GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It all started as an inside joke with Afro Unicorn founder April Showers and a friend, Askia Fountain.
"A friend kept referring to me as a unicorn, because I had multiple businesses and I raised my two boys as a single mom. I was like, Why do you keep calling me that? He said, well, because you have two businesses, you're raising your boys... You're a unicorn!"
A comparison which didn't mean much to Showers.
"I'm like, yeah, I'm a woman. And he's like, no, you do it at an extraordinary level, you are a unicorn." After Showers finally connected with the mystique and magic a unicorn implied, she began to lean into the comparison.
One day however, Showers found herself thinking, "It doesn't look like me. I want a unicorn that represents who I am. So I went to go find one that looked like me, I couldn't find one. So I decided to create it."
And thus Afro Unicorn was born, a brand focused on celebrating the uniqueness of women and children of color. What began as an e-commerce site selling clothing and toys in 2019, became a nationwide brand in 2022. With products available in Target, Walmart, even Meijer, the brand's identity exploded.
Showers then thought to create a television show based on the magical world she's created.
"Representation matters," says Showers, "It matters to be able to see yourself in anything that that you do, like having an inclusive brand that you can look up to even in film and different television shows." With a clear direction, Showers and the rest of her team began to seek out likeminded creatives who could bring her vision to life.
Askia Fountain, her V.P. of Entertainment and Muskegon native, remembered Joshua Sikkema of Black Pigeon Studios.
"We had brought up the idea of, why don't we bring this project back to the city that we love?" Sikkema recalled. "We had just closed down our brick and mortar. So we're like, how can we pursue this mission? So John and I came up with the idea, let's shoot it here and involve Golden Hour, and Treefort Studios, to create this amazing live action adventure."
The brick and mortar in question; Black Pigeon Studios facility which closed down in November, 2023. Co-founders Josh Sikkema and Johnny Ray both kept their desire and passion of bringing films to Michigan, and brought the television show's production to the state. "We're bridging the gap between Hollywood in Michigan, we believe that this project is also going to bridge the gap between different communities. And I think that's a beautiful message," said Sikkema.
The television show in production now is based on Showers' journey as a black business-woman.
"The show is about four little girls who are entrepreneurs. They own their own shops in our town, and they have to deal with what business owners deal with challenges arise. Feelings of doubt come up and they come to me, Miss April, to get some advice on how to handle their situations," said Showers, also joined by her life-sized Unicorn named "magical".
Showers however realizes that the magic she's felt in her life isn't shared amongst everyone.
"I've been a unicorn literally my whole life. I've been very comfortable in my skin. I've been very proud to be black no question about it," she said. "I didn't have conversations [others] had over their hair and their skin complexion, I didn't have that. So I was able to build a brand without seeing any of that. Just building a bold in your face brand."
"This is who I am. Say it loud," said Showers with a hint of magic in her eye.
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