Ok so I have this amazingly talented friend named Kristen who makes amazing products for your skin and sometimes she hires little ol’ me to assist her at events. The name of her company is Bella Pelle Skin and she makes all-natural body butter, exfoliating scrubs, facial cleansers, lip balms, and other fine products by hand to make you and your skin feel great! Check her out at www.bellapellegoods.com and tell her Meech sent you!
This particular event is called the New Orleans Natural Hair Expo and is in it’s fourth year of existence. I encourage anyone into the natural hair movement or who wants to learn more about it to attend future events. It is very empowering to me when I see all of these women of color rocking various natural hairstyles. I was excited to take part in such an event in one of my favorite cities.
We got into the city Friday afternoon and the city was starting to get populated as out of towners made their way to the French Quarter for Essence Fest. The first stop in the city was to get to the Contemporary Arts Center to help setup the Bella Pella table for the expo. After circling the block twice, we were able to find street parking. As soon as we parked, there were a few jazz band members standing on the corner as if they were ready to play their horns. I told my friends if I hear any sound of them playing, I’m taking an immediate break to grab my camera and get some shots in. After completing the setup, we got out into the city to explore before the big day. You can read more about our explorations in New Orleans here and here.
Finally the big day arrived and everyone was up early and ready to take on the expo! There were a few well known hair & beauty bloggers and influencers in attendance throughout the day. Celebrity stylist Felicia Leatherwood was working with Kinkistry doing live demonstration styling as well as Uncle Funky’s Daughter located in the booth next to us. The vendors and guests were treated to lunch as well as our own personal New Orleans brass band parade. Blackish actor Anthony Anderson even made a cameo at the hair expo, but not before leaving with a complimentary gift from Bella Pelle.
My main focus for Bella Pelle is to document (i.e. client interaction) via social media, photography, and videography. I occasionally will add my 2 cents in about how great the products feel because not only am I the photographer/videographer; I am also a loyal client. As a photographer, I love to capture the expressions of potential clients who enjoy the aroma of each scent or smile once they sample a product and love the way it makes their skin feel. The popular scents of the day were “Caribbean Queen” which almost always sells out at events and “Messenger Bag” which has a more cool scent that’s geared toward men. There were even sales being made as the event drew near a close and we were packing up. I think it’s safe to say today was a good day and expect to see Bella Pelle in New Orleans in 2018.
