On this episode of Shop Essence Live in partnership with New Voices Family, we feature Ankedjé founder Alicia Bello. Born in Prince George's County, MD to Nigerian immigrants, her passion for African design began when she attended boarding school in Nigeria for the 8th, 9th, and 10th grades.
In Nigeria, it's common to have a tailor. There are custom outfits made for every occasion. She's always been a homebody and wanted to bring that experience to the home decor space. She also wanted to connect people of African descent to the history and traditions of the continent.
Every Ankedjé product is handcrafted, sophisticated, and deeply rooted in culture. Watch the full video for more info!
In Nigeria, it's common to have a tailor. There are custom outfits made for every occasion. She's always been a homebody and wanted to bring that experience to the home decor space. She also wanted to connect people of African descent to the history and traditions of the continent.
Every Ankedjé product is handcrafted, sophisticated, and deeply rooted in culture. Watch the full video for more info!
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Shop Essence Live. I am your host Noni
00:07Donovan, and this is where we bring you two new Black-owned brands to shop with us. And
00:13I am so excited to get into this episode. We know that when we are setting up our homes,
00:19we want to make it truly our own. We want to bring in our heritage. We want to bring
00:26in our personality. And when I tell you this next brand has got us covered with some really
00:32thoughtful designs for our home and our heart, please welcome Alicia Bello to the show. She
00:40is founder and creator of Ankeje Republic. Alicia, did I say that okay?
00:46You did. Hi, Stephanie. Thanks so much for having me.
00:50Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to have you on and to allow you to have the space to show
00:56up these incredible designs that you have for our home. Before we get into our show
00:59and tell, can you tell us about how you came up with Ankeje, this incredible brand?
01:05Sure. So the idea from Ankeje really came from my own journey of self-discovery. I grew
01:11up here in Maryland in a majority Black county, Penn Sturgis County, Maryland. And when I
01:15was about 13, my parents sent me back to their home country of Nigeria to attend a
01:19boarding school. And I was there for about three years. And while I was in Nigeria, I
01:24was really intrigued by this whole culture around tailors. Nigeria, we're like really
01:28big party people. We have outfits made for every occasion, weddings, funerals, birthdays,
01:34just because. And so I really wanted to apply that concept of like, you know, really unique
01:39small batch handmade products to the home decor space, because I am a homebody. I am
01:45a quintessential introvert. I rarely go out, but I love to be at home with my tea and a
01:49good book. And so I want to kind of apply that same concept to the home decor space.
01:54I love, love, love it. And then what is your background? Are you a designer or how did
01:59you come to hone in on the specific designs that you chose?
02:05That is a great question. So I am very self-taught. My degrees are in political science and law,
02:10so nothing at all to do with design, but I've always had an eye for it and just really just
02:14had a natural talent and flair. So yeah, everything is self-taught.
02:18I love that. And it's just like, you're literally turning your passions into a business, which
02:24a lot of people figure like, oh, you must have gone to a design school or this or that.
02:30And you just using your heritage and what you grew up with and what you know, what's
02:33around you, what you love and turning it into a brand, which is so dope. Okay, we're getting
02:38into show and tell. And oddly enough, I got your product that you sent me, this beautiful
02:45apron back in December, and I thought it was a Christmas gift. I'm over here just rocking
02:49it and cooking with it. Unbeknownst to me, it was for shoppers inside from you. So I
02:55am going to just kind of stand up and show off if you can just talk a little bit about
03:01this beautiful design here. I love that. So I actually designed this apron
03:06for one of my best friends from, oh, I love it. It looks so good on you. One of my best
03:10friends from grad school. She is from Ghana, but also grew up in Liberia, and she loves
03:15to cook. And you can imagine just me being a stressed out grad student, having a roommate
03:20who like cooked all the time was like just like balm for my soul. So she kept asking
03:24me to make her an apron. So I made this in honor of her. So this is like a dark blueprint
03:29with Ankara, which is African print accents, but the robe is actually reversible. So the
03:34other side is also very usable. Both sides have like these really deep pockets. You can
03:39wear it either way. So it's meant to be both fashionable and functional. So yeah.
