NATURAL HAIR SHOW NYC 2014 - Anyone going?

[atlien11]

It's this Saturday/Sunday in New York -- Anyone going or happen to know what vendors will be there?

Ill be there with empty an suitcase in tow Hoping to get some product gems I can't get on the ground

 

[LdyKamz]

Where is it? I've got nothing to do on Sunday. Might stop by.

Edit: I googled. It's at the Times Square Marriott Marquis. $20 in advance for general admission. $25 at the door. I think I'll go.

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

I'll be there on Saturday.

 

[ronie]

Be there on Saturday. I gotta make sure hair is on point.
Might wear a shiny and moisturized fro with a beautiful hair candy.

 

[lux10023]

have two family events to attend but i may go--looking for some good hair brushes..a good flatiron and some good oilsssss...


also wanna be abreast of all products that allow me to be straight hair natural...

tryna figure out if i can fit it in the day...

 

[Mz.MoMo5235]

So wish I could be there

 

[*Frisky*]

I will be there on Saturday. Vendors that I have seen that will be there are Shea Moisture, Soultanicals, Mixed Chicks, Toni Daley, Eden Body Works, Zuresh, Jane Carter, Soft Sheen Carson and a few other ones that I hadn't heard. I am sure there will be more.

 

[CurlyBuu]

I went to the ATL one (as a vendor) and it was a huge disappointment. I'll watch this one from the sidelines

 

[Napp]

CurlyBuu what made it dissapointing? I may go to this event if I have time this weekend

 

[atlien11]

CurlyBuu Yes please share!


*Frisky* - Not surprised Shea Moisture will be there...im not super impressed with their products. Was a list of vendors posted?

 

[*Frisky*]

*Frisky* - Not surprised Shea Moisture will be there...im not super impressed with their products. Was a list of vendors posted?[/QUOTE]

atlien11

The only thing I have seen is this picture posted on Taliah Waajid's twitter page(look on the left hand side at the red looking picture) showing some of the vendors and just word of mouth from people saying who is gonna be there.

https://twitter.com/taliahwaajid

 

[Lita]

I'm going to try..

Happy Hair Growing!

 

[CurlyBuu]

CurlyBuu what made it dissapointing? I may go to this event if I have time this weekend

CurlyBuu Yes please share!


This was my first year and I was uber excited because I've seen videos of the past events. This one paled in comparison though. They raised the ticket price (was 10 bucks, became 20) and the attendance was at an all time low. They changed the layout of the expo as well so a lot of people got lost and were roaming around only on one side of the convention hall rather than finding a natural flow to see all the vendors.

All the big Youtubers were either late or didn't show up at all. I think a handful of them got interviewed but most just did a quick pass and left.

They had more big name vendors there that bought a lot of floor space but didn't use most of it. So there were large, empty spaces and gaps that showed how empty it really was. I heard some of the customers complaining about lack of sales for companies like Shea Moisture and Camellia Rose. A lot of them didn't pass out samples or goodie bags either.

They had major issues with the sound equipment. During the fashion show and hair stylist competition one group had to wait in place for 7 mins before they finally figured how to get their music to play. I felt so bad for them because I knew the judges took points away from them even though it wasn't their fault.

The crowning ceremony for the new World Natural Hair Model was very well done. All the ladies did a great job but, the audience was very thin. Not surprising because it was a separate ticket fee to get in (30 I think) and it was late. They got started late, the male host kept forgetting his lines but Pearl ( the former winner) was a jewel.

I didn't go to the after party or the pre party so I can't comment on those. As a vendor though I felt snuffed because they didn't let anyone know about the new ticket prices until late and they seemed more focused on promoting the NY show. Which many thought was a good culprit as to why the attendance to this show was the lowest they've seen in a long time.

 

[*Frisky*]

CurlyBuu Yes please share!


