Being an entrepreneur takes courage and perseverance. Anyone who’s been in business for a while will tell you the reason they’re still around is because they pushed themselves to keep learning and evolving along the way.
In celebration of the determination found within the Maker Movement and Black History Month, we’d like to recognize seven standout businesses in Northeast Ohio who have caught our attention. At the core, they know WHY they do what they do and WHAT their brand represents to their customers.
The Maker Town™ app is proud to feature the following businesses within our interactive mobile directory:
This all natural skin care products business began after founder Torrian Denise felt compelled to create a cream solution that not only soothed her salon clients’ feet but also her mother’s extremely dry skin as a result of her chemotherapy treatments. Now in its 15th year, the DorNee’ brand of products can be found at Whole Foods, Mustard Seed Market, and Lucky’s in addition to Torrain’s flagship store in Cleveland Heights, OH.
One of the more interesting Akron, OH artists to emerge into the custom movement, Jevante King-Woods also known as @JaeCapo, delivers one-of-a-kind, hand painted wearable art. While his colorful, abstract fine art pieces are created on canvas and wood, his hand painted wearables are created directly onto clothing. Working with his client’s favorite jackets, sweatshirts, jeans and shoes, he embellishes the surface with intentionally bold brush strokes and meaningful symbols or words that reflect the style of each person.
A bold and stylish design studio that offers a fully custom experience for clients the minute they walk in the door. From influencing the sketches of the actual design to hand picking hard-to-find fabrics and buttons from this designer’s personal collection, clients of fashion designer @DruChristine can fully participate in the creative process. Customers can also shop her store’s ready-to-wear accessories or take a workshop to learn how to sew.
Akron, OH artist April Couch is well known for her Zentangle art creations, whether on paper, gourds, tables or t-shirts. Zentagles are meditative, complicated drawings that are built one line at a time to create repeating patterns that grow and change in mesmerizing ways. April’s objects are fascinating to own and give as gifts, including her custom published Zentangle coloring books, which offer countless hours of creative expression for those who want to try their own hand.
Using a patent pending process, Cleveland Heights artist Deborah Cooper-Asberry creates reversible mosaic tile jewelry. All of her pieces are hand sculpted from clay, coated with a custom glaze that’s a different color on both sides, then fired and assembled to become two separate looks for the price of one. Available through Etsy and Amazon Handmade.
Inspired by a knotted scarf her grandmother gave her to preserve her hair before bed, Cleveland founder Charron Martin eventually developed pre-sewn head wraps that could be worn more as a fashion accessory but with the similar “pineapple’ing” method. Launched as a legacy to her grandmother, who wore the wraps from time to time as she suffered from cancer, the Perfect Pineapple® collection has now become the world’s first of its kind as functional, versatile and stylish head wraps for both men and women.