03:43I love this for anything. Like look how far this could go, you guys. And it's so cute.
03:54I love it. Fashion and function. I put my phone in here. I'm just like, I love it. I
04:01love love love it. And this is not all that you have. Can you talk about the other products
04:06that are available?
04:07Sure, absolutely. So my first product, which might be a little bit hard to show on screen,
04:12was actually these satin pillowcases, which I really love. It's the same concept of like,
04:16you know, the African print on the side with a satin pillowcase to kind of protect your
04:20hair and your skin for all my natural girlies. What I love the most is like it has this hidden
04:25zipper. If you can kind of see it, it kind of goes underneath the flap. So unlike your
04:28bonnet, it's going to stay put. It's not running away. It's kind of there and secure.
04:32So yeah. And to that, we have a bunch of other soft goods. We have, you know, throw pillows,
04:37bed runners. We have candles, body oils, an array of like home goods and home essentials.
04:43I love that. And then I can really squeeze up any basic thing that you have, or just
04:51a little bit of personality. You know, if you have like a basic bed spread and adding
04:56that print and that bed runner to it, it just takes it to a whole new level. Love, love,
05:02love, love. That's exactly the idea. You know, you want to have a little bit of culture in
05:05every space. So that's, that's the plan. Little bit of culture in every space. And you guys
05:10can see, we have the ticker at the bottom. You can go straight to her website, take a
05:15look at all the products that are available and purchase right then and there. You are
05:20treating the Essies to a discount code. Can you let them know about the discount code
05:24and how long they have to use it? Yes, I am. So for everyone who shopped with us over
05:28the next two weeks, we have a code, it's ESSENCE in all caps, and you will get 25% off until
05:34March 31st. So please come check us out. Listen, 25% off. That's a small discount, y'all. 25%
05:41off. You have two weeks. So if you're watching this on March 30th, get to going to EssieJ.co
05:48and make a purchase. That is so amazing. Thank you so much for treating us to that. Before
05:54I let you go, this is in partnership with the New Voices family. I'd love for you to
05:59talk about what it's been like being a part of that community. Absolutely. So it's really
06:04been a transformative experience, I would say, because the community is truly unmatched.
06:08You know, there's no gatekeeping. Everyone shares from their heart just so generously
06:13and being able to watch the more experienced founders and learn from their mistakes and
06:16their trials. It's really just been like a really good experience. There's just been
06:19so much support from all of our mentors, including Art, Marie, Maria, Arion. It's just
06:24been so awesome. So it's been a really great program for me, just truly transformational.
06:32You guys are watching at home, and you are an entrepreneur or you want to be an entrepreneur,
06:38go to newvoicesfamily.com. There is a ton of information available to you guys. You
06:44heard Alicia, like there's a great community there, no gatekeeping. You can learn a ton.
06:51And I know being an entrepreneur, sometimes you feel like you're on a lonely planet by
06:55yourself and you have to figure out things by yourself. You absolutely do not. So take
07:00a chance on yourself. Go to New Voices Family, join the community. I could be talking to
07:04you in a few months. You never know. It has happened, okay? Multiple times. Alicia, thank
07:11you so, so much. I'm going to remind everyone, there's a discount code of 25% off if you
07:16go to her website and type in ESSENCE in all caps. This is her website here at the bottom.
07:23Make sure that you guys go and check out all of her incredible products and spruce up the
07:27home, you guys, spruce up the home. Add in culture in every space, which I absolutely
07:33love that you said that. Alicia, thank you so much for joining us. And everybody at home,
07:38thank you so much for watching and tune in for more Shop Essence Live in partnership
07:43with the New Voices Family. See you guys later.
07:46So good. All right. So I am now, Alicia, going to put you backstage. Thank you. Thank you.
07:58Hang out, hang out, hang out, hang out, hang out, hang out, hang out. My job is so hard.
08:08Right? You're getting nice aprons, you're getting liquor.
08:12It's 5 p.m. somewhere. Here we go. And I'm legit about to cook lunch with that. I got
08:22to put that right back on.
08:23It's beautiful.
08:24I love it. Okay. So I'm going to put you backstage. You know the drill. I don't have
08:28any real feedback for you, so you can just, you don't have to go on mute necessarily.
