Arts / Heritage

Honey Child’s Creole Heritage

My Grandma Wilma said this is what I was born for. To tell our stories, display the traditions, and articulate the beauty of Americans of colour. To demystify southern and island foods with the deftness of gentility and Southern manners. To be the Chatelaine and evangelist for our people.

Honey Child
Black and white photo of Honey Child cooking. Photo: Jonathan Wherrett.
Honey Child cooking

About the project

‘Honey Child’ is an American Creole from Honolulu, Hawaii, by way of Las Vegas, with many stops in between. She is a force of nature. Big, Black, Proud.

‘Honey Child’ burst into OUTSIDE THE BOX / Earth Arts Rights orbit amidst the crisis and turmoil of relentless police violence against people of colour that launched the recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests around the world. Wrangled by Justy Phillips of A Published Event, we became part of a team, including photographers Jonathan Wherrett and Peter Horsman to create the website honeychildscreole.com. Our role was to distill the essence of Honey Child’s Creole into a visual identity and promotional materials that immediately connected people to her heritage. It was an honour and a joy.

Honey Child commented:
‘To try and explain the bittersweet relationship with Womanism, America, Blackness, Creole traditions, Enslavement, Domesticity, and Heritage Foodways was/is the biggest hurdle for me. I felt that my explanations were clumsy and unclear. But then they created true totems of such potency I knew they truly saw me. I cry every time I see them. They are such an unflinchingly proud place to operate from. I know they are used to distilling subjects and creating, but this was more than that. It is as they built me armour to wield and create from. The business cards, postcards, and digital expressions are almost too beautiful to give away! They conjured icons that can stand on their own in a way that anyone must respect. They gave me Power. Pure and Simple.’

Honey Child’s Creole logo: image of a fleur de lis with the left half solid red and the right half having a decorative overlay.
Honey Child’s Creole logo
Black and white photo portrait of Honey Child, smiling broadly at the camera. Photo: Jonathan Wherrett.
Honey Child
Image of the logo for Creole Tastes showing the black silhouette of a cast iron pan, with a red stylised hand at its centre.
Logo for Creole Tastes
Honey Child’s Creole logo
Honey Child’s Creole logo
Photo of a jar of Honey Child’s preserves with a label reading Honey Child’s Creole Put Ups. Photo: Peter Horsman.
Jar of Honey Child’s Creole Put Ups
Images: Jonathan Wherrett / Peter Horsman