Some of you may know that my daughter is of a mixed ethnicity; My husband is black, and hair care, celebration and maintenance are a large part of black culture, and one that I am honored to participate in. I look forward to our weekly ritual of washing and conditioning her hair, moisturizing it, and styling it in cornrows, twists and any number of other styles. We stick to a natural philosophy involving lots of home-made hair products and products that are free of petroleum, damaging alcohols, parabens and other chemicals. We don’t straighten or blow dry, and our focus is on celebrating her textures and keeping her hair strong and healthy. Enter in Bay Area ‘Fro Friends and Big Chop Accessories.
I met Christian for the first time when she brought her sons to me for portraits. At the time, I was pregnant with my daughter and she mentioned that she designed and produced her own accessories and clothing with a colorful, bold and sometimes afro-centric aesthetic. Well, this fits my taste to a “t” so I was immediately interested. Over time I began to follow her work and we got to know each other. I shot her grand opening as she presented her new mobile boutique for Big Chop Accessories.
I came to learn that Christian had also co-founded a local group focused on the celebration and care of ethnic and textured hair called Bay Area ‘Fro Friends. The group hosts hair seminars and shares tips and tutorials online. Christian and her co-founder Talilah move in circles of women entrepreneurs all over the Bay Area.
These busy ladies were in need of new head shots for Bay Area ‘Fro Friends as well as images for Big Chop Accessories for promotional uses and social media. The Bay Area ‘Fro Friends logo includes African wax prints in bold, bright colors, and a chic black and white stripe, so I decided to mirror this aesthetic in the studio.
These ladies bring high style, and I personally love a rich, saturated color palette.
Next, we made our way across the street to shoot Christian outside her mobile boutique. She takes this truck to venues and events all over the Bay Area, offering amazing hand-made jewelry, on-trend clothing and quality hair products.
I love to see women pursuing careers in business, working for themselves and embracing an entrepreneurial spirit. I couldn’t wrap up this shoot of course without picking up a few pieces of clothing and a pair of earrings for myself! The Bay Area Fro Friends will be hosting a natural hair expo at the end of the month. The flier is here below. I will be in attendance. Please feel free to share this blog post and follow Big Chop Accessories and Bay Area ‘Fro Friends online:
http://www.bigchopaccessories.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bayareafrofriends
https://www.facebook.com/BigChopAccessories
