October was a busy, busy month. I kicked it off celebrating Nigerian independence day (with obligatory Nigerian food) and Nubian Skin’s 9 year anniversary! It’s hard to believe it’s almost been a decade since I launched.
The big highlight of the month was a huge anniversary celebration / pop-up. The Beat Goes on was a celebration of Fashion and Art on London’s Piccadilly. I joined, Caroline Chinakwe, Samson Soboye and Donald Baugh, and we held a four day pop-up shop / exhibition. On October 13th we had a party (now dubbed 'the rave on Piccadilly'), and it was incredible to celebrate each other, 9 years of Nubian Skin, and see so many people who have been with us and played a part on this journey.
I needed about a week to recover, but had to bounce back as our inventory landed in the US, and we’re currently in the process of getting everything ready to sell domestically state-side.
On a personal note, I’ve had lots of family time, which has been lovely. I took my son for his first ice-cream sundae, which was very exciting and promptly followed by a toddler meltdown due to a stomach ache (I only have myself to blame for that). I’ve also been able to spend some time with my sister, who is wonderful wonderful! I was asked on a panel recently what the word love meant to me, and I said without hesitation, “family”.
Other highlights this month was a talk at Soho House hosted by Catia Del Poz of One Million Voices. Her platform is incredible, and it was lovely to chat with her about the Nubian Skin journey and the impact and legacy I’ve had on the industry. Each guest she interviews is able to donate and highlight a charity of their choice, and I chose the Leanne Pero Foundation and the work they are doing around raising cancer awareness in POC communities. It seemed particularly appropriate given it’s also Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
It’s been a fabulous British Black History month.