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Keisha Drammeh: The art of redesigning vintage clothes

THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES — Keisha Drammeh’s eye for history comes in handy, especially with her line of vintage clothing.

Published

7 years ago

February 7, 2019

By Ameera Steward

Keisha Drammeh’s eye for history comes in handy, especially with her line of vintage clothing. Based on what she buys from thrift stores and estate and garage sales, she can always tell what was going on in the world when a certain item was in style. She researches the year and the era to make sure the attire is “authentically vintage.”

“There is a lot of copycat stuff out here,” she said. “You can look at zippers, buttons, and stitching to see if [an item] is truly vintage or not.

“Art is in everything, and fashion is an art form. So, anything I see can be used for fashion. I’ve always been taught to appreciate everything because you can see nature in it all. Patterns, fabrics, designs all have naturally occurring aesthetics [that] can be turned into artwork.”

It’s Poppin!

Drammeh creates artwork from used clothing she finds and recycles, and she sells those creations through her business, It’s Poppin! Vintage. Her “sustainable” vintage clothing store, which opened in 1994, features trendy, urban, vintage items while sustaining the environment and minimizing carbon footprints. She chose the name “It’s Poppin” because it’s long been one of her favorite phrases.

“I was saying that before it got trendy,” she said. “Now everybody is like ‘It’s poppin!’ It’s been poppin’ for me.”

A self-professed fashion activist, Drammeh doesn’t feel there’s a limit to what a person can wear, where they can wear it, and how they can wear it.

“I like gender-neutral items,” she said. “I’m not super-girly, but I’m not super-tomboy, [either]. I like to mix men’s pieces with women’s pieces. … There’s … no limit to fashion. It runs the gamut.”

In addition to telling the story of the clothes, she uses the word “sustainability” in what she does because “that’s what [my parents and I have] always done, being sustainable, … recycling and reusing, trying to reduce the amount of money [we would] spend on stuff,” she said.

Black History Month

February is a big month for Drammeh. On February 1 she was part of a fashion show presented by Golden Hour Productions and Unity Culture. And on February 10, she will host a Sip and Shop at the current It’s Poppin! Vintage, location, 1904 2nd Ave. N., inside the Paisley Pig in Bessemer; tickets are $10, and those attending should bring five items and have about three minutes to shop.

“[It] kind of gives it like a little exhilarating rush,” Drammeh said, explaining that any clothing that isn’t sold during the event will be donated to Olivia’s House, a transitional house for women and children.

“I hope I can be a part of that whole movement [to change fashion],” she said. “If it’s trendy to shop at a thrift store, please be trendy. You’ll save so much money, and you’ll have your own unique look.”

Beyond fashion and business, Drammeh is part of the National Hook Up of Black Women, an organization that started in Chicago, “because this sister felt like black women didn’t have a place to meet or hook up and be resourceful with each other,” she said, adding that the group is resourceful to the point that they have become her team for whatever she needs when it comes to her programs.

Drammeh also has established an art and culture program. Because it’s Black History Month, the topic of discussion will likely be about Africa, and participants will make three-dimensional masks.

“The event is for kids,” she said. “It’s a [two-day] youth program … in conjunction with the Hook Up, … which is the type of organization that [will provide support for] whatever you want to do.”

“Spirit of Birmingham”

Drammeh, a 44-year-old mother of three, was born in Chicago, Ill. When she was 14, her family moved to Detroit, Mich., where they lived for the next 20 years. She then moved to Atlanta, Ga., where she lived until August 2018, when her husband received a better job opportunity that brought their family to Birmingham.

Drammeh loves the Magic City, but for her there’s no place like the Motor City.

“I love Detroit, and I see some similarities between Detroit and Birmingham,” she said. “I like the spirit of Birmingham. I’ve been able to connect with some really creative people here, and I like how the creative community is tight knit. It seems like a small, big city. I like that feel versus coming from a place that was on steroids.”

Artistic Beginnings

Drammeh was an only child, and her parents were activists.

“My parents always [bought black]. We’ve been buying black since I was little,” she said. “[We] lived a real African-centered lifestyle, so we put black before anything.”

Her mother was an account executive who sold commercial time for major television networks, and her father was an artist.

“[My dad was always] digging, … pulling up, and putting stuff in the back of the car that people were trying to throw away,” she said. “He didn’t believe in wasting.”

Drammeh’s family didn’t go to church, so Sundays were the creative days in their household.

“Jazz, Miles Davis playing. Painting. … Just doing stuff in the house. … That’s the type of vibe my parents were on,” she said. “Looking back on how I grew up, I think a lot of black people could have benefitted from coming from such an African-centered household. … I don’t think a lot of black families were having the type of conversations that took place in our home and letting their kids be part of them.”

Growing up in such a creative household helped Drammeh develop her own style—and not care what others thought about it.

