Purchase unique, artistic gifts at the Ashé Holiday Marke

Leading Change Through the Arts!

Meet the artists contributing to the Ashé Holiday Market

Get unique holiday gifts!

Black Heritage Gallery

Robbie Lee, founder of Black Heritage Gallery (1977 - 2014), showcased the original art of nationally known African American artists such as Dr. Biggers, Ted T. Ellis, Lionel Lofton, Charles White, Romare Bearden, Lashun Beal and local artists. Lee’s stock is wide-ranging--with books, dolls, quilts, jewelry and antiques on sale alongside works of fine art.

Carla Sue

@jazzandjournalinghtx

@carlasuehtx

Carla Sue is a Houston-based multidisciplinary artist, community leader, and founder of Momma Loves Jazz , a project centering art, healing, and Black maternal stories through jazz, textiles and storytelling. For over a decade, Carla has designed arts education, creative wellness programs and cultural activations that foster personal and collective healing. Sue handcrafts witty, sassy and beautiful greeting cards with messages of empowerment, positive representation and self-care. Her work has been featured by Forbes, Houstonia Magazine and ABC13, and she has partnered with Vistaprint, Foot Locker and the City of Houston.

Dionne Green Thomas (SUSEJ)

@susejdesigns

www.susejdesigns.com

SUSEJ (Sue-Jay) c.2003 is a luxury collection of accessories and art that celebrates the beauty and diversity of women. Our journey began with a passion for painted expressions of confidence on unique designs. Our pieces tell stories of style in a whimsical way. Created by Dionne Thomas, (Texas native) who studied fashion merchandising at Howard University where she discovered her love for Illustration. She furthered her studies at Istituto Marangoni, in Milan, Italy and returned home excited to create designs that women could carry with pride.

Djiba Berrette

An importer of African antiquities. Curated selections from across Africa, from the West Coast to South Africa, to further cultivate connections between the African Diaspora through art and history.

Ibraim Nascimento

@ibraimnascimento

www.ibraimnascimento.com

Ibraim Nascimento is an international,Afro-Brazilian artist from the historic city of Cachoeira, Bahia. He has exhibited his work throughout Brazil and the United States, from California to Texas. Ibraim studied fine arts at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), but has been an artist since he was a young kid. Ibraim’s artwork is rich with soul, culture and tradition. His art is fundamentally embodied, and thus with each brush stroke he shares a piece of his journey, from his upbringing in Bahia to his migration into the United States. Ibraim’s art is meant to invoke emotion and connection and is as much performance as it is acrylic on canvas. While Ibraim’s work is deeply connected to Brazil, he rediscovered himself in the Latinx and Black art communities of Houston. For him, art is a joy that only exists at the moment you experience it. When he’s not painting, he's creating elaborate props from recycled materials, conducting live-painting performances, and directing prop-design for local Houston churches. When Ibraim isn’t creating, he loves to spend his time teaching art to youth. He has over 15 years of experience teaching kids from ages two to 18 in Brazil and the United States.

Kindred Stories

@kindredstorieshtx

https://kindredstorieshtx.com/

Kindred Stories is a community space and bookstore that doesn't just highlight Black literature but celebrates our stories in all their diverse and genre-spanning glory. Every book on the shelves is written by a Black author or other underrepresented voice, and every display can spotlight a unique aspect of Black storytelling and craft.

Through visiting our space in Third Ward or attending one of our many events, we hope our supporters can unite over our shared love of these books; delve into the ways we see ourselves reflected in their stories; learn about new and upcoming Black writers, artists, creators and changemakers; and find connection at a time when we need it more than ever — all while working to create change, and spread access for those who've been systematically cut off from literature for far too long.

Brown Beauty Cuties Jennifer Harris

@Brown.BeautyCuties

Jennifer L. Harris is the curator of the Brown Beauty Cuties. Her ornaments are a combination of materials merged together to create individually unique pieces of art. Brown Beauty Cuties are Bold, Strong, and Creative. They celebrate the beauty of Black Culture!

Nuari Le Blanc

@kissthejewel

Nuari LeBlanc is a multimedia artist, creating for over 20 years now. Included in the Ashé Holiday Market are freestyle jewelry pieces, meditation wands, and "Wandering Eyes," the perspective piece mirrors. “I honor my Creole heritage by making these pieces, such as the meditation wand shaped like a shrimp. La jardin is ‘the garden’ in French, and I use these themed pieces with my Creole heritage to honor that aspect. Every piece is made of natural gemstones. My pieces are located at Doshi house and Thirdward Blooms,"

Reau Monde

@reauxmonde

https://www.ogsnipes.com/rmdesigns

Dennis Sullivan, also known as “Snipes,” founder, director, CEO at Reau Monde, is a versatile professional with experience in journalism, the arts, entrepreneurship and architecture. His diverse background reflects both creativity and strategic thinking, supported by a strong interest in nature, social sciences, technology and fashion.

Over the course of his career, Dennis has worked with a variety of organizations, developing skills in leadership, organization and quality-driven service. His work is guided by a commitment to community impact and a genuine interest in connecting people through meaningful ideas and experiences.

Through his creative projects and professional pursuits, Dennis brings a well-rounded perspective that bridges innovation, culture and collaboration.

Tay Butler

@stayclosetay

https://www.stayclosetay.com/

Tay Butler is a multi-disciplinary visual artist based in Houston. He received his BFA in Photography and Digital Media from the University of Houston and completed his Photography MFA at the University of Arkansas. After retiring from the U.S. Army and abandoning a middle-class engineering career to search for purpose, Tay reignited a rich obsession appreciation for Black history, visual art and the Black archive. Through collage, photography, drawing, video, sound, literature, performance and large-scale installation, Tay utilizes past histories and imagery to create new understandings of the present while planning a brighter future.