Celebrating Black Business Month: Blanket & Board Promotes Community and Connection With Charcuterie Boards

By Olivia Miller

In the midst of the global pandemic, the world was ravished with grief, trauma, and uncertainty for the future from not only the novel illness, but also the police brutality and racial injustices highlighted with the murder of George Floyd. However, Tierra Thorne found a way to foster human connection and community in the face of pain by starting Blanket & Board, a luxury picnic and event company.

A trauma therapist, Tierra felt she needed to bring her friends and family together to “ not only to process grief and trauma about the pandemic but also police brutality.” As close social interaction was discouraged, she had to get creative as to how to bring everyone together and decided on a self care picnic with charcuterie boards. From that point, she says “the rest is history” and put out an ad on Facebook advertising her services before getting press from publications like Next Pittsburgh highlighting her “spaces that bring people together to connect and reconnect.”

Though it may seem apparent, the name Blanket and Board perfectly encapsulates the essence of what Blanket & Board is all about: “picnics, blankets, and charcuterie boards”. But it goes beyond just a catchy name; it symbolizes warmth, togetherness, and a shared love for good food.

Blanket and Board’s mission transcends the mere act of putting together picnics; it is about facilitating connection through sharing food. For Tierra, “food is one of those universal languages” that brings people together. Drawing from her background as a therapist, she has always been attune to the role that fresh foods and food insecurity play in health. She says, “Food is one of the first lines of defense for your mental health.”

She draws on her own personal experience of sharing food and meaningful conversation with her family during family dinners as a child. She “wanted to bring that back” and calls placing food as a central part of her business a “no brainer.”

The grazing tables crafted by Blanket and Board are nothing short of awe-inspiring. Not only does the array of foods make your mouth water but the variety of textures and colors alone is a feast for the eyes. Though the core of a charcuterie board is its meats and cheeses, Tierra readily adapts them to any vegan or vegetarian dietary restrictions.

Blanket & Board does not just offer picnics though; they also have the unique offering of a double decker mobile event venue. Inspired by a winery in Australia, she set out on a mission to find the perfect bus before stumbling on the perfect option at a Pittsburgh car show. Now renovated, the top deck is open, allowing for versatile seating arrangements and customizable event experiences, from “sit-down gatherings to stand-up cocktail parties”. In the future, Tierra hopes to partner with local nonprofits to hold storytimes for local children and offer kid-friendly charcuterie boards.

Tierra also runs “Balanced With Blanket & Board”, a blog highlighting her personal experiences, lifestyle tips, tech insights, and delectable recipes. She looks to highlight simple, inexpensive ways to take care of one’s mental health as well as shine light on the “successes and challenges of being a Black entrepreneur.”

As a minority-owned business, Tierra places immense importance on diversity within her team. For her, diversity is like a charcuterie board - the more variety, the more appealing and enriching the experience. Embracing different perspectives, socio-economic backgrounds, and life experiences “makes everything better.”

In the future, Tierra’s ultimate goal with Blanket & Board is “just to continue to create these spaces” where people can “talk to each other and respectfully agree or disagree.” She also wants to “use [her] experience as a minority owned business to help others.” She wants to show young women of color in elementary and middle school that “entrepreneurship is an option.”

All in all, Tierra stresses that while Blanket & Board’s events may look beautiful and luxe, their true purpose is not just to be posted on Instagram. They are meant to “get [people] back to basic humanity of connecting.”