BY JASON COHEN
Kwame “Hass” Thimbiano
immigrated from Ghana to the
United States with dreams of
becoming an artist, but never
did he imagine owning his own
business — a custom apron
company — whose product line
would be worn by chefs worldwide.
And recently, the Bronxite
was recognized for his artwork.
On July 7, he was announced
as one of nine people
selected to be the face of Pepsi’s
newly launched summer campaign,
“Pepsi. It’s a New York
Thing.” Each person was also
the recipient of $10,000.
“I’m defi nitely grateful to
Pepsi,” Thimbiano told the
Bronx Times. “I thank Pepsi
for coming down here to the
ghetto to fi nd people like myself.”
Thimbiano, 37, recalled
when growing up in Ghana his
family did not have much, so he
was always crafting and creating
things. In fact, he sometimes
even made items out of
soccer balls. As a youngster,
he fell in love with colors and
hoped one day he would be an
artist.
“Colors have always been
something I’m passionate
about,” he said.
At age 8, he immigrated to
Harlem, where he spent most
of his life until relocating to
Mount Hope fi ve years ago.
It was around that time
when his career really took off.
He created a colorful apron,
called Danyaki, which in his
native language means warrior
and began selling them
to his colleagues at the Red
Rooster in Harlem, where he
had worked as a waiter since
2012.
As more of its staff wore
the colorful aprons, famous
chef Marcus Samuelsson, who
owns 31 restaurants including
Red Rooster, took notice. He
then met with Thimbiano and
helped connect him with other
chefs and food service workers
who purchased the aprons.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 18 ULY 16-22, 2021 BTR
From there his company,
Danyaki Art & Design, was
born. Soon not only was the
Danyaki donned by chefs, but
people like Oprah, Neil Patrick
Harris, Stephen Colbert and
the late Mayor David Dinkins.
Thimbiano said that he
never imagined the apron
would have such an impact. Today,
he sells them throughout
the world.
“I had no idea it was going to
take this trajectory,” he added.
Although his work is not
on display in places high-end
locales like Soho, Thimbiano
appreciates Pepsi for exposing
the vibrant art scene of The
Bronx.“We’re not in galleries,
but if you come down to the
ghetto there’s a lot of amazing
stuff down here,” he said.
Pepsi is also inviting New
Yorkers to nominate six more
locals to get their own shot at
$10,000 in support of their passion,
for a total of $150,000 going
Oprah wears the Danyaki created by Kwame ‘Hass’ Thimbiano.
Photo courtesy danyaki.com
to the city’s own.
Fans can nominate someone
they know by going on
social media, using both the
hashtags #PepsiNYCLocal and
#Contest and tagging @Pepsi,
and telling everyone why the
nominee should be the next local
that Pepsi honors. To learn
more and for offi cial rules, visitwww.
PepsiItsANewYorkThing.
com.
Artist awarded $10K
in Pepsi Campaign
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