Oyin Handmade Headquarters

2021 - 2022

Project Partners:

Artists and Designers- Stephen Akerblom, Allison Crowley, and Alison Ho

Organizations- The Neighborhood Design Center, Oyin Handmade, and Central Baltimore Partnership

Project background and outcomes:

This interior design project supported Oyin Handmade, a Baltimore-based, Black-owned natural hair and body care product business. Owner Jamyla Bennu has grown Oyin from a home-based hobby into a sustainable family-run business. Together we collaborated to develop the interiors for their new headquarters. The new space features a retail shop, manufacturing facilities, and community test kitchen. The shop features Oyin products for sale, and the kitchen offers space for local makers to learn in classes from Bennu and rent the space to create their own wares. Neighboring Black-owned businesses were intentionally engaged in the construction process from choosing wall paper by DC-based designer Hadiya Williams to paint color matching and wall painting by Aurora Painting. Oyin is the first occupant of a local hub for small businesses in the Greenmount West neighborhood currently in the midst of renovation. While gentrification is a strong force in the Baltimore area, the developer was intentional about anchoring the space with businesses, such as Oyin, who have a long history of working in and serving the surrounding community. Future tenants may include a Black-owned yarn shop and cafe.

Photos courtesy Oyin Handmade and Angela Cochran