BALTIMORE — Last time WMAR-2 News sat down with the crochet artist, Lauren Byrd, known in the community as “Bemi,” she was coming off the excitement of being shouted out by one of her favorite artists; Grammy Award winning rapper and singer Lizzo.
The singer, not only accepted one of Bemi's creations as a gift, but wore it while performing on stage at CFG Arena.
You can watch that story here.
As big as that moment was after blowing up and receiving a lot of recognition on social media, she was already weaving together her next piece; a custom-made blanket for Governor Wes Moore.
"Of course Governor Wes Moore is our first African American governor of the state of Maryland and the moment he was elected, I just felt nothing but honor and pride and excitement," Bemi said. "As black people in America, we know what it looks like when we're able to see these people in positions of significance, of power, or importance and what that means to us, our children and future generations."
Bemi's blanket for Governor Moore is a replica of the Maryland state flag and she added a couple twists to make the piece more personal to Governor Moore and his run for office. She outlined the flag with turquoise blue to celebrate the color he used in his campaign flags.
She also stitched "Moore 23" into the blanket with the number resembling the style you would see on a Michael Jordan jersey
"Because he's the GOAT," she laughed.
She designed and created the blanket in February of 2023, but wasn't able to deliver it to Governor Moore personally until the end of the year in December..
"First of all it’s very official when you have a meeting with the governor," she said.
Even though she had nearly a year to think of what she would say or how she would feel in the moment, she became overwhelmed with emotion almost instantly.
"As soon as I walked in the office, I didn’t even realize it but I literally started crying," Bemi remembered. "I think my grandmother was on my mind a lot because she was a lot of the influence behind me wanting to do this blanket in the first place and so just thinking about how proud she would be in that moment."
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To her surprise, Governor Moore may have been just as excited for the meeting as she was.
"The first thing he said to me was 'I've been waiting so long to meet you. I’ve been looking forward to this moment. I’m so excited to see this piece and get to spend this time with you.' "
Bemi also got to share these moments with her sisters, her young nephews and her daughter Malia.
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"The consensus is that he’s a pretty kind and cool person and for this person to literally genuinely be excited about meeting me was very touching," she said.
She did also want to brag on one more moment she shared with the governor.
"A couple of my pictures were actually taken by the governor that day," Bemi said. "And funny enough his secretary’s next to him like ‘he’s not known for taking great pictures."
Despite the doubters, Governor Moore did rise to the occasion, but there’s another picture Bemi will remember even more.
"As I was leaving his office, look back and he was admiring the blanket," Bemi said as she swelled with pride.
