Tag: Mark Launiu

Designs by Lephant LLC, The Kritiq 2021

Why mental health took the runway before a single model walked The Kritiq’s largest fashion show yet

By Tommy Felts / December 22, 2021

If speaking openly about mental health isn’t already part of the culture, you have to put it in the spotlight, said Mark Launiu, detailing why his recent fashion show offered the best runway to address a silent epidemic within underserved communities.  “You can’t reach a destination if you’re not mentally ready for the journey. I’m…

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Vu Radley and Mark Launiu, MADE MOBB

Culture made First Fridays life-changing, duo says; now MADE MOBB is bringing back the block party

By Tommy Felts / June 3, 2021

MADE MOBB is reopening an era of live music and local vendors Friday — hoping to revive a Crossroads tradition silenced when its community was forced to disconnect and retreat indoors. “Come outside, baby!” Mark Launiu exclaimed ahead of Friday’s MADE MOBB Block Party. “Enjoy some free vibes [from] the people you’ll meet, the relationships…

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Chase McAnulty, Charlie Hustle

‘A Super Bowl for small business’: Chiefs’ back-to-back playoff success scores for apparel makers 

By Tommy Felts / January 25, 2021

The Chiefs’ Sunday-night victory over the Buffalo Bills not only means Kansas City’s return to the Super Bowl, but a repeat opportunity for local small business owners amid a rush of hometown pride, said Chase McAnulty.  “When the Chiefs won [in 2020], we were fighting as hard as we could to get as many blank…

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Brian Roberts, The Black Pantry

Pop-up shop for Black-owned essentials plans its final 2020 stops; only the beginning, founder says

By Tommy Felts / December 17, 2020

Editor’s note: This article is underwritten by Plexpod — a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes — but was independently produced by Startland News. Kansas City’s lack of a centralized shopping hub for products from Black-owned businesses frustrated Brian Roberts, he said, prompting the entrepreneur to launch…

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Jonathan "JP" Platz and Vu Radley, MADE MOBB

MADE to order: How KC’s top streetwear brand plans to fund therapy sessions for ‘our brothers and sisters’

By Tommy Felts / June 18, 2020

No health, no hustle, said Vu Radley, detailing MADE MOBB’s recently launched effort to fund free therapy sessions for members of the Black community. “Mental health isn’t something that’s talked about a lot within minority groups. For me, growing up, it wasn’t,” said Radley, co-founder of MADE, emphasizing newly heightened stress and super-charged anxiety for…

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