The works of Nicholle Kobi have been reposted and being saved in our phones as lockscreens, phone backgrounds, and inspiration for years. And for good reason. In just one scroll through her Instagram feed, you are instantly met with feel-good vibes: seeing images that proudly feature natural hair, working women, friendship, and black love.
The world should take note.
Originally from Normandy, France, the now NYC-based artist has received wide acclaim for her celebration of the "black woman without cliche." Recently, Nicholle chatted with xoNecole to talk about the importance of portraying black woman in a multilayered multifaceted light, her upcoming art exhibit series, as well as the message behind her artwork.
"The message in my artwork is to show my sisters how powerful we are when we stay together, when we work together, when we support and love ourselves," she said. "I really want to show the beauty of black women and how strong we are… I want more unity and love for ourselves."
Artist, Nicholle Kobi
Before building Maison Nicholle Kobi, the brand we have come to love and respect, Nicholle was discouraged from tailoring her artwork to the black female experience and ultimately left art school for the private sector. After spending 10 years working in insurance, while on maternity leave, she began to question what truly brought her happiness. "I remembered drawing is the thing that gives me peace… so I decided to draw. I was drawing 10 illustrations a day and started to post all of my artwork on social media."
"I remembered drawing is the thing that gives me peace."
With time, Nicholle set her sights on flipping the narrative about how society thinks about the black woman. "I was looking for images of real life black women without any cliche, not images that degraded us, and it was not very easy. I wanted to see more modern images of me and my friends, my sisters. So, I decided to stop complaining and do it myself."
Rejecting negative media portrayals, she has turned her artwork into a powerful platform for self-love and sisterhood.
"In my artwork, I want to humanize my sisters… For me, it's very important for all [of the] African diaspora to recognize themselves in my artwork. Every black woman must be able to see herself or her future in my images. We are not what people say we are. We are clever, strong, beautiful, powerful. Nothing can stop us from being who we want to be: mothers, entrepreneurs, doctors, [or even the] president."
"Every black woman must be able to see herself or her future in my images."
Her work has brought together so many women of different backgrounds, from the Caribbean to the Americas, and she hopes that her work will continue to create space to discuss, explore, and unite. With these themes in mind, Nicholle is currently headlining her 'Parisian Instant' 2018 Art Series Exhibit with 30+ stops spanning the world including Brazil, the United States, Europe, and Africa, bringing her artwork and message to the masses.
"This tour was a crazy idea I had two years ago, going out there and meeting all these women who support and love my artwork, but the learning goes both ways. This year, we added more cities in the US because I love to learn from black America and the demand was very important too. "
USA
San Francisco: July 25
Los Angeles: July 28
Nashville: August 27
Charlotte: August 29
Chicago: September 26
Boston: November 27
Detroit: November 29
Washington, DC: December 1
New York, NY ( Brooklyn): December 8
International
Durban: August 8
Cape Town: August 11
Johannesburg: August 15
London: September 8
Paris: September 15
Find more information regarding her art series tour here.
Nicholle is also excited to announce that she has partnered with Hallmark to release a new collection of cards celebrating black mothers, black lovers, and black sisterhood! They will be released in the near future and she hopes that you love them as much as she does.
More than anything, Nicholle wants to showcase the real beauty of black women across the globe and reminds us to lift up our fellow sisters and to be proud of who we truly are. "Because black women come in all shapes and all shades. Because I believe in my people."
Artist, Nicholle Kobi, at her 'Parisian Instant' 2018 Art Series Exhibit
Want to learn more about Nicholle Kobi? Find her work on Instagram @nichollekobi and at: https://nichollekobi.com/. Click through the gallery below to browse some of our favorite Nicholle Kobi works:
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In a xoNecoleexclusive, the iconic actress opens up about embracing this season of her life, new projects, and overall being a “bad motherfucker.” Gabrielle reveals that she was 37 years old when she was diagnosed with perimenopause and is still going through it at 51 years old. Mayo Clinic says perimenopause “refers to the time during which your body makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years.”
“I haven't crossed over the next phase just yet, but I think part of it is when you hear any form of menopause, you automatically think of your mother or grandmother. It feels like an old-person thing, but for me, I was 37 and like not understanding what that really meant for me. And I don't think we focus so much on the word menopause without understanding that perimenopause is just the time before menopause,” she tells us.
Gabrielle Union
Photo by Brian Thomas
"But you can experience a lot of the same things during that period that people talk about, that they experienced during menopause. So you could get a hot flash, you could get the weight gain, the hair loss, depression, anxiety, like all of it, mental health challenges, all of that can come, you know, at any stage of the menopausal journey and like for me, I've been in perimenopause like 13, 14 years. When you know, most doctors are like, ‘Oh, but it's usually about ten years, and I'm like, ‘Uhh, I’m still going (laughs).’”
Conversations about perimenopause, fibroids, and all the things that are associated with women’s bodies have often been considered taboo and thus not discussed publicly. However, times are changing, and thanks to the Gabrielle’s and the Tia Mowry’s, more women are having an authentic discourse about women’s health. These open discussions lead to the creation of more safe spaces and support for one another.
“I want to be in community with folks. I don't ever want to feel like I'm on an island about anything. So, if I can help create community where we are lacking, I want to be a part of that,” she says. “So, it's like there's no harm in talking about it. You know what I mean? Like, I was a bad motherfucker before perimenopause. I’m a bad motherfucker now, and I'll be a bad motherfucker after menopause. Know what I’m saying? None of that has to change. How I’m a bad motherfucker, I welcome that part of the change. I'm just getting better and stronger and more intelligent, more wise, more patient, more compassionate, more empathetic. All of that is very, very welcomed, and none of it should be scary.”
