Chic and Kinky's Natural's Night Out ReCap

567 Madison Avenue. I would have bet money that that was the address for Chic and Kinky's Naturals Night Out. Even after I came out the train station and found myself right in the middle of the Puerto Rican Day Parade I was pretty certain the blocked off street was my destination. It was not until about 45 minutes of battling people waving their PR flags, police blockades, camera people, and sweating off my makeup did I decided to check the flyer again." S#@*, 267 Madison Ave"(I may have said a bit more than that but you get the point). Thank God for Google maps and taxi cabs, who knows what the rest of this post would look like without them.


Let me cut to the chase. Chic and Kinky's Natural's Night Out was on a total different level from the event last year. It seems as if  they took the feedback from last years event and really worked on making the experience worth while. Some notable differences were:

• The Venue: Last year although the space was big, the layout of Natural's Night Out created a lot of awkward moments. For example, last year I can recall having no where to stand but in the middle of the venue after taking a tour of all of the vendors (placed along the walls).This time around the loft space that was used had a great space for the vendors, a separate room for each of the presentations offered, and a terrace area for you to chill, take a break from the crowd, take some great pics, and mingle.

The vendors area

The Terrace

.

• The Goody Swag Bags: I have no clue what was in them because I did not get one, I guess because I attended the event as media (-_-). Although I was tempted to ask someone to let me see the contents of their bag I stopped myself simply because I did not want to be "that guy". ("Can you open your goody bag and let me take a picture of it?", ummm...stranger danger!) I can say that the bags looked considerably bigger than last years and it looks like there was a full size product or two in it, but thats about it.

• The Vendors: This year there was so much variety in the vendors in attendance. Yes, there were hair products for sale but there was also a make up company, a bakery, vintage clothing companies , jewelry designers, and even Socasize (you know I almost lost my mind when there was soca music pumping on the terrace).

• The presentations:  I didn't have a chance to attend any of the presentations at the event but despite that there were still a few differences that I noticed from last year. For example, upon entrance you received a list of  each presenter, the name of the workshop and the time it was scheduled. In addition to this there was someone who announced when worshops were starting just in case you lost your sheet.

Regrettably I could not stay until the end because of another event I was slated to attend  that evening. The ladies of Chic and Kinky should be proud of themselves for a job well done. The only thing I would request for next year is FOOD or a vendor that sells snacks and drinks.. People were leaving the event simply to get something to eat and return back to the festivities. When I left Naturals Night Out I was STARVING. So much so that they were giving out free samples of Nestle Quic a block from the train station and not only did I stop for one, I drank the whole bottle (ummm...I am pretty certain that I am lactose intolerant). Yes, desperate times call for desperate measures.

The people I met were all amazing and friendly. I loved their energy and positive vibes. I left Chic and Kinky's Naturals Night Out feeling great and feeling inspired by the other naturals and the vendors pursuing their dreams. Some highlights:




Jessica of Feathers, Leather, and Lace. I loved her earring selection; lightweight, unique,and afrocentric.
I bought a pair of earrings from her and I'm uire they won't be the last.





Eden Body Works. I bought a peppermint tea tree oil spray and pomade for a total of $12. Can't beat those prices...



Consuela Richard of Beju Beju Vintage Clothing and handmade Jewelry. Consuela is full of personality
which made shopping at her table a lot of fun. What I liked most about her was her candidness. I even shared
with her my secret goal of doing something similar and she encouraged me to do it when she could have easily
given me the side eye.




Rockie stayed at Beju Beju for at least 20 minutes, she loved everything Beju Beju had to offer.




Vanessa of  A Beautiful You. The only vendor I saw sellling shampoo bars. I overheard her sharing with someone else her daily routine. Vanessa works hard! I admire her drive. 



Rockie bought some cuff earrings from C is for Cultured and people were asking her about them
before she left the building. They also had "Wild and Kinky" and "Product Junkie" buttons on sale as well. Too cute.



Tameka Hornes-Mathews of Jewel Afrika Designs. I bought two of her earrings and had my eye on a few others.
She also offered on the spot custom jewelry.



Kumi (and friend), of I Love Being Black. I had so much fun  with these two.  I love his shirt slogan and already owned a few items before meeting him. We discussed travel and carnival. I am still working on getting them to Cropover or Trinidad's Carnival next year. ; )





I was totally impressed with Glamorous Chicks Cosmetics 7 in 1 eyeshadow.
Once she demonstrated how you could turn the eyeshadow into a nailpolish color I was convinced this stuff was the truth.

Suzette Reeves from Kids Gro Hair Care. There aren't much natural hair products for kids on the market which made her pressence impressive.


I also found some hairstyles I want to try this summer...



Click here to see this style from other angles.




Toia Barry of ToBNatural




Click here to see this style from other angles.



All in all I met some great people, had some great laughs, admired some natural hair styles, bought a few things, and had a good time. I wish I could have stayed longer because as I was leaving the momentum was definetly picking up. Shout out to the folks I stopped by but don't have pics of:

• Haus of Swagg, loved your shirt designs and buttons..
• Design Essentials Natural, your table was packed as I passed by. Thanks for always showing bloggers/media love and inviting them out to events...
• Curls, the curls team is always out at hair events. We practically know each other by name.
• Cali York Photography, thanks for entertaining my shenanigans and letting me sit on your chair ...
• Thanks Rockie for coming out with me... and letting me take a million pictures of you...

