Hemma creates fresh, elegant collections using authentic hand-woven Kente, a textile rich in African royal tradition. Kente began to flourish in West Africa in the 17th century and still remains prominent representing social prestige, luxury, and cultural sophistication. Each garment is uniquely handmade from intricately hand-woven Kente imported from Ghana. By incorporating the same techniques used to dress Ghanaian nobility for centuries, Hemma allows each client to exude royalty. By investing in quality pieces that last a lifetime, the lives of Ghanaian school children are also impacted. A percentage of all proceeds will be donated to a West African middle school where the designers instructed classes.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Hemma in Japan Weekly

Kinue from Japan Weekly caught up with us during the Hemma Trunk show at AvaMaria. This marks our first international newspaper feature... is it a coincidence that our first online order came from Japan?

We love Japanese fashion for the innovation, colors, and mixing and matching of textures. We have our eye on the market and Hemma will be sold there soon!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

NYChic: Dreams of Kente

NYChic is an amazing magazine created by the fashion aficionados attending NYU. After interning with us last semester, Justina Lee wrote this fabulous article. Congrats Justina, we will be keeping an eye out for your work!

Interested in interning with Hemma? Email your resume & cover letter to employment@thehemmacollection.com

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Hemma's Must Reads

Hemma recently turned 2 this month and it made me reflect on how much the company evolved since the initial brainstorm meetings at Think Coffee right after graduation. We evolved tremendously learning a great deal about the industry, business, and ultimately life. Recently, we have been talking more about the separation that must exist between business and personal life. Not allowing set-backs in business to permeate into our everyday life along with not allowing it to have a negative effect on future business matters.

On a continual quest to learn more, I picked up “Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office – 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make that Sabotage Their Careers” by Lois P. Frankel. Frankel is the president of a successful consulting firm specializing in executive coaching and leadership development. Although some references were outdated and tailored towards women on Wall Street, I found this book extremely eye-opening. Here are two mistakes from “Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office” that I am working on -

1. Making Miracles – “Women take pride in the fact that they can do more with less, meet or beat impossible deadlines…you must be realistic about establishing work habits and not thinking you have to be a superwoman to be effective.” Tips: Set realistic daily or weekly goals, ask for help, & manage people’s expectations.

2. Ignoring the Importance of Networking Relationships – “We all need to call on relationships every now and then to help us out professionally. And remember: When you need that relationship, it’s already too late to build it.” Tips: Join and actively participate in groups that involve your profession, tell yourself spending time building relationships is not a waste of time, & keep a database that includes the people you meet and information they shared with you.

The other 99 mistakes outlined by Frankel include habits that one may not immediately deem detrimental as polling before making decisions. I appreciated Frankel’s attempt to touch on societal roles that influence the behavior and treatment of women in the workforce. Pick it up to find out more.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Harlem's Hemma Couture

Harlem World (the official guide to all things Harlem) recently published an article about Hemma. We are proud members of the community with the Hemma Showroom located in the heart of Harlem. Special thanks to the very talented stylist Monique Marie for the story about our collection. For appointments to view The Hemma Showroom, email us at inquiries@thehemmacollection.com.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Shop Hemma at Some Odd Rubies

Some Odd Rubies stands apart from the plethora of boutiques in the Lower East Side. They have a great selection of innovative vintage and new dresses with refreshing colorful prints and beautiful embroidery. I stopped by yesterday and had a refreshing conversation with the owner Ruby who is also dedicating her time to philanthropic efforts abroad. Check out our official website to learn how you can assist the educational system in Ghana. With the beautiful weather underway, there's no better time to shop Hemma at Some Odd Rubies.
Some Odd Rubies
151 Ludlow & Rivington
New York, NY 10002
(212) 353-1736

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Elle Magazine's Women in Music Concert

Hemma joined Elle Magazine this past Wednesday as the Elle Women in Music Concert celebrating the July issue featuring Rihanna, Alicia Keys,& Christina Aguilera. The concert featured performances by The Like, Kelis, and to our surprise - the legendary Patti LaBelle! LaBelle's high notes were as powerful as ever and she barely had to sing her hit Lady Marmalade as the crowd sang along word for word.
The Like performs He's Not a Boy
Kelis performs Milkshake & Acapella
Patti LaBelle performs Lady Marmalade

