How to Support This Black-Owned Business

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My name is Jess Watson. I am the CEO & Creative Director of Points North Studio. I am also proudly African American, and ecstatic to watch this company grow into a sustainable business with 10 years in the game, especially when I remember starting it with just a personal credit card and a dream. At that time, my goal was to make as much as I would have if I was still working my full-time job, but I’ve learned over the years how to dream big.

If you’re a business owner during this turbulent time in our history, my hat goes off to you. This is even moreso if you are a business owner and also a person of color, beause it seems we shoulder the weight of not just surviving the setbacks of COVID19, but also systemic racism in our country. Some days it feels absolutely impossible to get ahead. Other days I’m hopeful because of the passionate clients we work with and the projects we work on. Some of these clients and people and causes you’ll never see in the news, because good news will never sell as quickly as everything else the media is throwing at us to increase page views and likes.

And yet still, we persist. We press on. We have hope. If you’re looking for some resources to help you get started with understanding what’s happening in our country, I wrote a research-rich essay for Technical.ly Baltimore that addresses this through a means of crtical knowledge, radical empathy, and intentional action. If you’re looking for a way to support Points North Studio, here’s a simple list of tasks that would make our day.

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Support Our Latest Give Back Project for Mera Kitchen Collective

Representing Baltimore in a unique, creative way, this set of 3 notebooks showcases two iconic images in Baltimore (The Patterson Park Pagoda, and The Greatest City in the World bench), coupled with one of the latest mural campaigns to spring up in the city: Shine Your Light Baltimore. This is a set of 3 notebooks, A6 size (4.135×5.83), saddle stitched.

A portion of the proceeds from this item will be donated to Mera Kitchen Collective (https://www.mera.kitchen), a worker cooperative focused on the empowerment of Baltimore’s refugees and immigrants through food entrepreneurship. They believe that promoting equitable access to opportunities, building community, and providing living wages are the keys to long-term self-determination, independence, and happiness.

You can purchase the notebooks here.

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Purchase A Shine Your Light Baltimore T-shirt While Supporting Another Good Cause

The Shine Your Light Baltimore project started out as a need to put one message out there for our city, that we are brighter together. This project is a collaboration between Points North and TheWaireHouse. We now have two murals in Baltimore, with what we hope are many more to come.

$5 from the sale of this t-shirt will be donated to Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School. Outward Bound uses experiential education techniques in a supportive yet challenging environment to teach their students that they are capable of more than they ever thought possible.

You can purchase the shirt here.

If you’re not ready to make a purchase at this time, you can still follow the project on Instagram. And while you’re on the ‘gram, follow our other community initiative: Have A Nice Day Project. In person meetings for this project are on hiatus, but our IG account will still put out good vibes each week until we can meet in person again.

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Sign Up For Our Monthly Newsletter

Our newsletter comes out once a month and will never be a burden on your inbox. It’s usually filled with original photos that I take around Baltimore and around the world. It also features solid advice on small business ownership, working while traveling, marketing, and how to take your passions to the next level. Additionally, it features updates on our community give-back projects and spotlights on the work we do with your clients. It’s a feel good newsletter, through and through.

You should get on our mailing list.

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If You’re A Client, Give Us A Review on Google or Facebook

If you’re a client or community partner with us, take a couple minutes out of your day to give us a review on Google or Facebook. Reviews help small businesses like us to show potential clients what it’s like to work with us. Long before a potential client ever contacts us about a project or collaboration, they are looking at our digital footprint online to see if we’re a good fit. Your honest review helps them to gather the research they need before connecting with us.

Review our company on Google.

Review our company on Facebook.

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Consider Us For Your Next Creative Project

If you have a marketing or design project coming up for your company or organization, send us your RFP and if it’s a good fit, we’d love to put together a proposal for your project. We take the time to understand your needs and what your vision of success looks like. If it’s not a good fit, we can always recommend fellow contractors within our creative and tech networks and help facilitate the connection. It’s a win-win scenario. Reach out to us through our contact page, or by email to hello@pointsnorthstudio.com.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Cover photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash.