Soon, the two had the idea to sell vintage and antique items they found during their outings that reflected the experiences of Black people in America. “We’d be in a shop and there’d be one Lou Rawls record,” Ms. Handy said. “One Black record in these hundreds and hundreds of records. And I’m just like, where are all the Black antiques, all the Black vintage items? We have to go to so many different places just to find a couple of things.”
In November 2014, they started their business, BLK MKT Vintage. By 2019, they had both quit their jobs in academia and opened a brick-and-mortar location in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Their vintage collection today includes a draft script of Spike Lee’s film, “Mo’ Better Blues,” and a photograph of Malcolm X at a protest in Bedford-Stuyvesant. They regularly loan items to projects like the HBO drama series “Insecure” and “Saturday Night Live” on NBC.
“The business has really taught us some significant lessons about how to be in community, how to work with another person, how to compromise, how to cultivate a shared vision even with separate and distinct interests and values and curiosities,” Ms. Stewart said.
On Feb. 3, 2021, Ms. Handy surprised Ms. Stewart with a proposal at their shop. After saying yes, Ms. Stewart pulled out her own ring box. She had been carrying it around with her everywhere for two months, waiting for Ms. Handy’s proposal. “I wanted the moment to be reciprocal,” Ms. Stewart said. “And I wanted us both to be icy.”
Ms. Handy had invited their family members to surprise Ms. Stewart, so the group had a toast. Afterward, Ms. Handy and Ms. Stewart had a celebratory takeout meal from Golden Krust, a Caribbean restaurant chain.
[Click here to binge read this week’s featured couples.]
Ms. Handy and Ms. Stewart were married Dec. 9 at Peaches Prime, a restaurant in Brooklyn, in front of 75 guests. The ceremony was officiated by Jasmine Mans, a poet and friend previously ordained by the American Marriage Ministries.
