🖤 Guest Post by Bimini, Black Cat Extraordinaire

Hola, friends.

It is I — Bimini.
Black cat. Muse. Visionary. Creative Director of BiminisBoutique (my mama assists).

My mama, VanGoghChica, has once again handed me the keyboard. She says I have “things to say.” She is correct.

First, yes — we are collaborating on my eBay boutique. But let us be clear: I am the Creative Director. Mama handles opposable thumbs and shipping labels. 

You may have seen the caricature our dear friend Gracie created of us. We are shown in full art mode. Mama in her collar. Me in my sleek authority. Now, between us, Mama is having another neck surgery this month. Soon she will shed that collar. But honestly? She rocks it. Collar, walker, fierce brown girl spirit — all of it. I approve.

Now.

The first pieces I have placed in my boutique are very dear to my velvet heart.

As Mama’s daughter (yes, species is irrelevant), her concerns are mine. She is the daughter of Peruvian immigrants. A brown baby boomer growing up Spanish-speaking in the U.S. South. She learned early what it means to be “other.” She learned the texture of bigotry. The edge of it. The danger of it.

The fight for immigrant dignity is not a niche concern. It is a human concern. Some understand that. Some do not. This is where I enter the room.

My inaugural offerings are dedicated to justice.

We live in South Florida. LatinX communities here are being targeted. The current mandate to rid this country of immigrants of color has brought an immigrant detention center into our beloved Everglades — constructed on ancestral Miccosukee land, within Big Cypress National Preserve. Mama worked there for years. She knows that land. She loves that land. It is sacred.

And now?

Hundreds of millions of dollars to build. Hundreds of millions more each year to operate. Money that could educate children. Heal the sick. Sustain families.

Instead, it cages human beings.

They call it “Alligator Alcatraz.” I have attended protests. I would hiss louder if they allowed me a megaphone. But I must monitor my blood pressure. (Excuse me while I reach for a pawful of catnip.)

Back to art.

Mama and I believe in something we call #ArtAsWitness.

We do not create pretty things to decorate denial.

We create work that stands beside those under pressure. We bear witness. We do not look away because it is inconvenient. Or messy. Or bad for business.

You may have noticed my silhouette on these cards. That is intentional.

I see you.
I do not avert my gaze. 

One of my early designs references the phrase “Never Again,” drawn from the Hebrew poem Masada and later used by Holocaust survivors. It became a rallying cry against antisemitism.

I use it now to highlight parallels we are witnessing — the systematic targeting of brown, foreign-speaking people. Citizens and non-citizens alike. ICE agents are rounding up brown bodies first and asking questions later. Many LatinX citizens have been detained in facilities meant only for “illegals.”

“Never Again” must not belong to history alone.
It must belong to now.

And yet.

Not everything in my boutique is protest and fire.

Some items are pure Black Cat Magic (BCM). Mystique. Playfulness. Protection. Beauty for beauty’s sake. 

Because joy is resistance too.

If you know me, you know I carry a mystical streak. I read tarot. I conjure benevolent spells. I advocate for animals — especially black cats, who remain the most misunderstood and under-adopted of our kind.

My boutique will hold multitudes.

Some pieces speak loudly.
Some whisper.
All are beautiful.
All are intentional.

Come visit me at BiminisBoutique.

Adopt a little black cat magic for your life.
Stand witness with me.
Or simply let me enchant your aura.

With a flick of my tail and unwavering eye contact,
Bimini 🖤