Press

JPMorganChase | The Washington Sun

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
Belle Noire + Cowrie Collective • San Francisco, CA

Six businesses. One vision. A stronger downtown.

When six Black women entrepreneurs came together, they created more than a store - they created a community: The Cowrie Collective. Inside, customers can find everything from hand-poured candles and bold jewelry to intentional skin-care, statement apparel and accessories, with each product made with purpose and rooted in the stories of local makers.

JPMorganChase is helping make the vision possible.

Through SF's New Deal's Vacant to Vibrant program - a public-private partnership supported by JPMorganChase with the City of San Francisco - Cowrie Collective found a path to open inside San Francisco's iconic Palace Hotel, navigating permitting, compliance, accessibility requirements and launch planning with hands-on support.

The founders of Cowrie Collective stand outside their store with elation.

Walk the Fillmore in San Francisco with Nicole Williams, founder of Belle Noire, founder of Belle Noire, a boutique partnering with artisans across Africa and the African Diaspora, and you can feel a corridor remembering itself. She grew up on family stories of the neighborhood once called the Harlem of the West-where Black-owned businesses, music and community filled the sidewalks, and ownership offered a blueprint for mobility. That history didn't just shape her business; it inspired what came next.

The six founders standing inside Cowrie.

As Belle Noire grew, Williams began talking with other Black women entrepreneurs about a different way forward by growing together instead of in isolation. Six founders-Williams, alongside Vickie Brown of Ice Body Skincare, Layshaunese Fuqua of Beauty and Brains Tees, Rashida Taylor of Stash Candle Co., Tshara Ball of LB House of Beauty and Melissa Robinson of MellRose-came together to build the Cowrie Collective: a curated retail experience where creativity, community and commerce all under one roof. The Collective offers everything from hand-poured candles and bold jewelry to intentional skincare, statement apparel and accessories-each product made with purpose and rooted in the stories of local makers. Together, the six businesses build shared foot traffic, shared learning and shared resilience, inviting customers to select pieces that carry meaning.

Nicole Williams with her female intern.
"We didn't open Cowrie Collective to sell more products. We opened it to make downtown feel connected again — six businesses, one vision, and a place where every purchase carries meaning." – Nicole Williams, Belle Noire

Through SF New Deal's Vacant to Vibrant program-a public-private partnership supported by JPMorganChase with the City of San Francisco that transforms empty downtown storefronts into pop-up shops, art spaces and community hubs-Cowrie Collective found a path to open inside San Francisco's iconic Palace Hotel, navigating permitting, compliance, accessibility requirements, and launch planning with hands-on support. JPMorganChase's philanthropic support has helped SF New Deal expand Vacant to Vibrant's impact by developing its Small Business Storefront Accelerator and providing grants to help small businesses build out pop-up storefronts and transition to long-term leases. Through everyday banking solutions and coaching via the firm's Coaching for Impact program, JPMorganChase is also helping Cowrie Collective strengthen its financial foundation and connect to resources for long-term growth.

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