DC Love Locs Expo 2011

I attended the DC Love Locs Expo yesterday as a vendor with my daughter in tow and my nephew. I had a pretty good time, but there were a number of things I forgot, mostly, a camera. So there maybe one picture Of me that I took on my nephew’s phone with my green afro wig and my dark lipstick that I may get to upload. I had a good time yesterday. And as a DC native, it felt good to be back in my hometown. It only took me exactly an hour from my home in Baltimore and I almost got lost, because the building is was further back than what the mapquest directions said. So here are my pros and cons of the event:

Unlike the Baltimore Natural Hair Expo, I loved how open it was and you can be able to move freely through each vendor. I also loved that they had something for the kids, as my daughter can be a wee bit restless at times. She got to paint, color, eat candy and play with the other kids. They had a dance contest to see who can do the best dougie, jerk(sorry, I don’t think anybody did it right) and beat ya feet. It was too cute. I also got to meet some of the vendors and customers that were at the Baltimore Natural Hair Expo last month. I loved the different contest they had to make the event fun like the hoola hoop contest and the line dancing. I cannot hula hoop to save my life! But I will keep trying.  And unlike the BNHE, they had food. Fried catfish, fried chicken, whiting, mac n cheese, hot dogs and chips, and greens. Now I love me some Soul Food, but I’ll only eat it on special occasions, say, Thanksgiving. It being a natural event, I saw the twist of irony with that. I didn’t pay too much attention to the other events like the Fashion show because I was too busy talking to customers but the vendor next to me who sold the extra spicy but delicious Panama hot sauce was in the show.

So here are my cons and ways that I think it could be better next year:

TOOOO LOUDDDD!!!! It was way too loud and I could barely talk to my customers and I could barely hear them. I take it that it was a family oriented event but it seemed to focus more on the family that was there aspect instead of it being about, well, all things natural. It was purposely set up like that because of the theme to honor our mothers. And it made me feel kinda bad because my mom couldn’t be there and ,well, neither could my mother in law. But I’ll accept that it was more family oriented. I notice as with the BNHE that some of the prices of the jewelry were a lil steep. I know that we have to profit and make our money, but this is a reason why I offer not only discounts on certain products, and freebees, but I give my customers a reason to buy my products. I try to stand out from the crowd of many bath and body, hair and skin care companies and that’s because, 1. I am very knowledgeable about certain products, 2. I have a passion and driven spirit for helping people and 3. I am creating a lifestyle. Perhaps it’s due to the time it takes to make such products and I’m certainly not knocking the hustle. We all have to profit right? The ladies at Naturally Reborn summed it up perfectly. I think that my only suggestion would be to allow pauses for a certain period of time where the vendors can be able to talk to potential customers instead of straight performances.

I think it was an overall great experience to feel everyone’s energy and spirit at the venue. That’s what I love about doing these types of events because everyone is on the same page, there’s no trouble getting along, I get to network with others and of course healthy competition is great.