If I don't know anything else, I do know one thing, whenever Ford comes through the city, it's a lituation!
In partnership with media company ESSENCE Magazine, Ford made their presence known once again – this time in Atlanta for their annual Ford My City 4 Ways Atlanta Culture Festival experience. The one-day event acts as a mecca where music, food, art, and style culminate. And this year, the automaker made it a point to emphasize that Atlanta is truly where the culture is by celebrating the many facets the A has to offer.
PHOTO CREDIT: Sheriden Chanel
The weekend festival kicked off with a special dinner held at the Beltline Studios where innovators and tastemakers were invited out to preview what Ford had in store, including enticing guests to "go further" with the rollout of their 2018 Ford Mustang. With its 5.0L Ti-VCT V8 engine, I was instantly reminded of my ride and drive experience with Ford during ESSENCE Fest when I got behind the wheel and experienced that baby's purr and roar up close and personal.
[ia_video https://s3.amazonaws.com/roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms/runner%2F6439-IMG_7621.mov source="https://s3.amazonaws.com/roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms/runner%2F6439-IMG_7621.mov" autoplay=true feedbacks=true shortcode_id=1537381268110 expand=1 ]Guests were treated to a special menu curated by Chef Aleem on the rooftop of the studios, so we got a taste of a delicious feast while overlooking views galore, compliments of the city of Atlanta. (Sidebar: the rose roasted chicken with the sweet potato mash and wilted spinach was divine). The thing that speaks to me most about Ford is its constant dedication to making sure they tap into an urban market. Being surrounded by ladies and men who represented different aspects of the media, as well as multiple shades of blackness, was a personification of community. And it was amazing to be a part of.
PHOTO CREDIT: Sheriden Chanel
PHOTO CREDIT: Sheriden Chanel
PHOTO CREDIT: Sheriden Chanel
The next day the actual cultural festival took place, and although not as intimate as the dinner the night before, it was still a show of community and a celebration of love, for each other, as well as Atlanta. Held at the Mason Fine Art Gallery, it was a bigger version of the previous night's festivities, as even more cultural leaders were invited to show up and show out. ATL's own R&B Queen Monica reminded festivalgoers to "Don't Take It Personal" as she gave us the gift of hearing some of greatest hits live and in living color, flawlessly as ever. An electric violinist named Joy Black also amped up the mood throughout the gallery, assisting with the soundtrack of the day.
PHOTO CREDIT: Nigel DeGraff
The hostess with the mostess for the night was none other than emcee extraordinaire, MC Lyte. Hors d'oeuvres prepped by Chef Aleem and musician turned celebrity chef Kelis circulated throughout the room as guests vibed. The Ford "Ride & Drive" experience was back in full effect, allowing guests and consumers to get a one-on-one experience with the product by test driving the Mustang, the F-150, and of course, the new 2018 Ford Expedition.
In addition to music, food, and vibes, attendees got the pop up shop experience thanks to the contributions of art influencer Melissa Mitchell, lifestyle influencer Kenya Freeman, and entrepreneur Milan Amani. Lip Bar founder Melissa Butler added a little variety to the mix by putting attendees onto the Lip Bar experience where guests could become familiar with the bold and fearless array of colors her lipstick brand has to offer.
I swear to God, I love my city.
Check out some of our favorite moments from the festival by clicking through the gallery below:
PHOTO CREDIT: Nigel DeGraff
To learn more about future Ford My City 4 Ways events, click here and RSVP.
Featured image by Nigel DeGraff
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak
