Black History Month at OB

As part of our Black History Month celebrations, OB’s Black & Mixed Heritage Voices Group organised the second edition of our Taste of Heritage event, inspired by this year’s theme of Standing Firm in Power and Pride. As well as a Q&A with guest speakers Alison Burton and Sarina Mantle, team members took part in a quiz and potluck with Afro-Caribbean dishes.

Alison Burton is the co-founder of March Muses, the leading UK brand for Black Christmas decorations. Sarina Mantle is a multidisciplinary visual artist and sound artist and the owner of WildSuga Studio. We sat down with them to have a meaningful discussion about the inspiration behind their work, its future impact and what the theme Standing Firm in Power and Pride means to them.

I'm Alison Burton, co-founder of March Muses, the leading UK brand for Black Christmas decorations. My co-founder Natalie Duvall and I were motivated by our daughters' inability to see themselves reflected in festive ornaments, so in 2019 we launched a range featuring Black and brown angels and Santa decorations.

Since launching our business, we have rapidly grown and are now stocked in Selfridges and Liberty in London, and are the first Black-owned brand to be stocked in The Royal Albert Hall. In 2022, we secured £50,000 from investors Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden on the BBC's Dragons’ Den. In 2023, we signed a history-making five-year deal with supermarket giants Tesco to create and develop diverse Christmas decorations and year-round gifting products, allowing us to become a homeware, lifestyle and gifting brand.

Black History Month (celebrated in October in the UK) is a time of reflection and celebration for me. It’s an opportunity to honour the rich heritage and accomplishments of Black individuals throughout history, while also recognising the struggles we continue to face. It inspires us to learn from the past and strive for a future grounded in equity and justice. But I strongly feel that Black History should be added to the school curriculum and children educated on not just the history of slavery but the amazing contributions Black people have made in product inventions, business leadership, academic achievements and to the economy globally.

I would say my grandparents and my parents exemplify that. When I think back to my grandparents being relatively young and leaving their beloved Jamaica to start a whole new life in the UK it is so inspiring. Leaving behind their home comforts to assimilate into foreign surroundings, whilst being met with racism and hostility. They have always shown resilience in the face of adversity, teaching me the importance of strength, confidence, dignity and pride in all that I do. Their unwavering love, support and encouragement have empowered me to embrace my identity and pursue my passions boldly.

Black excellence, to me, provokes many emotions. It signifies the triumphs and achievements of Black individuals against all odds. We cannot be mediocre to achieve success - we have to strive for excellence in order to be recognised and celebrated, which is not the same for our peers of other races. However, this reflects our tenacity, creativity, intellect and our noteworthy contributions to society. This month and every month, I celebrate those who challenge stereotypes and elevate our community through their determination and brilliance, which reminds us all of our potential.

My name is Sarina Mantle and I am a multidisciplinary visual artist and sound artist based in London. I am the author of popular internationally sold colouring books Women + Patterns + Plants and The Divine Feminine Self-Discovery Coloring Journal. I come from a fashion design background and I combine textiles, sound, illustration, paintings, songs and ambient soundscape production with a focus around nature, the living land, the divine feminine, self-realisation and immersive visual storytelling.

In 2008 I set up Wildsuga Studio, which is a creative platform that houses my various types of art, textiles, design and creative work. Much of my creative practice focuses on wellbeing, the natural world of plants and our connection to them. For as long as I can remember I have loved the wild beauty and fearlessness of a woman and her complex nature, and I look for ways to celebrate her in light of my Caribbean heritage.

My business allows me to facilitate artistic workshops with local communities and international organisations, from early years to children to adults. As a freelancer I also collaborate on commission work, from wholesale to licensing. Wildsuga gives me the space to dream and expand. My business ultimately is a holistic daily practice, one where I get to share in service and explore my creativity.

It means legacy and continuation. It’s never been just a sort of static one month a year for me – personally, it’s been an everyday lived experience that looks back at the past whilst looking forward. It’s contemporary and current as well as a celebration of yesterday and before. I feel Black history is in our bodies; we carry stories in our DNA. It’s ancestral and it’s passed down. When I think of lineage and family and my being a direct descendant of my elders, I feel a sense of purpose to keep persevering and being true to myself.

My parents’ migration journey during the Windrush generation during the 1960s from the Caribbean, St Lucia and Jamaica to London has always inspired me. I recall hearing stories of hope, resilience, perseverance, change, adaptation and future thinking. Their strength, vision and pride gave me a strong foundation to explore the path I do today as a creative.

Passion, dedication, discipline, pushing boundaries. I come from an athletic background, and I remember the hours of training and commitment to compete and perform at my best. Transferring this attitude to my creativity has really helped me strive for excellence. Whenever I witness Black excellence I tend to see a level of genius and shifting of culture - it’s striking to see.