WEPOWER and 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis Collaborate on Curated Collection of Local Brands in Gift Shop

Over the next year, 21c will feature businesses that have graduated from the WEPOWER Business Accelerator in their gift shop

21c Museum Hotel St. Louis Gift Shop

WEPOWER is teaming up with 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis to launch a curated collection of goods that creates new opportunities for local entrepreneurs. Over the next year, 21c will feature WEPOWER Accelerator businesses in their gift shop, five businesses at a time, rotating every six months. The featured vendors include a variety of goods, all produced and sold locally. WEPOWER and 21c have announced the first five brands included in the Curated Locally-Owned Biz Hotel Collection:

● Tailored Pieces is a lifestyle brand best known for its handmade luxury satin bonnets.

● Art by Seals LLC specializes in a wide range of creative services, including painting, graphic design, shoe customization, murals, and music. The business brings imaginative ideas to life across multiple mediums, blending artistry with innovation.

● Florae Beauty is a personalizable hair wellness brand that offers clean, plant-powered, scientist-crafted formulas that truly care for your hair as thoughtfully as you do.

● Shades of Color creates equitable access to beauty products by connecting Black shoppers to Black beauty brands. Their personalized shopping experience helps shoppers discover beauty brands with products for their skin tone, culture, and lifestyle. Their platform serves as a pipeline to rapidly increase the 2.5% of Black Beauty Brands in the market to support the growing demand of 11.1% of Black shoppers.

● Teatopia is a tearoom, restaurant, and safe space for all, with a curated selection of in-house tea mixes for tea lovers, tea beginners and everyone in between. WEPOWER invites the community to learn more about the new Curated Locally-Owned Biz Hotel Collection and how we can strengthen our local economy at two upcoming events at the 21c Museum Hotel

● Build Black Wealth Happy Hour - Launch of WEPOWER + 21c Curated Locally-Owned Biz Hotel Collection WEPOWER is back outside on Monday, February 24, from 6-9 PM! The community is invited to 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis for an exciting networking, celebration, and community-building evening as we launch a Curated Locally-Owned Biz Hotel Collection. Enjoy light drinks and food while connecting with local business owners, community leaders, and supporters of Black wealth building. Learn more about the businesses featured in this initiative and how we can continue to drive meaningful impact together.

● Coffee Talks @ 21c – Black Biz & Black Wealth: STL’s Path Forward On Wednesday, February 26, from 8-9:30 AM, business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, local leaders, and community members are invited to join a thought-provoking Coffee Talk on economic mobility and how to create wealth through growing a prosperous Black business community. Join WEPOWER in the Billiards Room of the 21c Museum Hotel for complimentary coffee, tea, and pastries. Guests can register for this free event here.

WEPOWER CEO Charli Cooksey underscores the signifi cance of the WEPOWER + 21c Curated Locally-Owned Biz Hotel Collection: “Our Accelerator cohorts are fi lled with talented, driven local entrepreneurs who contribute to the economic development of St. Louis. By featuring dynamic brands in the 21c gift shop, we will introduce them to anyone who visits the 21c, whether they are travelers needing specifi c items for their stay or anyone looking for unique gifts that remind them of St. Louis.”

For more information on the collaboration, visit www.wepowerstl.org.

About WEPOWER

WEPOWER’s mission is to activate community power to (1) reimagine social systems, (2) develop grassroots leaders' and organizations' capacity as agents of systems change, and (3) provide support and capital to campaigns, coalitions, businesses, and innovative initiatives that transform community visions into reality.

Right now, the WEPOWER community is working to increase access to quality and affordable seats in the childcare system for babies ages 0-5 through policy advocacy and winning public funding, and closing the racial wealth gap by supporting Black and Latinx-owned businesses with access to capital, coaching, and connections.