The latest decor and retail brand to make Ponce City Market its home celebrates the art of minimalism, the impact of artisanal talents and, above all else, the power of authenticity.
The brand is heavily influenced by the outdoor markets found in Northern Africa.
Black-, women- and queer-owned brand Souk Bō’hēmian (@soukbohemian) has chosen Ponce City Market as the lucky recipient of its first brick-and-mortar. Best friends and co-founders Morgan-Ashley Bryant and Vanessa Coore Vernon met while working alongside each other at retail jobs in 2009, and developed a close friendship before becoming business owners. When the two founded their business back in 2016, they enjoyed resounding success, leading to the new PCM storefront. To celebrate the new opening, we caught up with the two founders about what inspired the brand, how they source their products and what impact we can expect to see from the two movers and shakers.
The new brick-and-mortar will carry homewares, clothing and accessories
What inspired you to found Souk Bō’hēmian? Our love for travel, design, art and fashion has always inspired our taste. When we founded the brand in 2016, we knew there was a lack of representation of Black women in bohemian minimalism. We would Google the word bohemian, and the images were often of people who look nothing like us. It was clear then that our voice was needed.
Co-founders Morgan-Ashley Bryant and Vanessa Coore Vernon
Tell me about the name Souk Bō’hēmian. The brand’s parent company is The Bohemian Brands. We always have ‘the B word’ in everything we put out into the world. The first half of our name comes from the outdoor markets you find in Northern Africa. After a few trips to Morocco, the markets became a huge source of love and inspiration for our brand.
The brand offers chic accessories such as canvas tote bags and hats
How do you source goods for the store? We source our goods from every corner of the globe. Although the pandemic made buying much more difficult, we still do our best to curate aspirational pieces. Separately, we travel outside of the country several times per year, so many of our goods we bring back with us. We also shop vintage, work with local and global artisans, design pieces ourselves and, of course, utilize the marts.
The Cafe Boheme tee
What kind of impact do you imagine Souk Bō’hēmian having on the Atlanta community? Atlanta has been so good to us, personally and professionally! Our shop is partially a way for us to give something back to a city that has been so welcoming to us. We plan to host creative events, nurture friendships and make people feel seen who may not always feel that way when walking through the world.
A variety of candleholders are available in the shop
The impossible question: Do you have a favorite piece at Souk Bō’hēmian? We love all of the pieces we sell but our favorites, and the ones our customers love the most, have to be the sweatshirts we design. We do a lot of line work that highlights Black and Brown features, so that will always be our most loved.
The Thicc sweatshirt in Melanin is a unisex, cozy crew neck featuring an original design painted by Atlanta-based artist Faatimah Stevens.
Photography by: courtesy of Souk Bō’hēmian
