9 Black Girl Creatives Living in the UAE You Should be Following
As we close out Women’s History Month, I want to celebrate my favorite creative entrepreneurs living in UAE.
Contrary to popular belief, many black women are living in UAE from all around the world taking the creative fields by storm. These women are fashion designers, travel content creators, photographers, and more! Through their journeys, they have inspired me to work even harder to follow my dreams and let nothing stand in my way. I believe I must share these amazing, talented women on this platform and give them their flowers while they can receive them like the great Maya Angelou said “It is important for us to celebrate and recognize our heroes and she-roes”
I dedicate this piece to all the black women around the world and my "she-roes in UAE who own their ambition, their courage, and their strength!
She believed she could, so she did!
Tia- Tiatakestheworld
First on my list is the travel expert Tia. Tia is a millennial travel enthusiast with a knack for finding the best ways to travel on a budget. Currently living in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, teaching PE, Tia loves to explore her current playground and share the journey with her followers. Tia’s travels will have you laughing, leave you feeling inspired, and empowered all along the way. Tia’s features include Travel Noire, The Take Off Travel Podcast and Black Girl World Traveler.
Tia’s motto is to “Travel More and Spend Less.”
Follow Tia on social media:
Instagram: Tiatakestheworld
Youtube: Tia Takes The World
Patricia Germain-AfrosAbroad
Next on my list is Patricia Germain also known as the “Jack of all trades.” Patricia describes herself as addicted to travel, coffee and photography. Nearly 4 years ago, she packed her bags to bring her talents to the middle east! The friends, the connections and the love she has encountered while living here has changed her life in ways she could never have imagined. On her blog “Afros Abroad” she shares her life as a UAE expat & entrepreneur, as well as the ins and outs of navigating life as a QWOC abroad!
When I say Patricia literally does it all, I mean Patricia does it all! From fashion designer, photographer and coffee consulting, to creating and launching the “Flying Dress” UAE.
She creates like no other!
Follow Patricia on social media:
Instagram: Patricia, Afrosabroad, kuunda.co, Coffee Consultant
Facebook: Afros Abroad, Kuunda Collective
Check Out All Her Creative Hustles Here:
Helen Debrah-Ampofo is a thirty-something Black-British Travel and Lifestyle Blogger living in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She is is the best source for all things living in UAE and Afro Hair. Born in London. Raised by Ghanaians. Lived in Nottingham. Adventuring in the Middle East. Helen is a Christian, a happily-married wife and a lover of music & dance (Afrobeats is her favourite genre but she dabbles in all sorts). Helen enjoys eating out and meeting new people. If you really want to get to know her, check out this blogpost entitled ‘29 Insecurities from a Secure 29 Year Old.‘
Helen started her blog a few years back when she had recently moved to Abu Dhabi in 2016. She notes that in her first year “I think I wrote about two blogposts and I didn’t do much better the year after that.” But in 2018, she decided to step it up, actually pay for a domain name and try to “take this blogging thing seriously.” Helen didn’t really have much of a choice either because she was denied the opportunity to work as a teacher (even though she is fully qualified) so it made sense to turn to something she’s always been passionate about: writing.
From 2018, Helen started writing about anything and everything. All she cared about was being consistent. Life as an Abu Dhabi Expat meant that she had the opportunity to travel to so many places with her husband. Throughout her time traveling she constantly found herself turning to blogs to help choose travel destinations and itineraries. However, the more seasoned traveller she became, the more she realized how important it was to seek information from black travel bloggers; in some cases, it’s a matter of safety.
Afro-Hair UAE
Helen also curates a group for afro hair girls living in UAE called “Afro Hair UAE.” Afro Hair UAE brings together afrolistas, in UAE with all the tips and tricks you need to grow healthy in extreme desert conditions. The community is open to all inquires hair-related like where to find products, where to get a trim, where to get your hair loc’d etc.
