Girlfriends Expo continues to provide a platform for new entrepreneurs as well as established businesses.
Over the weekend, it hosted 200 exhibitors at the Gymnasium of the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex in Wildey, St Michael, showcasing a variety of offerings ranging from beauty essentials, health and wellness, culinary delights and educational materials, among others.
Event director Kimtara Clarke told the DAILY NATION the expo hadlessons grown in size and execution since the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying this period of quarantine as a defining moment pushing entrepreneurs to hone their craft into viable financial ventures.
“I found that coming out of COVID, a lot of people out there have jumped into entrepreneurship and they’ve taken the opportunity more seriously in terms of promoting what they are doing. Whereas in the past you will have entrepreneurs but they’re not necessarily really pushing and marketing themselves as much, coming out of COVID that has changed.
“There’s a lot more focus and we try to push them to promote themselves as well, giving them as many opportunities as we can to market their craft, and they are taking advantage of it,” she said.
This year’s event centred on the theme of Carnival, with costumes on display and a soca karaoke competition for patrons.
Among the exhibitors was owner of 424 Swim, Dominique Davis, who channelled much of the pandemic’s cabin fever into the creation of swimsuits, incorporating pieces of local culture.
“All of my swimsuits are inspired by Barbadian culture . . . . People buy these swimsuits to wear on vacation everywhere and they always get compliments on them. So it’s just about taking a little piece of Barbados everywhere you go and it’s worth it,” she said.
Beauty Obsessions Salon & Spa (BOSS) catered towards women, offering salon, spa and retail therapy.
“We normally offer braids and weave installations and other services,” beautician Chaunaci Belgrave said. “Here, we’re doing lash brow shaping, lash hydration and hand-made oils thatwe apply to skin, nails and hair to promote growth. We’re just trying to create a full experience for women, young, old and in between,” he said.
Bernella Hall, founder of Elite Academic Support Services, displayed her collection of material designed to assist children with soft skills and improve their planning functions.
Inspired through her own experiences as a mother and educator, Hall’s method incorporates the use of planners, lessons and study plans to ease the pressures of the demanding school schedule.
“This came out in terms of working with my children and teaching. I’ve been teaching for 30-plus years now, so I designed this to make things just a little bit easier for children. There are books for primary and secondary schools.
“The research would tell you, if you organise a child well, they can get an automatic ten to 15 per cent increase on their grades . . . just by being organised. With the Elite Education Planner, they write all their homework assignments in one book and when you have everything listed, then you can prioritise and you don’t forget anything,” she said.
(JRN)
