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How to Decorate

Ep. 290: Aphrochic and the Legacy of Black Design

How to Decorate

Caroline McDonald

Arts, Business, Design

4.4838 Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It’s a very special episode this week as we welcome Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason, the brainchild of the husband and wife team behind AphroChic. Their latest release, AphroChic: Celebrating the Legacy of the Black Family Home, is a gorgeous and impactful book that showcases the stories of numerous homes and the in-depth conversations with the residents that celebrate their unique family story. Jeanine and Bryan talk about the inspiration behind the book and how the story of home begins way before we enter the home we’re in now. They talk about the decision to create a design book that is also a history book, and the intention of storytelling in a way that is educational, expansive, and entertaining. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: Jeanine and Bryan talk about their journey into Aphrochic and their “why” behind the book. The families selected were some designers, but also teachers, chef, writers, and just people with aesthetic and authentic taste. Aphrochic shows that design is so much more than just choosing color and a palette. It’s about creating a feeling and sharing your story. The feeling of safety, freedom, and visibility is extremely important in many Black family homes. Jeanine and Bryan talk about their own upbringings and how the feeling of a space impacted them to their adult lives. Jeanine and Bryan talk about working together to write the book even through health challenges. The stories in Aphrochic tell stories of both economic perspectives between Black and white homes and also feature beautiful portraits of resilience and joy. What’s a “womb room?” A bit about what’s next for Jeanine and Bryan, including their magazine Aphrochic Magazine and a line of products. Mentioned in This Episode: AphroChic: Celebrating the Legacy of the Black Family Home Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home.

0:08.7

Each week will help you unleash your inner decorator.

0:11.6

I'm Caroline, and I'm on the marketing team.

0:13.7

And I'm Taryn, and I'm a product designer.

0:15.8

And I'm Liz.

0:16.5

I head up the Ballard creative team.

0:18.2

We're your host. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks, and tails from interior

0:23.2

designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world.

0:25.9

Plus, we'll answer our listener question at the end of each show.

0:28.8

So don't forget to send them to podcast of Ballarddesigns.net.

0:31.9

Yes, we love answering them.

0:33.5

Now on with the show.

0:35.9

Okay, so our guest today are husband and wife duo, Janine Hayes and Brian Mason.

0:42.1

In 2007, they started a blog called Afro-Shek, which quickly grew into a multimedia brand with

0:48.9

design services, a magazine, a podcast, product lines, plus two books.

0:54.0

And today we're going to be talking about their title released in November, Afro Chic,

1:00.1

celebrating the legacy of the Black Family Home.

1:02.5

Janine and Brian, welcome to the show.

1:04.1

We're so happy to have you.

1:05.4

Thank you.

1:06.3

We're really happy to be here.

1:07.7

I was just fully unprepared for this book, and it was so emotional.

...

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