Dominique DeVeraux- House of Devereaux
Austin Texas own “style guru’ Dominique DeVeReaux. Growing up, Dominique was your typical girly girl who loved playing in her mother’s makeup and when the infamous Annual Scholastic School Book Fair rolled around she always scrounged up enough coins and courage to ask her Mother to buy Paper Doll books when she wasn’t playing with her collection of Barbie Dolls. At this young age, she had a cliche “passion for fashion” and putting fabulous things together. Fashion allowed her to feel like you could be any woman from any world you wanted to be.
This was harnessed by her late heavenly laden grandmother, Josephine “Suga” Bedford, who taught her to take pride in her appearance and to show up in the world how she wished to be treated and followed her into high school where she was known for wearing her “own” clothes.
She has immense experience in many facets of the industry from manufacturing to retail store management, fashion show production to fashion styling/design, while holding both a B.A and M.S. in Fashion Merchandising. This knowledge has fostered into the creation of her bold and elegantly eponymous brand- DeVeReaux and the home that houses it in all it’s “haute”ness and glory hence “House of DeVeReaux”.
Dominique offers a range of services that include custom made DeVeReaux pieces that are made from amazing fabrics, with great attention to detail as well as styling services with “Style By DeVeReaux”
Follow Dominique on social media:
Instagram: House of DeVeReaux
Abbz T. Letsholo- Abbz in the Dhabi
Content creator and vlogger, Abigail aka Abbz. Abigail is a Quantity Surveyor (Construction Economist, in simpler terms) by profession, Homemaker by calling from Botswana, Southern Africa. Content creating as a passion, Abigail is on a career Sabbatical, living in Abu Dhabi with her husband for a year now. Abigail loves fashion, reading, creating content for her YouTube channel (which I started 4months ago), traveling, as well as learning different languages.
Follow Abigail on social media:
Instagram: abbz_lets
YouTube: Abbz In The Dhabi
Natalie Dupereme- Dezired Dezigns
Art curator Natalie Duperme. Natalie is American of Haitian decent raised in Miami, Florida residing in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Living overseas for over 7 years, Natalie has been in the education field for 12 years. Although she is an educator by day her strong passion for art and design is always her first love. In addition, in the recent years she has gained a new hobby in traveling the world to explore art in different cultures. Natalie has travelled to 47 countries where her experiences has inspired her art making. From this, she has established her art and design company by the name Dezired Dezigns. Dezired Dezigns provides Natalie with the opportunity of exhibiting and commissioning her paintings as well as displaying and selling her bags and apparel. She has designed bags made in Ghana from her personal art with cultural influences from African Art mixes with a contemporary style of art. She is currently designing swimwear as well. Natalie wants to inspire young visionaries to stay focused on achieving their dreams.
Follow Natalie on social media:
Instagram: Nat’s World Tour, Dezired Dezigns
Sofia Nicole- Catergory London
Another fashionista babe on my list is Sofia Nicole London, owner of Category London
Born in Louisiana and raised in Dallas, Sofia is a seasoned blend of country and city, with a love for both "worlds." Growing up, she had two amazing examples (my mother and my grandmother) of femininity, beauty, and elegance, therefore, Sofia has always been intrigued by fashion and beauty. These women have always and continue to demonstrate the true meaning of beauty from the inside out. As a proud graduate of Wade College, Sofia gained a strong background in Fashion Merchandising and Design which gave birth to the concept of Category London.
Category London is Sofia’s baaaay-bee, Like any mother watching their child grow, it's exciting and scary all at the same time. This brand was just an idea, 8 years ago. It has changed and morphed throughout the years. What has remained constant is Sofia’s vision, the purpose of her passion, her “bounce back,” and hard work. She can say that this brand has truly developed the same as she has. Category London is young yet sophisticated, sexy and regal, trendy yet classic, fun and flirty, colorful, lively, free-spirited, charming, and polished.
