heard of these designers or any of the others featured in this series, spread the love.

Photos of Mary Vinson and textiles courtesy of Royal Huts website. Andrew Bannis photograph in his stylish home via the Telegraph

As a product designer I spend alot of time going to tradeshows, trend forecasts, meetups and networking events and always notice the lack of diversity in the room. For the last few years I have spoken to other designers and even bloggers about why nobody ever does a designer of color spotlight atleast during the month of February. I decided over a week ago to fill the void myself. My inspiration came most recently from following Wayne Sutton and his #28 Days Of Diversity: People Impacting Social Media blog. I have connected and learned about fellow colleagues in social media that I was unfamiliar with and hope to offer the same benefit by introducing you to a few brilliant creatives in the world of design. Sure we are jumping into the beauty of a new month, but history of people of color is happening daily. So lets continue into March, celebrating the color of design.

Day 9: Meet Jaime Hayon
Jaime Hayon was born in Madrid and studied industrial design in both Madrid and Paris. Jaime is both an artist and designer with a very whimsical playful design aesthetic. All of his work has character and personality of it’s own from his camper shoe collection which is pure art to his collections of lighting, furniture, designer toys and ceramics. Jaime has also traveled the world doing interior design and installations that have been seen in Germany’s Vitra Museum, London’s Design Museum and a plethora of prestigious museums, hotels, restaurants, and retail establishments. He is truly a creative with the most mind blowing designs. To see his work and learn about the muti dimensional work of this talented brother visit his studio site. Hayon Studio

As a product designer I spend alot of time going to tradeshows, trend forecasts, meetups and networking events and always notice the lack of diversity in the room. For the last few years I have spoken to other designers and even bloggers about why nobody ever does a designer of color spotlight atleast during the month of February. I decided this weekend to fill the void myself. My inspiration came most recently from following Wayne Sutton and his #28 Days Of Diversity: People Impacting Social Media blog. I have connected and learned about fellow colleagues in social media that I was unfamiliar with and hope to offer the same benefit by introducing you to a few brilliant creatives in the world of design. On this last day of February we press on with what was traditionally called Black History Month and continue to introduce you to designers of color because we continue to create history.

Day 8: Meet Ruth Babajide
Ruth is a recent graduate of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design who studied Ceramic Design and recently launched Merbi. Merbi is comprises her collection of ceramic design of table and giftware. Her designs show influence from her Nigerian culture where she introduces ceramic canisters which she says is “designed to introduce the Nigerian culture of storing large quanitites of dry food to a western audience.” The beautiful canisters can be used to hold everything from food to jewelry to notions with style. There is a real elegance to the simplicity of the colors, shapes, and the organic illustrations on the ceramics that add to its allure. To see more of her work visit her site Merbi.

As a product designer I spend alot of time going to tradeshows, trend forecasts, meetups and networking events and always notice the lack of diversity in the room. For the last few years I have spoken to other designers and even bloggers about why nobody ever does a designer of color spotlight atleast during the month of February. I decided this weekend to fill the void myself. My inspiration came most recently from following Wayne Sutton and his #28 Days Of Diversity: People Impacting Social Media blog. I have connected and learned about fellow colleagues in social media that I was unfamiliar with and hope to offer the same benefit by introducing you to a few brilliant creatives in the world of design. Sure it is already 27 days into the month, but we are creating black history daily, so please join me for the ride over the next 28 days and explore the amazing color of design.

Day 7: Meet B. Smith
B. Smith is a trailblazer in the area of lifestyle and design for African Americans. B. Smith who was formerly a model has transcended her grace, style and elegance into a lifestyle, known foremost for her restaurants in NY, D.C, and Sag Harbor. The beauty and elegance of the restaurants brought Bed, Bath & Beyond knocking on her door to create a home collection, which debuted in 2001. Her collection is the first line by an African American to be sold at a nationwide retailer. She has everyhing from duvets, window treatments, bathroom accessories, candles, art and rugs in the collection. She also has licensed products including wall art, mirrors, and furniture. B. Smith is conquering everything from design to media, with 2 cookbooks, and a new tv show set to air this year. B. Smith is every woman. To read more about B. Smith check her website, to see the entire collection for Bed, Bath and Beyond go here, and for her restaurants click here.

Perusing Kanye’s new blog I found all the pattern and color inspiration I need for my new Spring/ Summer line. It’s a collection of photography called Tribal by Herring & Herring Great find Ye, to see more photos where this came from go here.