The Being Mary Jane star hasn’t been shy about her stance on therapy. If you don’t know, here’s a hint: she’s all for it, and she encourages others to try it as well. She likens therapy to dating by suggesting that you keep looking for the right therapist to match your needs. Two other essential keys to her growth are radical transparency and radical acceptance (though she admits she is still working on the latter).
"I was a bad motherfucker before perimenopause. I’m a bad motherfucker now, and I'll be a bad motherfucker after menopause. Know what I’m saying? None of that has to change. How I’m a bad motherfucker, I welcome that part of the change."
Gabrielle Union and Kaavia Union-Wade
Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images
“I hope that a.) you recognize that you're not alone. Seek out help and know that it's okay to be honest about what the hell is happening in your life. That's the only way that you know you can get help, and that's also the only other way that people know that you are in need if there's something going on,” she says, “because we have all these big, very wild, high expectations of people, but if they don't know what they're actually dealing with, they're always going to be failing, and you will always be disappointed. So how about just tell the truth, be transparent, and let people know where you are. So they can be of service, they can be compassionate.”
Gabrielle’s transparency is what makes her so relatable, and has so many people root for her. Whether through her TV and film projects, her memoirs, or her social media, the actress has a knack for making you feel like she’s your homegirl. Scrolling through her Instagram, you see the special moments with her family, exciting new business ventures, and jaw-dropping fashion moments. Throughout her life and career, we’ve seen her evolve in a multitude of ways. From producing films to starting a haircare line to marriage and motherhood, her journey is a story of courage and triumph. And right now, in this season, she’s asking, “What’s next?”
“This is a season of discovery and change. In a billion ways,” says the NAACP Image Award winner. “The notion of like, ‘Oh, so and so changed. They got brand new.’ I want you to be brand new. I want me to be brand new. I want us to be always constantly growing, evolving. Having more clarity, moving with different purpose, like, and all of that is for me very, very welcomed."
"I want you to be brand new. I want me to be brand new. I want us to be always constantly growing, evolving. Having more clarity, moving with different purpose, like, and all of that is for me very, very welcomed."
She continues, “So I'm just trying to figure out what's next. You know what I mean? I'm jumping into what's next. I'm excited going into what's next and new. I'm just sort of embracing all of what life has to offer.”
Look out for Gabrielle in the upcoming indie film Riff Raff, which is a crime comedy starring her and Jennifer Coolidge, and she will also produce The Idea of You, which stars Anne Hathaway.
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Feature image by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
Taylor founded Mastermind MGMT, an agency that represents some of Hollywood’s best “image architects” like Roach, Kellon Deryck, and Kollin Carter, who are responsible for creating unforgettable style and beauty moments for celebrities like Zendaya, Megan Thee Stallion, Taraji P. Henson, and more. Taylor and her company possess an array of functions, but her biggest role is to be her client’s advocate. We hear endless stories about how creatives aren’t paid or underpaid in the entertainment industry, but Taylor ensures that her clients get their piece of the pie. The entrepreneur opened up about her company and her non-profit, Mastermind Matters, in an exclusive interview with xoNecole.
“I always say that I'm an artist advocate first, deal closer second. So my primary focus is to just make sure that the artist is getting everything that they deserve, whether it's compensation or, you know, certain accommodations, but just making sure that they have everything that they need to be able to show up and provide the best service that they're hired for,” she explained.
“So you know, in the beginning, it was hard because I didn't have any experience, and the artists who I was working with at the time–we were learning together, meaning neither of us had assisted anyone. We didn't have mentors in our specific fields. So every deal was like a new learning experience for us from the styling side and also from the business side, and so it took, you know, doing some research, using some very creative tactics, to find out information in the industry and just starting to request accommodations that I knew other artists were granted, who maybe didn't look like my artists.”
Photo courtesy of Tamara Taylor
Ten years later, there’s still not many people who are doing what Taylor is doing. However, things have gotten easier thanks to the research and connections she made in the beginning. During Mastermind MGMT’s ten-year anniversary celebration, she announced her non-profit, Mastermind Matters, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that focuses on helping young entrepreneurs through a 12-week program. The program is divided into “two routes.” The first route is for aspiring creative artists who want to start a business from their talent and all the things they need to learn about business, such as taxes, life insurance, etc. The second route is for practicing creative artists who are already in the industry but need resources such as how to plan for retirement or how to sustain themselves if they can’t work for a short amount of time, i.e., the pandemic.
“I just feel that I'm able to have a business and be successful because of their art as well. And so there are things that I know, I tried to teach it to them but understanding that I can only do so much because I'm not a subject matter expert in those fields,” she said. “So I at least want to be able to provide the resources, and then if they make their grown decision not to do it, then that's on them. But you know, I could be guilt-free and taking advantage of the resources that I'm also providing to them.”
Taylor continues to be an innovator in her industry by always pushing the boundaries of creativity and thinking one step ahead of everyone else. The Chicago-bred businesswoman is moving into the tech space thanks to a new invention created with her clients in mind, and she is looking forward to bigger collaborations in the future. Follow Mastermind MGMT on Instagram @mastermind_mgmt for more information.
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Feature image courtesy of Tamara Taylor
