My name is Naomi Winston and I published my first book when when I was 17 years old.
I started creating coloring books in my second year of undergrad after a conversation with my God Sister who was refusing to play at the park during the summer in fear of getting “too dark” to which she also said she wished her hair didn't look “like this”. It broke my heart and from that day on I have dedicated my creative skills to creating coloring books based on real images to emphasize to BIPOC children that they are not only beautiful but so are their cultures. After I graduated college in May of 2021 I began to focus my company solely on my coloring books and what I call "immersive creative representation" .The past 2 years we have gained a substantial organic tiktok following of over 35K (and counting). We have won several pitch competitions for our affirmation coloring book series "POC are the Future" and since 2022 have begun making educational coloring books through The Creative Representation Empire as a means of bringing our work into schools, therapy practices, and youth organization programming. We work to create mirrors of representation for underrepresented communities and portals of understanding, education, and empathy for those not a part of those communities.
Since I started designing these coloring books in 2019, now 4 years, 14 self-published coloring books later, and seeing the fruition of the seeds that I planted years ago begin to take shape into not only impactful work but a profitable business has been so incredibly rewarding. The amount of stories that I have of kids, parents, and peers who see so much of their younger selves in my work has been, and continues to be ,the motivation for me to progress on this mission toward empowering the next generation to take the initiative to create a more inclusive world. At TCRE, we don't just make coloring books. We create a sense of belonging for youth, foster safe spaces for them to explore their identity, and empower them to take their education into their own hands.
