DETROIT – Millions across the country hit the malls for the huge Black Friday deals, but the city of Detroit is urging people to save some of that money and give back to the local shops, in particular African American-owned stores on Small Business Saturday.
“I make everything. I’m an artist,” said Stephanie Whitfield, with Salikas’ Jewels LLC.
Whitfield, owner of Salikas’ Jewels, takes pride in her customized jewelry. On Saturday, she made her products stand out a little more. "It’s Small Business Saturday. It gives pop-up artists like myself, or a small business, who maybe doesn’t have a brick and mortar, another opportunity to present, what you make or sell.”
Whitefield designed and customized jewelry, but her specialty is Detroit-based earrings. “I got to rep my city, and I rep it hard, too.”
The details stand out, especially with her customers.
“I think it’s great. There’s just so much creativity that goes into each and every one of these businesses,” said Joshua Spires.
Several black-owned businesses across Detroit were highlighted in an inaugural Black Business Crawl.
Rashea Hosea with Wealthy said that gives him a chance to show off.
“From scratch, basically. We got good quality hoodies, good quality tees. People like different colors. It’s kind of hard to keep them on the shelf,” Hosea said.
The bright and different colors are pretty popular, but Hosea believes the concept behind the brand is what it’s all about.
“I just always told myself I was mentally wealthy,” Hosea said.
Now, he’s able to share that wealth.
“I try to give all of the small businesses, the local businesses around, just to circulate the dollar within our community,” Hosea said.