“I was one of those kids putting graffiti on and holes in their clothes before [designers] started selling [clothes like that],” she said. “You know, that was tacky for some people, especially your parents. I feel like that [style] was kind of inspired by [my] generation.”

Growing up in the Motor City also influenced Drammeh’s sense of style.

“In Detroit, you’ve gotta be ready for whatever at all times,” she said. “I look at [rapper] Kash Doll, [singer, rapper, and songwriter] Dej Loaf, and other Detroit artists and say they are basically still Detroit girls.”

Community Work

Drammeh earned a bachelor’s degrees in mortuary science and community development from Detroit’s Wayne State University, but she has always been an educator at heart.

“I ended up in art education because I love art and I love community,” she said. “I’ve always worked with after-school programs and had my own after-school programs for youth.”

Drammeh has been in the education and youth-development fields for years, both with her own cultural art programs and with the Boys and Girls Club in Atlanta, where she served as the cultural art director. She left that job in 2014 to devote time to It’s Poppin! Vintage.

In Atlanta, Drammeh found several nice thrift stores, where she would often shop for her friends. She also would add fabrics or patchwork to pieces to create different looks.

“For my friends and myself, … if I saw something cute [at a thrift store], I would buy it because it was cheap,” she said. “One day, I woke up and realized I had about 50 pieces that I didn’t give away. I couldn’t fit [any of the items], so invited people over for a big sale at my house. After that, I just kept shopping, [and] I never stopped.”

Drammeh recalled the number of people who showed up to her sale, and she has since turned her hobby into a hustle. Most of her customers are people who like to thrift: women and some men between the ages of 24 and 50. She also has seen her customer base grow among the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning and/or queer (LGBTQ) community.

Drammeh feels she offers her customers hope, as well as a sense of unorthodox style. The selections available at It’s Poppin! Vintage blends patterns, colors, and textures, but it’s about more than just selling clothes.

“It’s selling style, personality and character all in one,” she said, adding that her ultimate goal is to reduce the amount of money people spend on stuff.

“You spend money on a T-shirt that was made in a sweatshop by someone who was paid maybe 3 cents and can’t even feed their family. [Manufacturers] use gallons and gallons of water to make the cotton,” Drammeh said. “It’s just stupid when you can get something that has stood the test of time and is still great.”

When it comes to pricing, Drammeh doesn’t try to match other retailers. She takes a few things into consideration: her time, the clothing selection, and the era in which the clothing was made.

Visit www.itspoppinvintage.com to not only shop but also check out Drammeh’s blog, which includes the history of some her pieces.

This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.

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PRESS ROOM: Rep. Maxine Waters to Receive NAACP Chairman’s Award

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Activism

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses. The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Published

6 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, was one of the speakers at the event. Photo by Shellee Fisher Photography and Design.

By Calvin Naito, Special to The Post

On June 4, a national nonprofit named the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) – which aims to increase public construction contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses – held a day-long event in downtown San Francisco to rally supporters and build momentum to its cause.

It was attended by more than 100 individuals from public agencies, private firms, and other organizations committed to increasing contracting opportunities with governmental agencies, thereby creating more competition and lowering public costs.

The EIP event was held the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in conjunction with BuildIT, which aims to increase contracting opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses.

The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Following the workshop, BuildIT hosted a VIP evening reception honoring EIP, whose principals – Phil Washington, John Procari, and Rick Jacobs – accepted the award.

The event also set in motion the coalition’s efforts to implement recommendations from EIP’s “Procurement for Prosperity: A Playbook.”

The Playbook is a practical guide for public agency leaders and procurement and contracting practitioners to grow the capacity of small and first-time contractors, strengthen competition, and deliver better value for taxpayers.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), a long-time EIP supporter, also told attendees, “This is about commitment. This has been a life’s work. This is a tailwind moment.”

The event’s presenting sponsor was Hub International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, which was joined by partners Travelers Insurance and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

After the pledge-signing ceremony, attendees participated in a workshop in which they examined the policies, practices, and programs needed to meet EIP goals, learned from practitioners, and identified next steps toward utilizing the Playbook.

Ingrid Meriwether, formerly of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS) and current president of Hub International’s Aligned Risk Management, MWIS, described the hard-fought lessons she and her MWIS team have learned over the last three decades administering contractor development programs (CDPs) for the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, City of Los Angeles, LA Metro, and other municipalities.

The CDPs help small and local construction firms win public infrastructure contracts with these government agencies. The program provides bonding assistance, contract financing, technical support, training, and other services to underrepresented businesses funded by public agencies who seek greater contracting participation with these firms.

Merriwether said programs like these “break down systemic barriers, create greater fairness, and save taxpayers money by enabling more competition. The contractor development programs have, cumulatively, over two decades, helped contractors access over $1 billion in bonding, supporting over $380 million in awarded contracts, and maintaining a loss ratio 250 times lower than the industry average – while saving participating municipalities more than $27 million in contracting costs as a result of enabling more competition.”

