MADE Mobb

Rich Dunfield, Native Hemp Co.

Jack pot: Native Hemp Co. opens storefront in Lee’s Summit, surviving potent hits

An empty space with an open-minded building owner in downtown Lee’s Summit became the perfect spot to fulfill Native Hemp Co.’s potential, said Rich Dunfield. “God always has a plan,” he said. “This [location] is better for my life. I live out here; my family’s out here. I like how we’re brand new, and I…

Brian Roberts, The Black Pantry

Pop-up shop for Black-owned essentials plans its final 2020 stops; only the beginning, founder says

Editor’s note: This article is underwritten by Plexpod — a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes — but was independently produced by Startland News. Kansas City’s lack of a centralized shopping hub for products from Black-owned businesses frustrated Brian Roberts, he said, prompting the entrepreneur to launch…

Westside Storey illustration by Elyssa Bezner

Shop small: Five ways to wear (and wash with) KC pride from Westside Storey’s historic corner

Editor’s note: Startland News perused Westside Storey’s 1920s-era corner shop as part of the newsroom’s five-part holiday gift guide that identifies locally made goods and supports the call to shop small. Click here to read the multi-day gift guide as it develops. What began eight years ago as a boutique antique shop quickly evolved into…

Jonathan "JP" Platz and Vu Radley, MADE MOBB

MADE to order: How KC’s top streetwear brand plans to fund therapy sessions for ‘our brothers and sisters’

No health, no hustle, said Vu Radley, detailing MADE MOBB’s recently launched effort to fund free therapy sessions for members of the Black community. “Mental health isn’t something that’s talked about a lot within minority groups. For me, growing up, it wasn’t,” said Radley, co-founder of MADE, emphasizing newly heightened stress and super-charged anxiety for…

Juaquan Herron

‘Scarlet Knight’ cuts through comic book stigma with real-life entrepreneur, brand crossovers

Continuing his comic book quest to capture the realities of urban life, Juaquan Herron returns to drop the Scarlet Knight’s second volume — this time featuring some recognizable Kansas City faces, he said.  “It’s just one of those things where you definitely have to figure out other avenues to make the brand bigger — bigger…