Aight, so BOOM, it was 2011. I was introduced to Kristine in law school when she hopped in the back of my 2008 Red Subaru Legacy with another bright eyed, and bushy tailed aspiring black girl attorneys starting at the University of Baltimore Law School in the Fall of 2012. First of all, she invited herself, and then had the nerve to ask, “which Target are we going to?” As if she had a select location and I was her Uber, and secondly, as if there are an abundance of Target stores in downtown Baltimore.

I instantly thought, “I don't like her”. I instantly knew, we could not be friends.

I'm from New Orleans and moved to the DMV for law school. First time I welcomed Tiera into my home (i.e., my cramped apartment), I greeted her at the door, “Hey girl welcome welcome.” “Hayy oh my gawd this is tew cute,” she said. If you know anything about a baltimore native that ‘TEW’ was strong. We took our conversations and KI KIs to my room. I close my door and the next thing I hear is “why do you have so many shoes and purses?” My extended shoe closet was hanging behind my door. I said “ha, what do you mean?” She proceeds to touch my gucci bag and tory burch flats with this sense of disgust. “Girrrlllaa this is too much. You don’t need all this designer stuff,” she said.

I knew right then and there I didn't need that kind of negativity in my life and we could not be friends.

So what does this have to do with The Sixteenth Hour. Hang in there...

Despite our initial encounters, we continued to be at least friendly to one another. We started to hang out more, and I judged less. We studied together, volunteered, partied and most importantly spent our good ole refund checks together.

Needless to say, despite our differences, we became the best of friends. While in law school, we HUSTLED. No job was too small and no hour was too late. Studying and working to make our dreams come true.

A “good night's rest,” according to most medical professionals, consists of eight hours of sleep. That leaves the remaining 16 Hours in a day to hustle.

You truly become the company you keep. And it goes without saying, we are in the best of company. The thing is when you get to know somebody, I mean really get to know somebody, you develop and feed off their HUSTLE and STRENGTH, the way they make a means to an end, the way they continue to move forward in the face of adversity.

Fast Forward to present day. Kristine’s a tech working yoga instructor still with a love for shoes but for giving back too. Tiera is successful civil servant who is so 410, she plans on putting the whole city on her back and keeping it safe. We realized we have way more in common than we initially thought back in 2011. BOTH STRONG, BOTH HUMBLE, BOTH RESILIENT, and BOTH BADDER THAN A MF.

The Sixteenth Hour is an ode to the grind. An ode to all things black culture and self-love. Celebrating the organic dopeness of melanin through expression and commemoratives. Kristine is vintage black culture and Tiera keeps it very 2020. Together, we offer carefully curated collections of products that are just as unique as the nickname your fav. cousin gave you when you were 12. So take a look and we hope you like what you see. But if you don’t, keep it to yourself :-)

#positive vibes

Founders, Sixteenth Hour,