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Want to shop local and Black-owned but don’t know where to start, especially during the holiday season?
With Christmas just weeks away, buying Black and finding that perfect gift for a loved one or friend doesn’t have to be hard – just Ask Jennyfer, literally.
Detroit-based Jennyfer Crawford-Williams, owner of Ask Jennyfer, LLC, an influencer and Queen of small business advocacy, told the Michigan Chronicle that shopping small and especially shopping Black is important during this season because of many reasons.
“Small businesses are the backbone to the community and by supporting these businesses you are helping them feed their families,” Crawford-Williams said, adding that some of her top favorite locally-owned products that she promotes for the holidays include handmade products.
“I love unique and handmade products such as greeting cards and wrapping paper by The Candidly Speaking,” Crawford-Williams said. “It’s one of the few companies that sell greeting cards for the Black community.”
Also, handmade bags and accessories by B. Jacklean made from recycled materials are one of her favorites. They both are women-, Black-owned businesses.
When looking to buy a perfect gift for the holidays, she suggests people start online and use social media.
“Or Google to research local businesses in my community that carries the products I am looking for,” she said, adding that ‘tis the season to spur the local economy, especially now. “Small businesses have been having a hard time for the past few years and shopping with them through the holidays and being intentional to shop small throughout the year will definitely boost the economy.”
For more information visit www.askjennyfer.com
With the holidays comes traveling to and fro to visit others during this special time.
This holiday season people can give the gift of saving on baggage fees with this luggage that turns from a carry-on to a personal item created by Detroit entrepreneur Stephen Davis.
Airplane Mode
Entrepreneur and local business owner Stephen Davis, 38, of Southfield, knows all about that and told the Michigan Chronicle that his new luggage line, Take OFF Luggage, is available for all who want to make flying more fun.
The removable wheels and smaller size transform carry-on into a fee-free personal item.
Some airlines are now charging for carry-on bags, making upcharges a painful downside of flying on a budget airline. Luggage fees can increase the cost of a bargain ticket and make it hard to estimate the real cost of travel.
Introducing Black-owned Take OFF Luggage! This travel solution is putting the budget back into traveling by disrupting airline baggage fees – using the airline’s own rules to score a win! The wheels pop off and the bag’s compact size transforms it from a carry-on into an under-the-seat personal item that passengers can take onboard for free.
Take OFF Luggage retails at $119 and could save passengers an estimated $80 – $200 on just one trip alone.
“Being a frequent budget airline passenger, to save costs, I could not believe when they started actually charging me to roll my own bag to my flight and lift it up into the overhead bin,” said Take OFF Luggage Founder Stephen Davis. “Since under-seat bags are still free, I tried to find a bag that size that would still hold everything I needed to carry.”
Davis said he couldn’t find a suitable alternative bag, noting that he once traveled with a friend who solved his problem by packing a book bag. He searched high and low for a sophisticated luggage-style bag that was small enough to qualify as a personal item.
Then the realization struck him – without the wheels, many of the smaller high-quality carry-on rolling bags would indeed fit under the seat of the aircraft. That’s when he decided to create the perfect luggage for his budget traveling needs, a bag that would not require compromising on luggage space or traveling style. The innovative bag is built with four 360-degree spinning wheels that make walking with the luggage a breeze and removing the wheels as easy as pushing a button. With wheels off, the suitcase has the carry-on capacity – but is still the size of a fee-free personal item.
The Take OFF Luggage bag measures 20″H x 14″W x 8″ D and comes with four removable signature 360° spinner wheels. To remove the wheels, simply press the two yellow tabs on each wheel and the wheel comes off to reduce the length of the bag from 20″ to 18″ – allowing it to fit under most seats. When the plane lands, simply reattach the wheels by aligning the two yellow tabs with the openings on the wheels, and pressing it together until the wheel clicks back into place.
To learn more or to purchase Take OFF Luggage, visit takeoffluggage.com or purchase on Amazon. Follow Take OFF Luggage on Instagram at @takeoffluggage.
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