08:33I'm like, oh, it's ready. I also have this cinnamon spice stuff. Ultimate cake batter.
08:43Also, Shop Essence Live alum. Okay. Here we go. A little culture in a bottle. What's
08:52the one thing that you would want to say about, like, that I can put in the intro?
08:57Because I put for Alicia, like, you know, African designs for your heart and home. What
09:02is your, like, kind of tagline?
09:05Oh, you can see that it's, well.
09:09Oh, wait. It says raise a glass to the pearl of the Caribbean.
09:13You can see that.
09:16Oh, we're already recording. So here we go.
09:22It is time to raise a glass to the pearl of the Caribbean with L.S. Cream. This is the
09:30feature on this week's Shop Essence Live in partnership with the New Voices family. I
09:35am your host Noni Donovan, and this is where we bring you new Black-owned brands to shop.
09:40We have been here since 2020, giving you incredible products, incredible stories, all
09:46Essence approved, in partnership with the New Voices family. I want everybody to welcome
09:51Myriam Jean Baptiste. She is co-founder, co-founder?
09:57Yes, co-founder.
09:59Co-founder of L.S. Cream Liqueur. You try to have me say it in French, but we're going
10:05to work on it. But I'm so excited to try this. I am one of the few people in my family
10:13that really love like the creamy liquor. I love eggnog when the holidays comes around.
10:19So I was really, really excited to have you on this week's show. So before we get into
10:25the show and tell them the live taste test, tell us how you came up with this brand L.S. Cream.
10:31Absolutely. Well, first of all, thank you so much, Stephanie, for having me. So L.S.
10:36is actually inspired by a traditional recipe that we call cremasse in Haiti. So I'm of
10:42Haitian descent, along with my husband, also who's Haitian.
10:45Yes, that's L.S.
10:46Yeah, Lula, Lula. And we both grew up with this amazing recipe that's part of every celebration,
10:53whether it is for baptism, communions, parties, there's always a bottle of homemade cremasse
11:00at home. And one Christmas, we were actually at my family house and we saw like a family
11:06member gift a beautiful bottle of cremasse, of homemade cremasse. And my husband and I,
11:11we looked at ourselves and we were like, how come we're not able to get this on the shelf?
11:15Why do we always have to wait for our aunties or mothers or, you know, the family to make
11:20it? So we said, you know what, let's dive into it. So we both decided to dive into this
11:27beautiful journey and come up with something that we could share with everyone that could
11:33be on the shelf right next to the different creme liqueurs that we know about. And that's
11:38also Black-owned.
11:40Love, love, love it. Okay. So now we are getting into the taste test. Oh, my job is so hard,
11:49but it's 5 p.m. somewhere.
11:51And I have to do it with you, too. I mean, we're sharing, right?
11:55Okay, so we're going to, so if you can talk about, for anybody that doesn't know the tradition
12:01of cremasse and what's in it, can you talk about the ingredients?
12:06Yeah, of course. So like I said, every family has their own recipe of cremasse. So we actually
12:12took my husband's grandmother's recipe that she had left like in a little Ziploc bag that
12:18the family was passing around. So you'll actually taste notes of cinnamon, coconut, vanilla,
12:24nutmeg, and it's mixed with pure green alcohol. So usually creme liqueurs are more like rum-based
12:32or whiskey-based, but we decided to take a pure green alcohol so that it's very versatile
12:37and you could also mix it with different spirits. So that's really what you taste. It's low
12:42in lactose. So for anybody that's a little...
12:47I wasn't going to say on here, but I'm just like for us that, you know, the creme liqueur
12:51could be a little dangerous, but you're saying it's great.
12:54Don't worry. We thought about our people. So low in lactose, it's gluten-free and it's
12:59made with all natural ingredients and you don't have to refrigerate it. Even once you
13:04open the bottle, you can leave it out on the shelf. It won't spoil. It won't like turn.
13:09It's really a product of quality.
13:12This is just, and this is what we love to bring you guys at Shop Essence Live in partnership
13:17with the New Voices family is products that are so intentional for us. Like talk about
13:23Made For Us, Buy Us. So many of us are lactose intolerant.
