Kamaria Warren was a little girl when she discovered there was a hole in the market. There was no stationary representing black women. At the age of seven Kamaria started with her mother designing products and tools for little girls of color to enjoy. These products ranged from purses to school supplies. All of the products would depict images of cartoonish black children or things relevant to black people. Kamaria’s store, Brown Girls Stationary & Acsessories, is aimed to create and grow product lines for black children. The purpose of these products is to encourage and inspire girls of color to reach for more. To remind them of their importance. This company is run by 3-5 people. At one time a personal loss resulted in the company coming to a standstill. Brown Girls S&A used this loss and pause to refoucus in on what they were orriginally founded for; to inspire and to create love. In the years before their pause they had become focused on bringing in profit. Kamaria says that this loss help her recenter her business on what really mattered.
For Kamaria’s pure intentions and inspiring ideals, she ended up on the Today Show. She has also won the BeyGood Foundation Grant. With her popularity she has given thousands of notebooks to STEM organizations for their summer youth programs. Along with that she donated snacks to nurses and medical workers. This gift started the Kamaria’s new project #Snackworthy, who’s aim is to help feed hard working personnel in the medical field. Kamaria has said she wants to create a platform on which others can order and create their own products, so that all people might feel seen and have products that speak to them as individuals.
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Kamaria’s realization at just 7 is crazy and her ability to find that gap in the market of representation is crazy. The focus on empowering young girls of color through representation is great and she is still making money while helping people. Her story is also amazing using her personal loss as an opportunity to realign the business with its original purpose and focus on helping rather than pure profit. Kamaria’s journey is a powerful example of how even the smallest ideas, when rooted in purpose and authenticity, can create lasting change and inspire entire communities.
Kamaria had a great goal and she executed it well. We do not think as much as we should about the small ways in which someone can be made to feel more seen or to feel connected. Role models and community are important for children. Making sure girls have access to stationary and accessories that have characters which look like them is a noble pursuit.
What an amazing insight to have and want to share about inspiring girls of color through stationary! It’s crazy how few people run Brown Girls Stationary & Accessories, and I love that Warren used a detrimental period in the trajectory of her business–a standstill, which would leave many people uninspired–to reevaluate her motivations and come back even stronger with a renewed vision. And it’s so cool that she’s started yet another great pursuit from this–donating snacks to medical workers is such a thoughtful charity to start.
Wow! What an interesting story! Kamaria Warren saw a gap in the market and started a business to empower girls of color. She turned a personal loss into motivation to refocus on her mission. It’s awesome how she’s giving back with projects like #Snackworthy and supporting STEM programs.