Rick Jacobs, EIP co-founder and co-chair urged attendees make plans to meet again in the near future “to continue building on this work, share progress on organizational commitments, and discuss how we can collectively advance the goals of the EIP pledge.”

For more information on the EIP and to access a copy of the Playbook, go online to https://equityininfrastructure.org/

Calvin Naito is communications manager for Equity in Infrastructure Project.

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Oakland Museum Presents Landmark Retrospective Celebrating Beloved Bay Area Artist Mildred Howard

“Poetics of Memory” coincides with a year of major recognition for Howard. In 2026, she received the California Arts Council’s 50th Anniversary Award, honoring artists whose work has shaped California’s cultural and civic life, as well as the Museum of the African Diaspora’s Artist Impact Award. In 2025, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in recognition of her transformative contributions to American cultural life.

Published

6 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Mildred Howard. Photo by Christine Cueto for the Oakland Museum of California, 2025.

Special to The Post

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) opened “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory,” the first major museum survey of Bay Area artist Mildred Howard, on June 12.

The exhibition spans five decades of Howard’s influential work, bringing together immersive installations, found-object sculptures, archival materials, and new commissions that explore memory, identity, and power in American life.

Howard was born in San Francisco in 1945 and raised in the East Bay, where she went on to study Afro-Haitian dance, make and sell clothing, and experiment with collage and sculpture.

Her multimedia art practice emerged from these experiences, later becoming associated with West Coast conceptual art, San Francisco funk, and a vibrant community of artists like Oliver Jackson, Betye Saar, and Raymond Saunders. Since the 1970s, she has used found materials and family stories to explore memory—both individual and collective.

At OMCA, visitors enter “Poetics of Memory” through a series of intimate galleries featuring Howard’s early mixed-media pieces and sculptures, along with a large video projection of a number of her public artworks.

Together, they emphasize Howard’s interest in everyday objects as powerful carriers of individual and shared stories. Highlights include collages that remix images of the artist herself; found-object sculptures like The History of the United States with a few Parts Missing (2007) that address omissions in dominant narratives; and public works like “Locks and Keys for Harry Bridges” (2001) that transform urban space into a meditation on access and labor.

This culminates in a richly detailed “studio” environment, where works in progress, archival exhibition flyers, historic photographs of Howard and her community, postcards from fellow artists, and other materials offer insight into her creative process and daily life.

The exhibition then opens into a high-ceilinged, dramatically lit space that brings together Howard’s signature immersive installations. On one end, “Crossings” (1997/2026) – a field of hundreds of ceramic eggs leading to an ornate mirror – suggests cycles of birth, motherhood, and transition, while drawing on the emotional echoes of the Middle Passage. On the other end, “Blackbird in a Red Sky” (a.k.a. “Fall of the Blood House”) (2002) – a red glass shack bordered by a pond – also uses reflection and transparency to draw viewers into the work and prompt consideration of themes of identity and home.

Howard’s newest video installation, “Moving Stills” (2026), repurposes never-before-seen family footage she took as a teenager on a train trip to the American South. Projected onto cascading layers of translucent fabric that stretch across an entire gallery wall, the piece immerses viewers in a layered meditation on memory, migration, and time.

The “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory” exhibit will be on display through Oct. 11 at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94612. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Fridays to 9 p.m.

This story is sourced from the Oakland Museum of California press office.

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Alameda County

Ferry Fares to Increase July 1 as Ridership Hits Record Highs

The Oakland and Alameda routes will increase from $4.90 to $5.10, the South San Francisco route will go up from $7.40 to $7.60, and the Vallejo route will increase from $9.90 to $10.

Published

6 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy photo.

By Mike Aldax, The Richmond Standard

Starting July 1, the standard adult fare for the San Francisco Bay Ferry route between Richmond and San Francisco will increase to $5.20, up from the current $4.90.

Discounted fares for eligible passengers, including youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and Clipper START users, will rise to $2.60 from the current $2.40. Children under 5 will continue to ride for free.

The Oakland and Alameda routes will increase from $4.90 to $5.10, the South San Francisco route will go up from $7.40 to $7.60, and the Vallejo route will increase from $9.90 to $10.

The adjustments are part of a systemwide fare update approved by the agency’s Board of Directors, which is moving away from a flat 3% annual increase to route-specific pricing for the 2027 and 2028 fiscal years.

This fare update arrives as San Francisco Bay Ferry celebrates a historic May, transporting 301,270 passengers. The record-breaking figure represents an 8% increase over May 2025 and marks the third consecutive month of record-setting ridership.

Furthermore, it is the sixth month in a row that passenger numbers have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Weekend travel has been a primary driver of this growth, with average weekend ridership seeing a 56% increase compared to pre-pandemic trends.

The agency states that the fare adjustments are necessary to ensure the long-term fiscal sustainability of public ferry services. By shifting to route-specific adjustments, the agency aims to offset rising operating costs while maintaining the high levels of service frequency and reliability.