🗣️This Week on CNK: SHE got game.

…CONNECTION IS A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS.

Are you all still screaming at the Women’s NCAA Championship game? Me and my Nike slides were swag surfin’ around the living room. Not just because of the viewership records or the intense match-up of athleticism. I was also celebrating the leadership lessons and resiliency that Dawn Staley left on that hardwood. She is a living legend that deserves all the flowers.

We are back with another edition of CNK’s weekly musings influenced by the state of sneaker culture. We are here to keep it a buck with the good, the bad, and the ‘what are thoseeeee’ moments. Think of this as your dose of the extended group chat.

For all our new subscribers, a timely reminder below.

This is where sneakers merge with cool girl, you-CAN-sit-with us energy. All of that comes with a service-first mindset + sharing information + a team of people who genuinely care A LOT. If you’re here for people first and product second, you’ve come to the right place.

If you’re feeling it, feel free to share and care.

🛒 What’s in our carts?

Does your love of new releases ebb and flow as much as ours? What’s the last sneaker that REALLY had you questioning your budget and rearranging those finances? While our valleys have been plentiful, our peaks have arrived and the fire is back.

While the celebration of Air Max Day met us with the timely launch of the Air Max DN (which originally sold out on Nike’s website), we have been staring at the next AM DN blk/white colorway. We’re always down to step out in the new-new (that we can actually get our hands on of course).

You all KNOW what we’re checking for this week. We wrote a little something about it in the next section. Besides that, we are still swooning at the next collaboration with Jordan brand x Nina Chanel. We’re adding to cart, no hesitations.

Now that we’ve shared our e-carts, it’s time to jump into some deets on the news front.

📚 Storytelling still turns up the internet.

We love a good story. Especially when that story is a beautiful piece taken from the Black experience time capsule. We connect to it because it was never the ‘trendy thing’ for us, it was our lifestyle.

With that being said, we always wait with anticipation as Joe Freshgoods teases a new collaboration. Not only are his sneaker designs FYE (🔥), but his intentional storytelling is some of the best we have ever seen. Is it because it’s connected to some of our core memories? Maybe. It could be because he knows how to capture the consumer through the marketing strategy and he stays true to amplifying our experiences.

Want to know another reason that Joe gets it just right every time? He knows that these special memories from our time capsules shape us. They are treasured memories that have brought us a sense of joy - which can feel hard to come by for Black and brown people.

He is truly taking us back to a time when ‘things were pure’ with the two colorways of his New Balance 1000 collaboration. Would we be intrigued if Joe wasn’t behind reimagining this silhouette? We will leave that there for you all marinate on.

Link to get in the raffle ASAP.

✨ Creative, by DESIGN.

We are always intrigued when companies lean into creativity that could expand market reach and ensure depth in legacy. PUMA joins the ranks with the announcement of a new creative studio opening in 2025. The studio will live on the West coast in LA, and drive more alignment between important orgs within the business (read: product / design / marketing)

We’re interested to see how the design studio not only brings important layers of the business together, but how this accelerates what the consumer wants to see + creating community through partnerships.

Link to read more here 

What’s been on your radar lately? Check out noteworthy reads below!

🗞 Saysh has created their Maternity Returns Policy, and it’s intentionally sexist. Btw - we are here for all of this.

🗞 Want to dive into Coach Dawn Staley’s sneakHER style over the years? This article has you covered.

🗞 Angel Reese graces Vogue with a photoshoot that confirms she is ready for the WNBA.

🔥 A Hot List

Our CNK Hot List is a weekly mini round-up of sneakers we’re paying attention to. Does anything stand out to you this week?

Link to read more here

🗣 Stick to the plan… or nah?

We can’t be the only teams that plan, plan, and PLAN. If we’re being honest, sometimes we can all get stuck in the plans. Plans can become paralyzing without verbs attached to them (read: action taken). Plans also work well when there is accountability embracing those grand ideas. [ahem] Want to be our accountability partners?!

The CNK community is all about goal setting, planning in action, and supporting each other. With a new quarter on the horizon, how have your plans made progress? Reply to this newsletter and let us know where we can support you and/or amplify your voice.

We will be back in our next newsletter to note some ways to enhance setting those important goals and resetting your planning outlook.

We are excited to take you on our entrepreneurial journey towards our destination - SHOP CNK. What do you look for in a shopping experience? We would love to know!

Stay laced up. See y’all next week.