Shopping With the Pros - Darling on AmNY

The editors of AmNew York picked their favorite boutiques in NYC for summer shopping with Darling among the best to snag summer frocks. Darling is also one of our favorite boutiques and where you can shop Hemma today. There's an amazing selection of whimsical dresses, one of a kind jewelry, and Hemma originals exclusive to Darling. Stop by and enjoy! Darling, 1 Horatio Street New York, NY 10013, (646) 336-6966

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Hemma Garden Party Video by FBE.Now


We had a great time at The Hemma Garden Party at Darling located in the West Village. Check out the video by FBE.now, a premier online magazine for young entrepreneurs. Did you miss The Hemma Garden Party in May? Don't fret, stop by Darling today to shop Hemma! Darling 1 Horatio Street & 8th Avenue New York, NY 10013 (646) 336-6966

Monday, June 7, 2010

Join Us at The Hemma Trunk Show at AvaMaria

The Hemma Garden Party on CDTV

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CDTV recaps The Hemma Garden Party at Darling.

The Hemma Garden Party at Darling

We had a great time at The Hemma Garden Party on Saturday, May 22. The party was hosted in Darling - a chic boutique in the West Village where Hemma is sold. It was a warm Saturday, perfect weather for the refreshing cocktails in the garden. The collection was featured with the new Sena Dress unveiled with a jewel neckline and added blue kente detail perfect for the summer. Guest enjoyed exclusive gift bags and 15% off each Hemma purchase. We also featured The Hemma Foundation - where a percentage of each item sold is donated. Guest had the chance to directly donate to La Yahoushua where Edna and Cindy volunteered as photography club advisors and instructors. Shop Hemma today at Darling located at 1 Horatio Street & 8th Avenue. Check out full photo coverage of the Garden Party!

Rule4080 Highlights The Hemma Garden Party


The Hemma Garden Party at Darling was a hit, check out the coverage on Rule4080!

The Lawrence Blake Group

We had an amazing time at the Hemma Garden Party hosted at Darling - chic boutique in the West Village where Hemma is sold. We met Blake of The Lawrence Blake Group - A public relations and event management company. Check out his post on The Hemma Garden Party. Shop Hemma today at Darling, 1 Horatio Street & 8th Avenue.

Friday, June 4, 2010

I'll be going to Iron Solomon's Single Release Party this Sunday June 6th at Pyramid and its sure to be a great time! I'm sure you've already heard of the notorious then battle rapper Iron Solomon who uses his lyrical genius to out-perform most other so called battlers. His style, vocab and energy set him apart from the rest and after watching lots of his battles on his facebook, I immediately knew there was something special about this guy. His versatility will undoubtedly allow him to cross over into the world of mainstream music and entertaiment. He's dropping his single and I've been lucky enough to hear quite a few of the soon to be hits and im excited for him and for music.

His talent and that of producer Isaiah come together seemlessly to create truly soulful, energetic, meaningful and great dancing music.

Isaiah's skills in every aspect of music from playing several instruments, vocalist, song writer, rapper and producer make him a force to be reckoned with. He also somehow finds time for humanitarian issues- writing and singing an original song titled Song For Haiti that raised thousands of dollars for the relief effort after the earthquake hit Haiti . Their music is innovative, refreshing and edgy. Join me this Sunday for a night to remember!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Block Heels

Architect Rem D Koolhaas is dipping his feet in a new design area; shoes! No doubt drawing inspiration from his architecture background, Koolhaas is introducing the Block heel to United Nude, a new shoe flagship located in New York’s Lower East Side.

Rosena Sammi Jewelry

This colorful jewelry line, inspired by the attorney turned designers’ Sri Lankan Tamil background, can add some flair to any outfit. To make these bright accessories even more ideal, some pieces, like the bangles above, feature inspiration words in Sanskrit. Pair these great pieces with Hemma’s black kente blazer to really pop this summer!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Hermes SilkCity

Check out Hermes’ summer 2010 silk and leather bags. The collection draws its inspiration from fairy tales. The particular one above features a design created in 1997 by artists from the Republic of Cameroon.