Well, we've got two more businesses to tell you about these days.

It seems like we're always rushing around, glued to our devices.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is unplug, meet new people, and try something different.

"Carolina Impact's" Dara Khaalid and videographer John Branscum show us how one Charlotte woman helps people do that.

(screen whooshing) (bright music) - [Dara] Whenever you want a new perfume or cologne, your instinct is to run to the store and grab something off the shelves.

But at Note and Accord in Charlotte, you get to create what's in the elegant square bottle.

- It belongs to me.

I get to name it, I get to curate it.

It's something that I'll always remember.

(bright music) - [Dara] Throughout the small, cozy uptown shop, there are over 250 oil-based scents to choose from, blend together, and make your signature fragrance.

Some are light and sweet.

- [Tya] It reminds me of a cinnamon honey bun.

- [Dara] Others, like rich tobacco, are strong and pack more of a punch.

- Oh, that lime is strong in it.

- [Dara] Then there are those that bring back special memories from long ago.

- I have certain scents that 100% remind me of my dad, or my aunt.

They really transport me to my childhood.

Scent is so closely tied to memory.

So you have scent, fragrance, blending, magic.

- [Dara] For owner Nia McAdoo, breathing in the familiar aromas at her business take her back to when she was a little girl in Buffalo, New York.

- I can remember sitting with my father.

I remember what his lab smelled like.

And it's just a beautiful reminder of growing up surrounded by beautiful things.

And one thing my dad always said is, "It doesn't matter what you have, you always need to smell good."

- [Dara] Her father, Malcolm Tillett, knew a thing or two about fragrances, owning his own company, T. Scents, in Buffalo for 37 years, where he made custom oils and incense.

- That was my first example of what an entrepreneur was.

And so I still have one of his business cards that I carry and I have one that's framed at my home office.

Growing up with that as an example is something I can still point to different lessons that he taught me along the way.

- [Dara] Nia's father passed away in 2007, never getting a chance to see how she followed in his footsteps by opening Note and Accord in 2024.

But he's there in spirit.

- It's a space my dad would've loved.

And I have his newspaper article up, and some of his original packaging from the 70s and 80s, and I think of him often when I'm here, and it's always a beautiful memory.

Some 4372s over here, - [Dara] And this isn't the only business she uses to honor those who've paved the way for her.

- [Speaker] It's going good.

I'm so glad the rain let up!

(bright music) - [Dara] At the Homage Exhibit, you'll find more newspaper articles from the past.

These however, capture difficult moments in African American history.

- So as you go through, you're gonna see highs, lows and everything in between.

- [Nia] It's about presenting the original artifact.

- So this is 1878, - [Nia] And the storytelling that goes with it.

- And so he then moves to Boston, where he becomes the second judge.

- [Nia] It's not from a skewed viewpoint, it's not even necessarily my viewpoint injected in it, but just showing the artifact, allowing people to understand what it is.

- [Dara] Nia runs the exhibit with her husband Morris, who's just as passionate as she is.

It's their private collection that's grown over the past 20 years.

- It is definitely rewarding.

It's definitely great to work with Nia and her vision.

- [Dara] They now have over 650 pieces that showcase African American history and culture, going as far back as slavery, all the way up to the present.

You'll see everything from a slave collar that was used to prevent running away, to a poster of Shirley Chisholm's campaign for presidency in 1972, making her the first Black woman to do so.

There are also items like this orange and green flyer promoting a popular HBCU football game between Hampton Institute and Maryland State College.

And magazines with beauty queens gracing the covers.

- The good thing about the exhibit is that when people come and they see the different parts of different eras, some people will tell their own story, how this affected them or where they were.

- [Dara] It's a mobile exhibit, which means they have to set it up and break it down.

But it also means they get to take it across the country to various places like schools, libraries, and community events.

- Education is so important in being curious and your everyday life is so important, that when these things can travel around and be at different days and different times, it can really reach more people.

(upbeat music) - [Dara] And blending the rich, evocative scents of her handmade fragrances, with the powerful legacy preserved in her traveling African American history exhibit, Nia has created more than just a business.

She's crafted a living tribute to culture, resilience, and identity.

With every bottle she pours, and every story she shares, she honors the past while inspiring the future, proving that history and entrepreneurship can walk hand in hand, with purpose and passion.

For "Carolina Impact," I'm Dara Khaalid.