The Kudos Project

More from this Series

• Aurora James has changed the way America shops

  The woman behind the Fifteen Per Cent Pledge talks about black entrepreneurship and her mission to rethink every closet in the US

  
• The ‘cultural lightning rod’ taking over at Supreme

  Denim Tears founder and creative influencer Tremaine Emory steps into the top seat at the streetwear giant

  
• The glow getter behind cult brand Ami Colé

  With her natural-look make-up, Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye has built a new community for black women

  
• Black skincare that’s seriously green

  BLK + GRN is an ethically-minded marketplace that champions the work of black artisans

  
• Nailing the art of the salon

  Ama Quashie’s championing of organic nail care is a winning formula

  
• Fashion with Caribbean cool

  Coconut Residence takes its style cues from the Windrush generation, India – and UK immigration

  
• Natlyn Jones wants to bring out the world champion in every woman

  Meet the SheWarrior athleisure founder with big ambitions for her line

  
• Glasses frames to suit black and brown features

  When two sisters couldn’t find glasses to fit, they created them

  
• He’s sending the taste of joy to your door

  The Nigerian-inspired Ayo delivers restaurant-quality flavour, style and ambience to your home

  
• Nigeria’s new cultural capital

  Dolly Kola-Balogun’s Abuja project is changing Africa’s culturescape

  
• ‘I want to bottle the smell of freedom and frolicking’

  The secret ingredient in Maya Njie’s evocative perfumes is pure nostalgia 

  
• Is it art, menswear or both?

  Art Comes First is writing its own rules for men’s fashion

  
• Cult Shop: street style and social impact come together in Houston

  A Ma Maniere combines fashion-forward buys with community connection

  
• Beautifully restored midcentury modern finds with soul

  Furniture store Old Old Woods is a secret trove of restoration gems 

  
• Rum that pays homage to abolitionist Olaudah Equiano

  This award-winning African and Caribbean rum has a warmth to savour and a heart of gold 

  
• Happiness in a cushion, from a Gambian asylum seeker

  If joy could be sewn and stitched with ruffles, it would be an In Casa by Paboy cushion

  
• Nassau’s answer to Nasa gets a fashion launch pad

  Is it clothes? Art? Space exploration? Or philanthropy? All of the above, says artist Tavares Strachan 

  
• ‘We make glasses to heal your eyes and music to heal your soul’

  Meet Coco and Breezy Dotson, the twin sisters who are eyewear designers, DJs and philanthropists

  
• Is it a jumper, is it an artwork, is it social activism?

  Kenyan-born artist Michael Armitage and Haitian-Italian fashion designer Stella Jean’s sweater collaboration is a multicultural force for good

  
• The urban gardener sowing the seeds of social change

  Claire Ratinon is cultivating a new agenda in horticulture

  
• A beauty brand powered by Yoruba philosophy 

  LIHA Beauty draws on west-African spirituality and its skincare rituals

  
• Meet the millennial building mindful cities 

  Stephanie Edwards draws upon her childhood on Grenada to evoke a sense of calm in her urban designs

  
• The artist helping black women loom large in public art

  Thomas J Price challenges the status quo with a 9ft sculpture that’s both otherworldly and beautifully familiar

  
• A Mayfair restaurant that breaks all the rules

  Ikoyi’s blend of west African spice with Asian umami defies categorisation

  
• The bio-designer who claims “bacteria can be beautiful”

  Faber Futures draws on science, architecture and southern African philosophy to create bespoke textile designs

  
• Meet the fashion designer crossing continents and epochs

  Olubiyi Thomas takes inspiration from Yinka Shonibare, Victorian England and the Black Dutchmen

  
• The Kudos Project: a new column celebrating black-owned businesses

  Time to soak up the scent of Bullshit, with IIUVO fragrances’ new candle launch