Complex risks bring community kudos for creative entrepreneur honored by KC Chamber
June 17, 2025 | Taylor Wilmore
Keisha Jordan didn’t know what saying “yes” to a job in Kansas City would unlock when she first relocated in 2020, she said, reflecting on a full-circle moment Tuesday after winning a top arts honor from the KC Chamber during its celebration of small business and entrepreneurs.
“I trusted God, trusted the universe, and it’s just kept getting better,” said Jordan, founder of Complex Flavors Home + Life.
She didn’t expect to hear her name called at Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Celebration Tuesday, even as the 2025 Luminary Arts & Creative Small Business Award was being announced from the stage, she said.
The award, presented this year by Dana Knapp, president and CEO of ArtsKC, recognizes artist-led businesses that combine creativity, originality, and community impact. Knapp’s intro teased the award-winner’s industry — catching Jordan’s attention.
“When she said ‘interior design,’ my heart stopped. Really, all of me stopped,” she said. “This has been such an amazing journey, from moving here and just trying to find community.”
Keisha Jordan, Complex Flavors, pitches in April 2024 during the Porter House KC’s Pitch Night event; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
Jordan moved to Kansas City from Chicago with no friends or family nearby. But she arrived with a bold idea: to design spaces that tell stories of Black culture.
In 2019, she launched Complex Flavors Home + Life, a brand that blends interior design with heritage and identity to transform rooms into deeply personal environments.
That vision — told through her ‘Afro-Futuristic Pop Art’ aesthetic — has led to standout projects for actress Issa Rae’s South LA home and hip-hop artist Big Boi’s Dungeon Family House.
“I’m proud of saying ‘yes,’” she said. “Saying ‘yes’ can be scary, especially when you don’t know what’s on the other side. I literally started from zero. I had to rediscover who I was and what I was capable of. I had to convince myself that I was more than I thought I was, and I did.”
A celebration of creative entrepreneurship
Knapp described the Luminary Award as a tribute to bold, creative entrepreneurship in Kansas City.
“This award honors artist-founded and artist-run businesses that produce original work, maintain ownership of their own intellectual property, and enrich our community through creative expression,” the arts leader said.
Jordan stood out, Knapp added, for her “urban opulence with personal narrative,” a signature style that shines through Complex Flavors’ home décor, wallpaper collections, and interior transformations.
View this post on Instagram
Riley Brain, Wandering Bud, left, accepts the KC Chamber’s first-ever Luminary Art and Creative Small Business Award; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
The award itself is a custom sculpture, crafted by smokeware ceramicist Riley Brain, founder of Wandering Bud and recipient of the first Luminary Award in 2024. The piece symbolizes the intersection of art and business.
“Creating a tangible representation of the Luminary Arts Award presented a challenge that mirrors my ceramic work with Wandering Bud: seamlessly blending art and commerce,” Brain said.
From the archives: Smokeware ceramicist wins Chamber’s new arts award
Each feather of the sculpted trophy, inspired by the iconic shuttlecocks at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, was hand-painted in the Chamber’s brand colors. A woven pattern at the base includes the ‘caduceus’, the classical symbol of commerce, finished in gold and mother-of-pearl glaze.
The award was one of five speciality honors presented Tuesday alongside the coveted Small Business of the Year or “Mr. K Award”.
Click here to learn more about the other 2025 award winners.
Keisha Jordan, Complex Flavors; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Redefining what’s possible
In addition to running her business, Jordan serves on the Regional Lupus Council for the Heartland Chapter of The Lupus Foundation, a role that further reflects her dedication to making a difference as she uses her voice and artistry to support others living with chronic illness.
ICYMI: Entrepreneur flexes her creative strengths into visibility for Kansas City’s lupus warriors
Winning the Luminary Award, she said, reinforces her belief that reinvention has no age limit, and that Kansas City is the right place to make bold new beginnings.
“The biggest thing with this whole journey: I am in my 40s; you’re never too old to start a business,” said Jordan. “You’re never too old to rediscover yourself.”
“With this win, I want to do more in Kansas City,” she continued. “This city is going through a kind of rebirth right now, and I want to be part of that and bring people along for the journey.”
Although she’s a Chicago native, Jordan now feels deeply connected to Kansas City, a place where she’s building something meaningful and lasting.
“I want to bring people along the journey with me. I’m from Chicago, but at the same time, I’m still a Midwest girl,” she emphasized. “I still have dreams and humbleness like everybody else.”
Featured Business
Taylor Wilmore
Taylor Wilmore, hailing from Lee’s Summit, is a dedicated reporter and a recent graduate of the University of Missouri, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Taylor channels her deep-seated passion for writing and storytelling to create compelling narratives that shed light on the diverse residents of Kansas City.
Prior to her role at Startland News, Taylor made valuable contributions as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian newspaper, where she covered a wide range of community news and higher education stories.
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
How an elastic team turned an early tip about face masks into SewKC’s saving grace
Editor’s note: The following is the third in a series of stories about Kansas City fashion companies putting their own creative spin on the often-utilitarian face mask. As demand for face masks surged this spring, a massive and sustained influx of traffic and orders at SewKC crashed the Crossroads creatives’ online retail engine — forcing the…
Doctor-turned-marketer aims to help healthtech founders communicate the science behind their startups
Great founders and scientists aren’t always great marketers and vice versa, Dr. Meghan Burns said, detailing the COVID-era launch of her latest startup and its potential to help healthtech companies navigate a critical time for messaging and awareness. “There is a lot of value that a marketer with an understanding of science can add to…
Donnelly College in KCK partners with EPA to support student research, job training
Recognized as the most ethnically diverse college in the Midwest, Donnelly College is continuing to serve its primarily first-generation and minority students through a partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Stoothoff said. “The real goal is for our first-generation college students to have a pathway from what they are learning in the classroom to…
How two hungry vegan sisters went from making queso to their own storefront on Holmes
Arvelisha Woods and India Monique just wanted to style hair and eat nachos, the duo said, breaking into laughter. “It all started with being hungry,” Monique recalled, with Woods emphasizing the “hungry.” The sisters behind Mattie’s Foods went on a fast in 2015 as part of their mission work. They took what they loved the…