hi! my name is bonkosi, after my maternal grandmother.

i’m a creative entrepreneur who…

writes. usually, about the intersections of life, community and humanity.

designs. spaces, brands, experiences, homes, shops, events, you name it, i’ll do it…and people will remember it.

builds. businesses, brands, and communities with purpose and intention.

collects. everyone’s name and their stories to make the world a little bit smaller and a lot more connected.

one of my unique gifts that i cherish deeply is sharing the art of radical connection, community and creating the containers and physical spaces to hold that magic.

when people feel at home, when people feel seen, when people feel welcome and when people can be themselves, fully and authentically —that’s where the magic happens. i love to create moments that feel like a hug — be it in a conversation, at an event, in a shop or through the ethos and feeling of a brand.

we all deserve the feeling of unexpected magic and in unexpected ways and i want to build a space where that magic can be felt.

WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT

if you’re new to my little corner of the internet, welcome. if you’ve been around awhile, then what i’m about to share won’t be surprising in the slightest.

as many of you know, i have a deep love and passion for building community, for creating futures that otherwise wouldn’t exist and for pushing the collective to think beyond what we know.

i guess you could say i’m a radical in a sense

—

radical about the strength of community.

radical about my optimism in the face of darkness and unknown.

radical in my idealism for the world i hope to create so we can leave everything we touch just a little bit better.

radical about my beliefs in disrupting a broken system.

radical in my love for family and for opening arms and extending smiles + laughter to anyone i cross paths with.

and radical in my approach to livelihood and ‘business’ in late stage capitalism.

as i get older and wiser, i have come to know two things:

1. my radical perspective is my superpower.

2. nothing great has ever been accomplished by striving for the status quo.

i turn 40 this year and i’ve catapulted myself into the big WHAT’S NEXT for me.

and what’s next is actually what has always been —

building a container for people to experience that magic of humanity, of collaboration and community.

think intentional retail, art studio + gallery, wrkshps + classes, a gathering place for civic engagement, and an event space for people to create stories and collect memories.

my dream to have a physical space in which to do this starts now.

i come from the best family in the world, but i don’t come from generational wealth. my parents are the hardest working people i know and always have been, often working two jobs until recent years and still working full-time today (and they’re 70 and 75.) my five siblings and i have worked since we were 14 years old, so we know how to work for what we want.

but i also come from a family steeped in community and firmly rooted in the value of relationship, which i have learned to know is the most valuable thing to have in this world.

i have worked hard to build relationships with people in real life, make friends with people online who become like family, bring people together who have never met in their lives and probably would never cross paths, only to share their life’s greatest purpose with one another.

this is how we do things differently — this is how we forge a new path forward in business and in collective community with one another.

which is where you come into the picture.

women who look like me don’t typically have big-wig investors in our back pockets or access to the funds it takes to build our dreams on our own, and you know, that’s how the system was designed to work for a multitude of reasons (which i’m happy to go into with you if you’re unsure of its history.)

and because i turn 40 in a couple of months, i’m making a bold and radical request this year —

$40k for year 40.

if you’ve ever wanted to support my work, my contribution, my business in some way shape or form, the time is NOW.

help me fund this container for magic —

if you’re compelled to contribute, you can do so here or venmo: @bonkosi

all funds with be used to:

* find and secure a commercial retail + event studio space here in denver

* pay at least the first 6m+ of rent for studio

* build out and design the space

* curate all aspects of the studio

* source and purchase retail lines and,

* cover any marketing-related expenses.

while this space may not change the world over night, i know that it can and will illuminate dark corners so we can forge a path forward together.

for that, i’m deeply grateful for your investment in this work.

xx bon