Gathering of the gorgeous

Port Elizabeth’s lifestyle commerce is on the rise and young, women entrepreneurs are taking advantage of everything it has to offer.

Through a collaboration of lifestyle professionals and beauty practitioners, Honey Koba-Zokufa hosted the first Honeycomb Hair, Beauty and Fashion Meet-up, at the Granary in Richmond Hill on Saturday.

The event, which mimicked a small trade show, had various players in the Bay’s beauty industry coming together to showcase their products and service offerings.

But for the vendors, KobaZokufa said, it was a means of showing support for each other and how services could be integrated so that everyone received a share of the pie.

“Honeycomb Hair, Beauty and Fashion Meet-up offers an excellent opportunity for industry players to promote their presence, create brand awareness and raise their profile.

“We wanted to show that we really can share the market, build each other up and broaden Port Elizabeth’s lifestyle presence nationally and even globally,” she said.

Koba-Zokufa is an ambassador for natural hair maintenance and the owner of the HoneyComb range of organic haircare products.

One of the event’s tutorials included a hair porosity test that shows how well hair is able to absorb and hold moisture.

“Many clients aren’t aware of the care and treatment their hair needs,” KobaZokufa said.

“It’s platforms like these that promote brand awareness [and help] clients understand their specific needs.

“If you have really dry hair, and you just put oil on it, you’re doing nothing but locking the dryness in,” the event organiser said.

Bay blogger Amanda Klaas said that it had been her experience that Port Elizabeth entrepreneurs struggled to support each other’s development and growth.

Klaas said the meet-up was a key platform for harnessing support within the lifestyle industry and creating a sense of community among business owners.