In the Beginning...

This digital marketplace, a love letter by way of Wanyika and I (Niwa), the women behind 2 Sydney Stylists, has been years in the making.

Not in the linear sense, though.

Not in a pre-meditated sense,

and certainly not with any real foresight of the journey.

I would love to claim any or all of the above, but it simply hasn't been the case.

It all started as an idea, (in the form of a challenge) between two friends. Between us. Did you know Wanyika and I (Niwa) are friends? We are, great friends, tried and tested with a good dose of mileage behind us. The kind that just fit and we truly don't take it for granted.

Anyway, I digress, so I challenged Wanyika to wear head wraps for 30 days straight back in early 2015. It was actually a PR move, the kind to encourage her creative juices, as she was in between collection designing for her label.

It wasn't enough that Wanyika wore head wraps for 30 days, she needed to document it. In this day and age, that means social media.

In typical Wanyika fashion (ha! see what i did there?), she dove right in and rose to the challenge. Wearing head wraps everyday for 30 days. To work (a corporate office), the grocery store, on weekends, at special events.

The ordinary and extraordinary moments.

Sydney-siders were not safe! Wanyika was out and proud rocking her head wraps! Facebook and Instagram were also served vibrant and creative angles of head wrap selfies. We, the fans, eagerly anticipated each new selfie and we were never disappointed by ingenuity!

    

At around day 10, we had enough of the tease and started demanding for tutorials. We needed to learn and slay! Wanyika, gently acknowledged our cries and started sporadically sprinkling tutorials right from her lounge room in Sydney's inner-west.

It's not surprising that we all hit a slump when the gig was up. We were converted and each inspired to find creative ways to rock head wraps in our day-to-day lives.

It was at this stage that 'The 30 Day Headwrap Challenge' took on a life of its own. You see, the amazing thing about putting yourself out there, as Wanyika had done, is that you open yourself up to synergies and greater opportunities. It was at this stage that "Wangari & Wanyika: The Headwrap Challenge" was born. A collective platform to celebrate head wraps, to creatively express, to educate and be empowered through the sharing our personal stories as multi-local women in the diaspora. 

And that my friends, is how it all began. There is still plenty more to share about how it all evolved and how we ended up in the present moment. I'll leave that for another day. Give Wanyika a chance to also introduce herself and chime in on The Headwrap Challenge beginnings. 

So tell me dear friend, I hope I can call you that, do you have a beginning tale with head wraps? We would love to hear about it in the comments below.

 Til next time. 

🌻Niwa