DETROIT GRINDS — Celebrating Artists and Entrepreneurs

DETROIT GRINDS (DG) is not your ordinary Detroit clothing brand. It’s all about the “grind,” or as DG creator Noura Ballout puts it, the effort that Detroiters put in to be successful.

“[DG is] a come up of artists and entrepreneurs in the city,” said Ballout. “Our models are actual people in the city on the grind.”

Ballout has a close connection to Detroit artists because they themselves are one. While majoring in photography at Wayne State University, Ballout has worked with wood, sculpture, screen-printing, painting and performance art.

Currently located at the Cass Collective, DG has big plans to move to a larger venue and create a community for artists and entrepreneurs with a coffee bar, retail space and art gallery.

Ballout is also co-owner of The Bottom Line Coffee House where they have worked to create an inclusive space for the local community in Midtown, Detroit.

“The entire barista industry is dominated by white cisgender men,” said Ballout. “I wanted to turn [The Bottom Line] into a safe space for people.”

TBL sells DETROIT GRINDS apparel and hosts open mic nights on Fridays. Details can be found at TBL’s Facebook page @TBLDetroit.

DG has teamed up with SWANA (Southwest Asian & North African) creators for Projections, an art exhibition that will be held June 14 at 6:00 p.m. at Cass Collective Detroit that is open to the public.

“Exhibiting artists Cyrah Dardas, Leila Abdelrazaq, and Noura Ballout explore societally projected identities associated with gender, culture, sexuality and politics,” reads the event’s Facebook page.

For more information about DETROIT GRINDS and upcoming events, visit

www.detroitgrinds.com.

Originally written for Entrepreneur & Executive Magazine.