This November, we celebrate three of our clients, each of whom, in their own way, is transforming their industry or otherwise having an impact on society. Artis Solomon, owned by Professor Kimberly Jenkins, is helping to shine a spotlight on the intersection of fashion and race, making the fashion industry more inclusive for all. Sterling Utilities, owned by Dawn Paris and Jim Danella, is a certified-women-owned utility contractor. Dawn, a serial entrepreneur in the industry, is a tremendous role model for other women looking to advance and succeed in a very male dominated arena. Nicholas Konert, an artist, launched The Spread Love Project to support various charitable causes. The Spread Love Project has engaged in a number of high-profile brand collaborations raising funds for and awareness of these important causes. It has been a pleasure for our firm to work with such vibrant and innovative entrepreneurs and leaders and to support their work. We hope you enjoy learning a bit more about them and the work we have done for them.
Artis Solomon & The Fashion and Race Database
Artis Solomon is an education consultancy that provides academic and creative solutions towards a more intelligent fashion system through critical knowledge and insight. Artis Solomon is bringing crucial lessons and resources that live inside the classroom to the wide arena of fashion, “connecting the dots” of common interests and concerns that exist between students, industry leaders, and society in general. Artis Solomon and its founder, Kimberly Jenkins, are most known for The Fashion and Race Database, an online platform filled with tools that expand the narrative of fashion history and challenge misrepresentation within the fashion system. The Fashion and Race Database platform centers and amplifies the voices of those who have been racialized (and thus marginalized) in fashion, illuminates under-examined histories, and addresses racism throughout the fashion system. It provides a roadmap for lasting change in the fashion industry that will offer lessons and resources that diversify how we understand fashion, as well as an interactive platform for those who agree that it is time to challenge dominant narratives and insensitive behavior in fashion. ND Galli Law serves as regular outside counsel to Artis Solomon and The Fashion and Race Database platform, assisting in intellectual property matters and in successfully negotiating several deals including with a major fashion house.
Artis Solomon is currently engaged in a crowd-funding campaign to sustain and enhance The Fashion and Race Database platform. Through Artis Solomon’s collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger and PVH Corp., all funds raised to support The Fashion and Race Database platform during this fundraising campaign will be matched dollar for dollar (up to $20,000) by Tommy Hilfiger and PVH Corp. Our firm has made a contribution to this effort. We hope that some of you will also consider supporting The Fashion and Race Database platform in your year-end giving.
Sterling Utilities
Sterling Utilities is utility contractor business working with customers in Pennsylvania and Florida. It is a partnership between two utility industry veterans, Dawn Paris and Jim Danella, the founder and owner of Danella Companies Inc. Sterling provides contractor services to major utility companies and other private customers in the utility industry. Dawn, the majority owner and a CPA, is a 10-year veteran of the utility industry. In 2010, Dawn started her prior company, Viking Utility, with her husband (a power lineman) and grew it from a 10-employee business into a $16 million business with 120 employees. Realizing Viking needed a bigger platform to grow further, Dawn and her husband sold Viking to Danella in 2020, and Dawn took an executive position at Danella. Shortly thereafter, Dawn was motivated to start and grow a new business, this time leveraging both her experience and resources and Jim’s. ND Galli Law was hired to counsel and assist Dawn in documenting her partnership with Jim and to support Sterling in obtaining its certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), which it received this May. Dawn hopes to grow Sterling into a large, women-owned national utility contractor and ND Galli Law looks forward to helping her get there.
Nicholas Konert & The Spread Love Project
Nicholas Konert’s Spread Love Project was founded in 2016 to serve as an iconic reminder for people everywhere to spread love without restriction, reason, or reward. Today, the project partners with mission-led businesses to support communities and create activations that promote love, joy, and unity across the globe. To date, Konert has collaborated with Tory Burch, Edition Hotels, Hudson Yards, Soho House, Kikkerland, and West Elm to support the project’s mission, and raise capital for social impact-focused non-profits, including The Fresh Air Fund, Ali-Forney, Callen-Lorde, Movement for Black Lives, The Center, and others. Learn more and see the impact here. ND Galli Law assists Nicholas in intellectual property matters related to The Spread Love Project, including trademark and copyright registrations.
Thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving!
