Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Share this story
- Reign Apiim of Palais Apiim handmakes all of her creations and offers one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces to her customers. She puts a lot of time and love into every piece, and says she sometimes has a hard
- Dream of Fash uses traditional African fabrics to create chic, modern silhouettes. We loved the bright red dress with gold foil owner Belkis Whyte is wearing above. Her recent creation
- Birkenstocks from the Sandra Spannan x Harlem Bespoke collab.
- A. Bernadette was created by sisters Andrea and Amberle Reyes; together, they their line of eco-friendly, fair trade fashionable designs from Uganda to New York. Amberle showed us their African wax c
- Chez Diarra sells authentic African hot sauces. (It made us sweat, but was so good.) The Foronta, a Scotch Bonnet-based pepper sauce, is thick like Sriracha, and the Peanut Pima sauce is both sweet and spicy—tha
- Alton Weekes is a boutique design studio in Harlem that creates handcrafted stationery. (Their cards have been sold in major department stores, like Neiman Marcus, Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman.) Alto
- Deux Fois is a vintage inspired online boutique that offers great pieces at reasonable prices. Owner Maylyn Lyn offers full service personal styling and fashion consulting. She shows us a long sleeved sequined black dress (above) from her vi
- Mighty Edible serves up delicious sauces, spreads, spices, and breads. Owner Kay Excell's favorite is her “Coffee Beer Caramel,” which she loves to pair with her homemade cocoa bread. It's made with Jama
- Fanm Djanm, which means "Strong Woman" in Haiti, is a line of stylish headwraps created by Haitian lifestyle blogger Paola Mathe. All her designs boast colorful prints and patterns, and are made for the
- Collection of original print art of afro-centric pop culture by architect John Reddick.
- Kuzeh Pottery's co-owners Tina Chiu and Pegah Shahghasemi showed us their handcrafted clay/wood coffee maker ($40), which can easily be paired with their clay mugs ($28). All clay pie
- Karema Deodato of Karema Deodato Millinery creates a beautiful assortment of headwear that's incredibly wearable, using her training at FIT and experience at the Metropolitan Opera.
- Professional Harlem-based gilder Sandra Spannan of See-painting showed us her favorite piece (while wearing a hat from Karema Deodato Millinery), which is an 11-inch ha
- She also does custom orders such as framed letters of your choice with 23-karat gold leaf. Sandra's work can be seen all around New York City, at Tiffany Co., Balthazar, the Whitney Museum, when you look up inside the newly revived Williamsburg
- Are you perhaps looking for one of the most sought-after coffee beans in the world? Meet Centropics, which offers renowned arabica coffee beans from the famous Blue Mountain region of Jamaica. Known
- Crosstown Sweets offer a variety of jams that are made in small batches using only local and seasonal fruits that are sustainably grown. Organic sugar is used and no pectin is added. Founder Albane S
- Interior designer Christopher Trujillo sells a variety of truly unique antiques, such as this vintage alligator jewelry box he used to travel with.