THE GOOD LIFE
ST YL E
Denise Butler
The Cocoa Cutie founder designs apparel, home decor, and accessories that represent children of color BY TAYLOR BOWLER PHOTOGRAPHS BY HERMAN NICHOLSON
ABOUT SEVEN YEARS AGO, Denise Butler’s niece wanted a tutu for her fourth birthday. “I always call myself the ‘extra auntie’ because I don’t have kids,” she says. “I wanted to buy a whole outfit with a little brown ballerina, but I didn’t see anything I was looking for. There were no Black mermaids or gymnasts or dancers. If I did find it, it was a very stylized product or design, or too mature. In the Black community, stuff is too stylized, or kids are sexualized too young.” Butler decided to create the outfit herself, and she hand-painted a ballerina on a T-shirt with fabric paint and glitter. It was a big hit with her niece’s friends, and she realized she might be on to something. She saw an opening in the market—not just for children’s clothing but for backpacks, towels, and other accessories that incorporate Black and brown faces. At the time, Butler was on sabbatical from a decadelong career as a chemist. She’d worked for Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, and Schaeffler
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and recalls sitting in many boardrooms where she was the only Black woman. The 43-year-old native of Johnston, South Carolina, knew how important it was for children of color to see images of themselves in a range of careers. She also knew there had to be a way to get more representation. “I was trying to decide if I should go back to the chemistry department,” Butler says, “but I couldn’t get this idea out of my head.” She brainstormed with her mom, a preschool teacher, and landed on the name Cocoa Cutie. “I was always a doodler and took art classes in college but never considered myself an artist,” she says. “I was afraid to put it out there and see what people would say. I would start doing it, then stop, put it away, and eventually pick it up again.”
CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // FEBRUARY 2022
When Butler and her husband moved to Charlotte after a brief stint in Memphis in 2016, she began to research how to put her images on products. She discovered Happy Kat Candles & Gifts, a store at Northlake Mall that carries handcrafted work by local artisans, and sold a few of her backpacks, blankets, and T-shirts there. “Parents would come to me and say, ‘My child does this,’ and ask me to create something for them,” she says. “That’s how I got so many characters.” Butler uploads drawings from her digital sketchbook into Sketch, a vector program that allows her to adjust details and skin tones. She categorizes her characters by fantasy, sports, and careers and regularly adds new ones she doesn’t see represented at big box stores. She uses local and overseas manufacturers for
