At the LOVING TEACHING COMFORTING LEADING HELPING SUPPORTING FROM A DISTANCE BUT TOGETHER AT HEART APPLE SHIRT and I love this end of April, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, James applied this lateral thinking to establish her Something Special service, providing limited-edition treasures from Oaxacan mugs to cloud socks on a monthly subscription for her community. “We were all in such a tough spot, and the only financial support that I got was through A Common Thread—I couldn’t get any business loans because I wasn’t eligible for any of them, and I knew I wouldn’t be,” she explains. “Ninety-five percent of black businesses aren’t.” Another reason for James to embrace the subscription model is as a sustainable method of selling, with items being made to order on the basis of how many have signed up each month.

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