Woman-led

Best-selling tea towel maker’s business model hangs by this thread: ‘the more I give back, the more I’ll succeed’

By Tommy Felts / January 17, 2025

​​Elene Banks, founder of Kansas City-based Absorb-Lumen, turned her boutique clothing store into a mission-driven business that puts eco-friendly kitchen essentials in the spotlight, all while giving back to the community through a charitable business model. “It was a happy accident,” Banks said, “We started a boutique online and tried to carry tea towels from…

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Acting camp to cast: Lifetime movie filmed in KC gives young actors their TV dream moment 

By Tommy Felts / January 16, 2025

A Lifetime movie debuting this weekend not only shines a spotlight on Kansas City, said Elaina Paige Thomas, but it showcases talent at The Next Paige, Kansas City’s first Black-owned talent management agency. “Girl in the Garage: The Laura Cowan Story” — set to premiere Saturday, Jan. 18 — was filmed this fall in various…

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How this Andre’s Valentine collaboration celebrates the friendship that sparked Kate Spade

By Tommy Felts / January 15, 2025

The favorite hometown chocolate of one Kansas City’s best-known fashion designers and entrepreneurs serves as just one ingredient in a new Valentine’s Day collaboration from André’s Confiserie Suisse. The local chocolatier just rolled out a limited edition line alongside Frances Valentine to mark the holiday, as well as celebrate the friendship between Elyce Arons and…

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Electric Americana: How singer Teri Quinn broke from the pack (and found her own in KC)

By Tommy Felts / January 14, 2025

Members of the Kansas City-based band Teri Quinn & The Coyotes are carving a distinctive space within the local music scene. From Appalachian banjo riffs to punk-inspired beats, their sound reflects diverse influences — howling loudest from the woman in front.  Attendees at Startland News’ Jan. 23 reception for the Kansas City Startups to Watch…

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Cherry catches history with new Chiefs playoff collection — a first for a female designer

By Tommy Felts / January 14, 2025

An exclusive apparel collection from the Chiefs and fashion-forward brand Cherry is taking the field ahead of Kansas City’s latest playoff appearance. And the woman wearing the cherry-red captain’s patch: a familiar face within Kansas City sports and entrepreneurship. “This collaboration means the world to me,” said Thalia Cherry, who founded Cherry Co. in 2012.…

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