This was my first year and I was uber excited because I've seen videos of the past events. This one paled in comparison though. They raised the ticket price (was 10 bucks, became 20) and the attendance was at an all time low. They changed the layout of the expo as well so a lot of people got lost and were roaming around only on one side of the convention hall rather than finding a natural flow to see all the vendors.

All the big Youtubers were either late or didn't show up at all. I think a handful of them got interviewed but most just did a quick pass and left.

They had more big name vendors there that bought a lot of floor space but didn't use most of it. So there were large, empty spaces and gaps that showed how empty it really was. I heard some of the customers complaining about lack of sales for companies like Shea Moisture and Camellia Rose. A lot of them didn't pass out samples or goodie bags either.

They had major issues with the sound equipment. During the fashion show and hair stylist competition one group had to wait in place for 7 mins before they finally figured how to get their music to play. I felt so bad for them because I knew the judges took points away from them even though it wasn't their fault.

The crowning ceremony for the new World Natural Hair Model was very well done. All the ladies did a great job but, the audience was very thin. Not surprising because it was a separate ticket fee to get in (30 I think) and it was late. They got started late, the male host kept forgetting his lines but Pearl ( the former winner) was a jewel.

I didn't go to the after party or the pre party so I can't comment on those. As a vendor though I felt snuffed because they didn't let anyone know about the new ticket prices until late and they seemed more focused on promoting the NY show. Which many thought was a good culprit as to why the attendance to this show was the lowest they've seen in a long time.

Camille Rose had pretty much the best deal going. Everything was 10.00. Most of her products are 15.00 and up.

I agree with all the empty space and them trying to hide it. It's going down hill big time.

 

[MileHighDiva]

CurlyBuu

What type of hair product do you sell? Please provide a link to your business!

 

[CurlyBuu]

CurlyBuu

What type of hair product do you sell? Please provide a link to your business!

I actually make natural hair t-shirts. I use to have my link up here but I got in trouble PM me and I'll send it over

 

[Sunshine_One]

I'm going! Been wanting to attend the one in ATL for years so I was really excited until I read this thread! Lol.

ETA: Thankful for the thorough feedback though!.

 

[overtherainbow]

Hmm, my SIL just BC'd, so I'll see if she'd want to go with me.
Thanks for the heads up, I completely forgot about this.

Edit: With the exception of Toni Daley, most of the vendors seem to be at Target. :/

 

[Benuontherise]

Hey Ladies, i'm not only a long time naturalista (natural on and off for the first 10 ten yrs out of 14) but also a cosmetology student. So I'm definitely gonna take a look there. It's in Times Square at the Marriott Marquis. There is suppose to be Free workshops on many topics hair loss, children's hair, make up application, weaves, cutting, coloring, straightening natural hair, health and etc. Several classes I have on my brochure. The tickets was $20 in advance and $25 at the door, $15 for cosmetology students. Probably going on Sunday for me though.

 

[atlien11]

Hmm, my SIL just BC'd, so I'll see if she'd want to go with me.
Thanks for the heads up, I completely forgot about this.

Edit: With the exception of Toni Daley, most of the vendors seem to be at Target. :/

I will be super disappointed if the majority of the vendors there can be seen at your local Target, Ulta, and Walmart. Im commuting in from Philly

 

[Sunshine_One]

Do any of you ladies want to meet up at the conference? I'm planning to get a pro ticket so I can attend the classes. Still not sure if I'm coming tomorrow or Sunday. Maybe both.

 

[Britt]

I'm thinking of going. I don't have anyone to go with as yet. If I go, I will def go tomorrow. What time does it start? Do you just show up and buy a ticket?

 

[Shay72]

You used to see countless videos from you tubers vlogging their experiences and sharing their hauls. I used to look forward to them. Barely any now. Things really aren't the same. I hope I get my fix with this show. I like to live vicariously through them .

 

[CurlyBuu]

You used to see countless videos from you tubers vlogging their experiences and sharing their hauls. I used to look forward to them. Barely any now. Things really aren't the same. I hope I get my fix with this show. I like to live vicariously through them .

