Meet Katrina
Katrina, co-founder of NiLu, moved to Harlem in 1991 at the age of 21, getting her first place by herself on Astor Row, on 130th St. between 5th and Lenox. She grew up with 8 older siblings in Foxborough, Massachusetts, “I think being the youngest, it gave me a sense of confidence that I didn't know I had because of having dealt with so many different personalities… I had a strong sense of independence and I think it served me well… [It] taught me… the gift of communicating, being able to interact with different people, knowing when to be quiet and when to listen.” She would go on to attend school at Morgan State, Howard University, and finished at The City College of New York. She comments, “…Mother has lived. I've been about… This is the longest I've lived anywhere. I call it my second coming of age. Maybe I’m on my third one now”, she laughs.
A milestone for her during her Harlem journey was getting a job through an employment agency, learning how to articulate what she was looking for fast enough before they hang up, getting an appointment, updating her resume, and finally getting a job. Another major moment for her was learning to navigate the trains, “[During] the morning rush hour, the train [conductor] was just,” she mimics them mumbling unintelligibly over the intercom. “People would just rush and get off. I’d be like, ‘What did he say? What’d he say? What’d he say? I don't know’. But I'm like, ‘OK, I’m just getting off with everybody else.’” Getting to a point of knowing how to navigate, when to get off, and being able to confidently help someone else with directions let her know she was on the right track.
“I feel like I was raised in Harlem… that’s why I would say it was my second coming. I was 20 and it kind of taught me everything else that I needed to know. You know, I’m very grateful.”
Katrina began her first business with her husband, Mark, called Katrina Parris Flowers before opening NiLu in 2015, a Black-owned gift shop highlighting Black and Brown makers, named after her two sons Nigel and Luke. “I was always mindful of supporting makers of color… Even with the curation of the NiLu products… We have journals that [include] quotes from Langston Hughes, from Bell Hooks, and on the back of it, I was very intentional, making sure that there was a little bio on each individual. Making sure the people knew who these folks were, where these quotes came from, and what they meant… and their history… I feel like it's got even… deeper roots because now I feel like there's even more of a need than there was 10 years ago, for preserving, for making available, for inspiring, you know, folks out there that are makers and artists...”
She describes her journey as an “adventure”, being an “invincible” 21 year old, navigating a big city, finding a job, living alone, and ultimately finding her path. Harlem has influenced her character, making her more resilient in embodying the Harlem hustle spirit. And Harlem has supported her and helped her business be successful. During the pandemic, community members truly stepped up in time when many local businesses were struggling, “So community came in, it [was] like ‘What can we do to ensure that you guys can still be here?’” In acknowledgment of her and her husband’s work over the years, being ingrained in the Harlem community and highlighting and Black and Brown creatives, they are being awarded, along with Nino and Leah from Settepani, the Pioneer Awards for the C. Virginia Fields and Frederick Douglass Blvd. Association.
Harlem has both personal and professional significance for Katrina. It is where she has raised her children and found a true sense of community, “I love that…, even now when my oldest… walks the dog, he's like, ‘You know, every time I walk the dog, everybody always tells me, ’Aren’t you Katrina’s?’' …I have a sense [of] community in a way that… I didn't experience growing up… and I'm so thankful [for] that… When we were raising our boys, there were four other families that were all the same age. We were a little older parents, right. Therefore, we didn't have support systems, we didn't have our mothers come in and watch our kids when they were younger… so we clung and hung on to each other. So I love that even to this day my boys have a group of friends that they refer to as ‘the crew’. ‘The crew’ is the neighborhood kids that they grew up with that they never not remember a time when they were not in their lives, you know… I love that they have that bridge… And it's just this four block radius and they will forever be ‘the crew.’”
Touching on her favorite thing about Harlem and what she looks forward to, she says, “It’s the Die Hards, the ones who have been here, you know… I still will never call myself a Harlemite because I have too much respect. I mean, I could be here for 50 years, but… I have too much respect to say that, you know. I'm not born and buttered… I feel like I was raised in Harlem… that's why I would say it was my second coming. I was 20 and it kind of taught me everything else that I needed to know. You know, I'm very grateful.”