Lilo Allen fulfills longtime dream with Bronzeville Collective MKE
Photos by Steve Waring
By Israel Webb and Steve Waring
By the time she was six years old, Lilo Allen was already a very ambitious little girl. In addition to creating and selling her own jewelry line, she was also determined to see her name in lights.
After celebrating their fifth anniversary in business last October and relocating the Bronzeville Collective MKE to 2236 North Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive in August 2024, all Allen needs is a large-screen LED sign to fulfill her childhood dream.
The Bronzeville Collective MKE is a collaborative gift shop that Allen co-founded and manages. It features handcrafted and uniquely designed jewelry, clothing, wellness products, home décor and metaphysical items such as tarot cards, crystals and sage produced by approximately 30 black-, brown-, queer-, and ally-owned local enterprises.
The cosmetic, hygiene, hair and skin care products are all made with safe ingredients, and contain no harsh chemicals. The Collective also offers bath bombs and salts that are guaranteed to soothe. There is also a bath bomb containing actual CBD from cannabis which can ease chronic pain. Also available is a line bath teas, which is a bath bomb (without the clean-up afterward), ideal for individuals with injuries or limited mobility.
On Tuesdays, Zakia does tarot card readings.
Tuesday evenings feature at Bronzeville Collective MKE tarot readings hosted by Zakia.
“People can walk in here and see themselves reflected and celebrated, not just in the store, but in the poetry, the jewelry, the art, all of it,” Allen said. “black, brown and queer people didn’t always see themselves reflected accurately in Milwaukee in the past.”
In addition to the retail location, online purchases are available through the store website: https://www.bronzevillecollective.com/. The Collective also has social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
Soon after the Collective moved to its new location in August 2024, Miller went founded a co-working space and café called Fruition MKE. She remains active with the Collective.
About 40 percent of the items in the store are jewelry and craft items created by Allen and business partner Miller. The two women first met more than 10 years ago as aspiring poets performing at open mic nights around Milwaukee. Before founding Bronzeville Collective MKE, both women had their own brand under which they sold their artistic creations: Allen’s is named Papyrus & Charms and Miller’s is FlyBlooms by Tiffany.
“We kept running into each other [as vendors at various summer festival events] around Milwaukee,” Allen said. “Eventually we decided to split costs.”
About 40 percent of the store items were designed and created by co-owners Lilo Allen and Tiffany Miller.
By October 2018, the two women were ready to advance to the next step in their plan to take control of their own destiny. After learning about a business training opportunity through the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin (AACCW) on Facebook, Allen and Miller undertook an intensive 14-week RISE MKE business class administered through the AACCW. At the completion of the course, Miller and Allen won a contest for the best business plan and they were voted the “fan favorite” by a majority of the class. The two awards came with prizes amounting to $3,500, which they later used as the security deposit for the lease of a retail storefront location.
Before obtaining their own lease, the two women had another piece of good fortune. After applying to Brew City Match program, the two women were announced as participants. This came with a stipend of $2,000 each as well as 60 days of free rent at a retail location. Bronzeville Collective MKE reported gross revenue of $27,000 during its first two months, Allen said.
Allen credits her Jamaican- born father, Daniel Mosiah, for her artistic sense; and her mother, Celesta Allen, for her business ability. By the age of six, she had already combined the two skills making up to $50 a day selling the jewelry she designed and made at struggling store locations that her mother had been sent to turn around.
