BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Three women; Madia Willis (CEO), Jasmine Hudson (Chief Merchant), and J'Aaron Merchant (Chief product designer) started their business at a press room table in Bentonville, sharing similar passions of serving underrepresented communities.
The company started in 2019 and grew exponentially during the pandemic.
“We were trying to figure out ways to leverage all of our skills and also serve the community that we love, which is the Black diaspora…so what is a better time to celebrate than the holidays,” said Co-Owner Jasmine Hudson.
“It’s very difficult to be what you can’t see, so you need to see the representation of yourselves in mainstream media, in print, in all kinds of things. as well as you deserve to be reflected in the holiday as well… you’re a buying customer, you spend just as much money as the next person… there should be things that are catered to you as well,” said Co-owner J'Aaron Merchant.
Merchant is the designer for the brand and says her passion for representation comes from how she was raised.
“Growing up it was very important to my dad for us to have black representation….Black Santas, Black nativity stories. I thought he was going out and buying those things….I told him I was doing the part [referencing the brand] and remember when you found everything. He said I didn’t find that stuff, I painted it. While y'all were sleeping I was in the garage painting Santas, nativity scenes, and sneaking them in the house before y'all woke up,” Merchant recalled.
Their brand is impacting the community nationwide. One consumer says beforehand Christmas wasn’t inclusive for her family but now it is.
“For my son’s first Christmas, Black Paper Party was there, but for my nieces and nephews if I wanted to get certain things that had Black faces…I had to specialize orders them from the internet or kind of dig and dig,” Chary Williams said.
Her son, nieces, and nephews we’re excited to see Christmas decorations that look like them.
“They’re saying 'oh my goodness, I can’t believe there are little characters for Christmas,' and I can see myself in that,” Williams said.
The entrepreneurs are proud to represent Northwest Arkansas by creating a space for culture through all celebrations.
“This is such a full circle moment for us to pour back into the local black community and now we’re doing it nationwide, and in Canada," Hudson said.
Black Paper Party products are now for sale at multiple major retailers. and they have plans to expand their brand decorations for birthdays, Valentine's Day, and Easter.
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