For more pics from the event check out my FB page... www.facebook.com/kinkychronicle

Did any of you attend the event? What did you think?

NYC Natural Hair Meetups--October Edition

Now that summer has finally come to an end and backyard bashments, trips to the beach, Great Adventure rides, and every other activity that comes with summer is on hold until next year, what do you do with your time? If you are a naturalista, or your interested in becoming a naturalista, or you just think naturalista's are fly (because we are :D ) then maybe this is a good time to attend a few natural hair meet-ups. Personally I think meet-ups, although at first a bit overwhelming,  are a great way to meet other naturals, find out the tips and tricks of the trade, sample new products, and simply network. Here are a few that are coming up in October:


Saturday October 15th--Thrifting Meet-up at the Goodwill  Outlet with the ladies of Darker Than Brown
You must be a member of this group and rsvp. You can do both here.
Not sure what a thrifiting meet-up is? Check out this video from a past meet up:

Thursday October 20th--Curly Nikki takes on NYC! This one is at capacity, but you never know. You might be able to just walk in the door.

Saturday October 22nd--Darker Than Brown's --Monthly Natural Hair Meet-Up  at Vapiano New York.
Click here to join the group and RSVP.


Saturday October 29th--BeChic Mixer

NYC's #1 Natural Hair Mixer
beCHIC @ Ample
15 Greenwich Ave

4pm-8pm

October 29th, 2011
Free Admission
$5 Appetizers
$5 Drinks
1 hrs Free hor'dourves

Register at www.chicandkinky.com.




As I hear of more events I will post them. I have rsvp'ed to a few, hope to see you there!!

Chic and Kinky Meet Up--The Recap

For the last 24 hours I have wondered exactly what I would write about the Chic and Kinky Natural Hair Meet-Up that I attended last night and still as I sit here right now and begin typing I am stumped! I guess the best place to start is quite simply with the facts.  But first lets back up a bit. One day last week I decided to attend the Chic and Kinky Natural's Night Out event although it has been on my calendar for months. Why the hesitation? The events date and location had been changed and the ticket cost $30. Up until now I have NEVER paid to attend a hair event but I respect everyone's hustle and understand that it cost money to deliver a fabulous event. So I bit the bullet and purchased the ticket. A few days later I had the ticket in my email inbox and I was ready to go!
<><><><><><>

Me...omw to the meet-up.

I arrived at the Openhouse Gallery around 5pm or so and  was excited to find no line or wait to get  inside the venue. Once I gave in my ticket I received an arm band and a gift bag, after which I was on my own. I checked out the vendors in about 10 minutes. This included companies selling hair products, liquid hair vitamins, shower caps, spa services, hair tutorial dvds, and jewelry. In addition to the main section, there was another section of the venue which was exclusively for patrons who purchased VIP tickets (these tickets cost $50 and were sold out when I purchased my tickets).

The Main Space

<><><><><><><><><><>

The Main Space

While walking around I noticed a large piece of paper where people had begun to write why they were natural and other messages on and I decided to write my own small message. Afterwards a photographer took my picture in front of the sign. As the evening went on some of the vendors had an opportunity to address the crowd including Jane Carter, hair stylist Nedjetti Harvey , and Vlogger Taren916.

The ladies of chicandkinky.com

<><><><><><><><><><>

Youtube Vlogger --Taren916


The highlight of the evening  for me was Jane Carter. I think she is a charming, down to earth, and beautiful person. When I went to her table she not only waited patiently for me to make a decision she gave me a brief hair consultation and asked me put one of her products back because as she said,  "you don't need that". When you add to this wonderful experience that her products were on SALE (major discount) and that I took a picture with her I was in heaven.

Jane Carter and I! Yes, I'm cheesing kind of hard in this picture! LOL!

Score! I bought these for Rachel. Total $20 (The curl defining cream is a sample)!

For me! Total $20.

<><><><><><><><><><>

I also scored these earings from Fabiola of Younikness! She made them while I waited.

In addition to this I got to hang out and exchange contact info with some beautiful like-minded natural ladies. What I love about all natural hair  meet-ups is the common thread and solidarity amongst us women who decided to go against the grain and wear our hair naturally! I love the opportunity to share hair  stories, hair recipes, and hair goals. I thank the women of Chic and Kinky for putting this event together because when I hear about meet-ups across the U.S. (especially in Atlanta) I get jealous. However, this event left something to be desired. The goody bag had about three goodies and contained mainly advertisements from the sponsors.

The contents of the goody bag....

<><><><><><><><><><>

Close up of the actual "goodies"--Curls Gel-LeS'c, Milkshake, and Quneched Curls

I'm not sure what I paid $30 dollars for except the beautiful space and the good dj. I didn't hear much more from the ladies I met who purchased the VIP tickets either. This left me wondering what exactly is the goal of a meet-up?  Thoughts?