13:26Absolutely.
13:27Gluten sensitivities. And this is great. And you even thought about the storage of it,
13:32which is amazing. And we got to get into the taste. It is so delicious. And then can you
13:42talk about the, like, I probably poured too much. I don't, can you talk about the alcohol
13:48level of it? Like how much, it says 17%.
13:54So it's 17%. So it will creep up on you if you're just like sipping it. But the good
13:59thing is that you could actually mix it. You could, you know, a little drop in your coffee
14:03on Sunday morning. You could do espresso martinis. You could do a creamy old fashioned. We have
14:09a bunch of recipes on a website that you could inspire yourself from. People bake with
14:15it. They do like French toast recipes in the French toast batter, or just like simply on
14:21the rocks. It's also very delicious.
14:24Oh my goodness. This is like eggnog too.
14:29Yes.
14:30So delicious. And yes, I can absolutely see putting it in like your chai latte.
14:39Or your coffee. I can see the French toast too. You guys, you got to go to their website.
14:46I have it below on the little ticker. Go to their website. That is where you can purchase
14:51as well as see all these incredible recipes that Miriam is putting us on to this year.
14:59So good. Would be such a great gift. So many times I'm like going to a party or going somewhere.
15:05It's like, oh, what do I bring? Like this right here would make sense for such an amazing
15:10gift as well as having in your own, you know, little liquor cabinet.
15:13Yeah, of course. And, and, you know, you could actually purchase this either on our website.
15:18You go directly to the website. We have a store locator. You could see you put in your
15:23zip code, but you could also get it Total Wine, Bev Moin, California. So there's, you
15:29know, different stores where you can get it. Just go on our website to see the closest location.
15:34My goodness. This is so, so good. Okay. So this is in partnership with the New Voices
15:42family. If you could talk a little bit about what it's been like for you to be a part of
15:46such an incredible community for the people.
15:49Absolutely. I mean, the New Voices family, we needed this in our community, especially
15:56in the entrepreneur community. It's, it's, I don't even have the words to say how needed
16:04it is to have this type of environment, be able to exchange with different entrepreneurs
16:09that are having either the same journey as you or having different things, the level
16:14of commitment from everybody that's in, that's part of this, of this team is amazing.
16:20So we, we had an amazing time, my husband and I being part of this program.
16:25So good. So you guys, if you are an entrepreneur and you are watching this, make sure that
16:31you check out newvoicesfamily.com. There's so much information that is available. There's
16:36an incredible community that is available so that you can take your business to the
16:41next level. No matter what level that you are in, you would be surprised whether you're
16:46in big box brand stores already, or you're just starting out. There is something for
16:51everyone. Miriam. Okay. This is, this is a part of every day, but I absolutely love this
17:05cream liqueur. Cremos is just, you guys have to check this out. Check out the recipes for
17:11sure. It is such a beautiful way to unwind. Low in lactose, gluten-free, and you can store
17:19it anywhere, even after it's open. So great. And connecting to Haitian heritage as well
17:26and continuing on with tradition is so, so dope. Is there anything else you have coming
17:31up or any other products that you want to talk about? I can't really talk about the
17:36products, but we have some things in the works that we're working on just to be like,
17:41again, we want just to give an alternative to people that enjoy cream liqueurs, want
17:46to know more about cream liqueurs. So there's certain things that are coming up that we're
17:51excited about. So it sounds like a part two Miriam, we have to have you back on. But yeah,
17:57once again, go to her website. Whenever you watch anything at Shop Essence Live, we're
18:02connecting you directly to these vendors. So all purchases go solely to these Black-owned
18:07brands, which is amazing. Miriam, it's been so great to have you guys on. Shout out to
18:12your partners over there at LS Cream. And I'm so, so excited to try out all these recipes.
18:20Yeah. Thank you for having me, Stephanie. Thank you so much. And thank you guys so much
18:25at home for tuning in. Make sure you tune in weekly for more Black-owned brands to shop
18:30right here with us at Shop Essence Live in partnership with the New Voices family. Bye.
18:37Goodbye. That was so great. All right. So let me end recording.