I had the absolute pleasure of attending the Do What Comes Naturally workshop held on November 6th in Houston, Texas. This event was coordinated by none other than Uncle Funky’s Daughter, one of the premier natural hair salons in the Houston area. Established in 2003, they are a sustainable and chemical free salon, offering services to cultivate and pamper your curls. This event, done in an ever so Funky fashion, aimed to “empower women to free themselves, embrace their natural beauty and follow their passion.” I’d say they accomplished their mission!
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| Heading into the private art room |
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| Conversing around the art displays |
The Rice Hotel provided the perfect backdrop for this cultured event celebrating natural freedom. Upon entry to the building we were greeted by lovely hostesses and directed up a grand staircase to enjoy all of the activities of the evening. There was a space set up with art installations from local artists and there were also tasty hors d’oeuvres and beverages being served. Next, we were welcomed into a vast meeting area where there were numerous tables, activity stations, vendor booths for us to visit. They had even created a boutique area for us to shop! You may not know, but Uncle Funky’s Daughter is not only a salon but a chic boutique where it’s easy to find all things fashionable. We were invited to peruse the many tables and racks stocked with all sorts of clothes and accessories as we conversed among ourselves about how fantastic the fashions were. I mean, who doesn’t like shopping! All this and I haven’t even made it to the good stuff yet!
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| Attendees browsing in the boutique area |
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| The spacious main gathering area is packed! |
Being the host and primary sponsoring brand, Uncle Funky’s Daughter had a major presence throughout the building. They had a large area set up offering their top products like Curly Magic and their signature tee shirts. I even picked up a shirt with the theme of the night, “Do What Comes Naturally”. As I went around the room, I viewed many of the patrons interacting with the vendors. I bought a pair of handcrafted earrings from ChariT’s Inspirational Creations, the Lamik Beauty team offered free mini makeovers and beauty consultations, Green Seed Vegan kept the green drink shots coming, and I stood in line for a good 20 minutes for my fabulously free Minx manicure by Queen Minx. I also booked an appointment to have my eyebrows pampered after having a free consultation at the Eyebrow Energy booth. Many visitors also took the time to create artistic paintings and vision boards at those interactive stations. We even got to be part of the Supernatural Power Photo shoot, capturing individual personalities with our very own natural signature phrases. And that’s STILL not all!
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| Uncle Funky's Daughter! |
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| Lamik Beauty with free mini makeovers |
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| Queen Minx table with free manicures |
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| Artistic painting class |
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| ChariT's Inspirational Creations |
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| Eyebrow Energy doing free consultations |
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| Tonya doing a Curly Magic demo |
Tonya Reed, co-founder of Uncle Funky’s Daughter, showed us how to use their top products during several product demonstrations on a few different types of hair. She took the time to answer questions from us in the audience and, believe me, there were many! Most of the ladies watching the demo primarily wanted to know what types and how much product to use while styling and how to maintain the style. Tonya was very helpful and informative, and we all appreciated her candor. After the demonstration we were then energized by a few quick Zumba sessions which really got the crowd moving! I really enjoyed this event! All types of naturals were represented, from the newly natural to veterans, from 2c to 4c, short hair, long hair, locs, and all things in between! I especially loved seeing all the different hair styles and fashions of the attendees. It was a joy networking and meeting new people, and generally just seeing people enjoy themselves. If you ever have an opportunity to attend a natural hair or health expo don’t pass it up; it really is an awakening experience. Events like these encourage people be free, be themselves, be healthy, and to “Do What Comes Naturally”.
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| Yes...those are what you think they are! |
Tonya & Ray Reed, pictured with Nnete of 97.9 on the left and Tonya's lovely mother on the right
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| Nnete (L) ME!! Tonya Reed (R) |
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| My quick self portrait on the way out :) |
Did you miss the Do What Comes Naturally event? You still have an opportunity to attend the largest natural hair event in Texas, which is coming to Houston on December 10th and 11th, 2011. The Nzuri Natural Hair, Health & Beauty Showcase, sponsored by Miss Jessie’s, is going to be a phenomenal event to include: workshops featuring some of the top natural hair stylists, fashion shows and competitions for both stylists and attendees, an opportunity to meet the world’s largest afro record holder Aevin Dugas, interact with the Blogosphere featuring several natural hair bloggers (including myself!), and even a Little Miss Happy Headed pageant for young natural girls! Of course you’ll also have lots and lots of vendors to shop from and did I mention the first 500 attendees will receive a free swag bag? So mark your calendars and get your tickets early, they’re just $10 for adults and kids 13 & under are FREE! You can buy your tickets right HERE from This Hair of Mine! Hope to see you there!
Lisa Michelle
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| Enjoying my new Uncle Funky shirt! |
Wow, the workshop went out very successful just looking at the photos. How I love to attend exciting and fruitful workshops like this one. Thanks a lot for sharing your great experience in the workshop!
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