Our Story
Belle Detroit was born
from a week of inspiration at Detroit Startup Week in 2017 as a series of mobile workshops with Detroit area nonprofits, training moms in their programs in branding, design, and marketing.
Over the course of 18 months,
Belle Detroit ran two cohorts and an apprenticeship, graduating eight moms. According to one graduate, "I feel that I have developed an enormous amount of skills in a pretty short period of time. I have learned how to navigate and use Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, WordPress, how to create brand boards and logos, and much more. Prior to this I had hardly any computer experience, and now I am navigating my computer and programs with much more confidence and understanding.”
In 2020,
Belle Detroit launched its first 12-week design cohort, training Detroit moms in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, web design, branding, social media, and marketing strategy.
As a certified social enterprise,
Belle Detroit provided free training, onsite childcare, laptops, and software to its trainees and graduates. Under the supervision of experienced instructors, Belle Detroit cohort members provided design, marketing, and communications consulting work for social enterprises, nonprofits, and community-oriented small businesses, including:
In December 2022,
Belle Detroit scaled down its marketing agency to focus on employer consulting. Today, Belle Detroit provides communications strategy, policy analysis, workplace assessments, pilot program design services, parental leave support, and employee resource gap assistance to companies that make money to do good.
Join Us
Do you share Belle Detroit’s vision for workplaces that can change the world? We’d love to work with you! Click the link below to connect with us.