BRAND HISTORY

What started as a street cart at Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore quickly proved there was something special happening. The cart generated so much business that Rodney and Belinda were offered a physical store right inside the mall. From that store they expanded their reach to New York City, setting up a kiosk at Mart 125 in Harlem directly across from the world famous Apollo Theater where the brand immediately found its people. That Harlem kiosk grossed a quarter of a million dollars in its first year. From a cart in Baltimore to a store in the mall to the heart of Harlem, New Heritage had arrived. Within two years the brand's pieces were being worn by Will Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the Wayans Brothers on In Living Color, Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, Dwayne Wayne on A Different World, and Martin Lawrence and Chris Rock in the 1992 film Boomerang. Essence, Black Enterprise, Jet Magazine, the Baltimore Evening Sun, and the Baltimore Sun all covered the brand between 1989 and 1991. When Rodney passed away in 1994 and Belinda in 1999 the brand went quiet but the story never died. Nine years ago Tamira Wells, their niece and a celebrity stylist and seamstress with over 16 years of experience in Los Angeles across television, film, photo shoots, and video productions, made a decision that would change everything. On May 21, 2016 she relaunched New Heritage with a backyard BBQ and pop-up in Baldwin Hills no investors, no team, just love for her aunt and uncle and an unwillingness to let their legacy disappear. In the years since she has secured placements on Netflix, BET, Fox, HBO, and Issa Rae's YouTube channel, had the brand worn by Lena Waithe, Angela Rye, and Goapele, received a mention in Women's Wear Daily, won a Pinterest x Shopify grant, and completed two business cohort programs all while raising her son and preserving everything Belinda and Rodney built. She is currently developing the New Heritage Legacy Exhibition, the first full public telling of their story and the brand's undocumented place in Black American cultural history. This is their story. And it is still being told.