Too true. They boost the title of being the #1 in natural hair shows, which is true, but I think the owners are spreading it a bit too thin.

I think it's time for some new blood.

 

[Froreal3]

I'm broke right now. Otherwise I'd go.

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

I'm just going to meet Ayo and see if Soft Sheen Carson is there with the new line up they have.

Other than that, I hope there are a few body oil small vendors where I can cop some body oils, soaps.


So I'll likely be at booth 505

 

[Umm Ebraheem]

I think they stopped the bloggers from filming in the event. What is a blogger without video footage? That may have helped with low turnout from Youtubers.

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

I left after an hour. I was trying to give someone my band so they wouldnt have to pay for a ticket but couldnt find anyone to give it to.

I only picked up the Superfruit body line from Sheamoisture. They didnt have the two new hair lines there.

I saw Ayo, said hi, and left. It was packed tighter than sardines in there. Soft Sheen carson was there but didnt have the new line up.


so umm yeah...

 

[atlien11]

I'm going to try and give a full report from my phone as I am on my way back to Philly now via the train. This report will be full of truth and sarcasm that can be taken as negative so if that's not your cup of tea, please back out of this thread now. Please excuse the typos.

First, I will say that IMO the best vendor there was soultanicals. I think their products have a lot of good things in them and they smell awesome. I'm not a huge fan of Glycerine being high on the ingredients list so I wasn't able to purchase many of their leave ins or DCs. I did get some Knot Sauce, a leave in spray, and some curl former gel.

Okay let's get to the knit and grit. Shea moisture by far had the biggest section on the floor. They were reppin every product they had in their line. Someone said they even started a makeup line. What's next toothpaste? I'm not a huge fan of their products but I did manage to get a matrix sheet that deciphers and translates ea prod and what it did. I then realized I don't care bc I don't want any of their stuff but if anybody wants to see this matrix lemme know. Ill post. Soft sheen Carson was there. I passed right by there table as I can get most of their stuff in the store. Mixed chicks...same.

Jamaican Mango Lime was there and they had the second biggest area on the floor. I was eyeing their products but the ingredients list made my face twist up. Full of mineral oil and wax and ish I wouldn't put in my hair. The very tall and cute product model with dreads came over to talk to me (turns out he was from atlanta and we knew a few of the same people, I digress). He offered samples (which I refused) and proceeded to ask him why there was so much mineral oil in their products. He said and I quote "Some big company just bought our line. Bottom line is Mineral oil is cheaper. It's not good for your hair but it won't kill you (ooookay). Most of our consumers don't read labels and they don't care about ingredients". So I proceed to ask him "Soooooo basically you just gave me samples of stuff you wouldn't even use on your own hair". Him: "basically, I'm just a model". Please see attached pic if u r even remotely interested in what this guy looks like. He is on the shorter single banner on the left side of the pic. In their defense (which is very little), not all of their products had mineral oil. The baby line did not. Their argan oil line did not. But after that speech I was not giving them a dime

So if you like 100 variations Shea butter, wooden earrings, and cliche "I'm black" tshirts then this event might be for you. But Overall I was not impressed. It was nice to see black women with natural hair but there weren't any good product lines, and there was way too much going on. The poetry thing was going on at the same time a stage session was going, in the same room Too many bongo drums randomly being beaten in the background and too many ppl on the mics all at the same time trying to outshout ea other.

I did see about two white people there with bags full to the brim of random products. Personally I don't care but I'm sure that will set a few readers of this post off.

Anyway I'm sure ill edit this post a few more times before it's all said and done. I have a long train ride home.

 

[*Frisky*]

I second what Atlien11 said. The venue was not good for this. Not enough room. All I purchased was some Soultanical products. They were in a really small booth with no sign. I'm glad I saw someone I knew standing there or I might of missed them. Shea Moisture always has a huge area which is cool cause I guess they can afford to do so. I enjoyed just being in NY overall but I'm not sure if I will attend this event again. I'm kinda burned out on hair shows in general.