KMM Artwork®

Art. Culture. Story. — created by Krystal Mayo.

KMM Artwork® is an independent, Black-owned art brand founded by Houston-based artist Krystal Mayo. Krystal has been creating most of her life, but her artistic journey truly began at Prairie View A&M University, where a hand-painted wooden piece led to her first commission designing Greek paddles.

Her sorority asked her to create paddles to sell as a fundraiser at a district convention, and the designs took off. Requests started coming in from campuses everywhere. From there she expanded into original canvas work, jewelry, hand-painted wine glasses, paint parties, and the pieces she is best known for today: graduation caps.

Members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority asked her to design their caps semester after semester, and that support built her name. Encouraged by her sister, Krystal launched KMM Artwork — and she has been designing and painting every cap by hand ever since, so no two are ever alike. Orders for the next graduation season now start arriving before the current one ends, from across the country and as far as England.

In 2022, KMM Artwork® became a federally registered mark — another milestone in the growth of the brand.

"Art makes me happy, so it makes me feel good to know that it makes a lot of people happy."

Krystal is candid about the path: there are no rules for becoming an artist, so she wrote her own. Learning to value her work, to respect other artists' work, and to let the work speak for itself were the hardest lessons. Her advice to women starting out — handle your self-talk, find the growth inside every mistake, and cheer loud even for the small victories.

The apparel side of KMM Artwork carries that same intention. Every release starts as artwork, not a product — printed in small runs, built around the moments and places that shaped us. The Exclusive HB Drop is one of those collections: rooted in HBCU culture, Eta Beta pride, and Prairie View memories.