Category London is an online assortment curated of US and International brands. Our assortments are hand-picked and planned solely around our consumers. The modern woman is conscious, aware, she knows what she wants, and she gets it. Category London is proud to attract her and provide her with a product that serves her desire to be the best version of her. They offer a range of styles and aim to continuously broaden their selection with rising and established brands. Category London currently ship to the US, UAE, and UK. They’re dedicated to shaping and incorporating new and innovative ways to shop. Their message of “good fashion, good vibes” aligns with the mission to empower authentic individuality and positivity from the inside out.
Category London has some exciting 2020 projects! This year, Category London will introduce its private label, a luxury streetwear brand offering positive messaging and images of femininity. They will also be hosting a range of collaborative events in fashion and women’s empowerment. In the near future, Category London will be rolling out our seasonal digital stylebook for Spring / Summer 2020. This digital stylebook always features some of my favorite looks from the website as well as a few tips and tricks. This summer will be full of colors, prints, and sexy silhouettes. To receive a free copy simply visit www.categorylondon.com and tell us where to send it! We can also be found on social @categorylondon and feel free to follow me @iam_sofianicole. For questions, collaborations, or just to say hi we can be reached at hello@categorylondon.com
Follow Sofia on social media:
Instagram: Iam_sofianicole, Category London
Dominique Waters- Ziva Nasser
Dominique Waters, is the embodiment of a California Girl! Her creative outlets include runway and print modeling, styling natural hair, and operating her handmade luxury bag line, Ziva Naseer. As a curvy and plus-sized model in Abu Dhabi, Dominique uses her platform to show people from around the world that beauty and confidence exists in every shape and size. She is affectionately known as the 'neighborhood loctician' and intentionally promotes the beauty of kinky, curly and loc’d tresses. Her love for fashion, creativity, and entrepreneurship led to the launch of Ziva Naseer in the spring of 2019. Ziva Naseer is a handmade, luxury purse brand that fuses jewel-tone embellishments, hand-carved pendants and beautifully crafted metal to create the perfect statement piece. Currently, Dominique is working on her summer collection of clutch bags and believes "confidence is the best accessory but a great handbag is a close second! To contact Dominique and to view her portfolio of modeling and loc styles visit her personal IG page @mini_ocean87. To view her recent and best-selling one-of-a-kind bag designs, visit her business page @ziva_naseer.
Follow Dominique on social media:
Instagram: Mini_ocean87, Ziva Nasser
Monique L. Spearman- Rainey Amore
MONIQUE L. SPEARMAN is a freelance multi-faceted, writer, curator and creator. The quirky best friend you wish you always had and self-proclaimed Beyhive president, this lipstick lover addicted to spicy food is living her best life based abroad in UAE. Storytelling her way around the world, the proud Seattle native seeks adventure through travel. Blending a passion for content creating, social media marketing, photography and travel, Monique created her blog website RaineyAmore.com in the spring of 2017 as a hobby. Raineyamore.com is a lifestyle, fashion, beauty and travel brand that encourages men and women from around the world to live their best lives, out-loud. Inspired by the aesthetics of different cultures, Monique wants to show the world, "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it!" Through her writing, Monique strives to create a transparent, relatable, honest voice that touches on a range of topics from sex, mental health and dating, to fashion and more. Featured in several publications including Xonecole.com, Out and About Style Magazine and Parlour Travel, Monique plans to continue writing, while manifesting her dreams to be featured in Vogue, Bazaar and Essence Magazines.
In 2019, Monique began her modeling career as a way to build her confidence in front of the camera and embrace her new found love for her natural hair and petite curvy figure. Her modeling portfolio contains projects for several brands both local and international including Ziva Nasser, Kunnda.co and Afrikrea. Monique is currently working on a self-love lingerie project with local UAE photographer Young Habiti, through this project, she hopes to inspire men and women to embrace their body, imperfections and all.
Follow Monique on social media:
Instagram: Raineyamore
Facebook: Raineyamore