Last week, we gave you some ideas for Belizean-made gifts that could easily be wrapped up and placed under the tree for your loved one. And tonight, we have part two of that segment. Both Ikooma and Safyre Jewelry are relatively new businesses who are encouraging Belizeans to shop at home this Christmas. And with their wide selection of haircare products and gold filled jewelry, it's easy to find what you're looking for. Courtney Menzies has this story.
Small business owners across the country are up to their necks in holiday orders but if you're still hunting for that perfect gift, there's still a few days left.
If you've got curly haired cousins, wives with waves, or any natural hair nieces and nephews, then you might want to check out Ikooma's holiday line - curated especially for those kinks and coils.
Jolie Pollard, Owner, Ikooma
"I've expanded my line just for the holidays, I added a limited holiday edition to my Ikooma curl care system duos. So the curl care system duos is comprised of two items so we have a moisturizing cream, this is an anti-frizz and moisturizing cream, it combines seaweed with shea butter, premium quality carrier oils and essential oils and then we also have the curl defining cream gel so this is very curl defining cream gel but it's so effective when it comes to defining your natural hair pattern and holding up your style in humidity and there's no better way to test how your hair will work in humidity than home."
"My products actually combine natural nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla which are all very good for your hair but it also makes a very nice smelling holiday hair product as well."
"This really neat thing about my product, you hair curl you think about a curl, maybe mine, think my hair could also be called kinky, I have multiple textures, but it covers gamut from wavy hair to coily hair and I also have customers who have locks who like the product so it's a natural haircare product and honestly it works on every type of hair but I could help anybody that just want to give moisture to their hair, hold it up in humidity, and not damage it, it's a nourishing product so you get to style your hair without having to worry about all the harsh chemicals that might damage your hair overtime or irritate your scalps or give you some type of flaking so you can't do wrong with a moisturizing cream honestly."
And if you want something a bit more personalized, you can go over to Safyre Jewelry - a up and coming business that's only about 9 months old. But they're already gaining some popularity with their unique gold-filled jewelry.
Sapphira Pelayo, Owner, Safyre Jewelry
"I create handmade jewelry, I have hand stamped products that I handstamp with a hammer and I also create wearable art with gold-filled wire."
"We focus on personalized jewelry, that's basically the most thing that's selling now, as who wouldn't want a personalized gift for Christmas."
"The most popular product is the wire name necklace and also the gold-filled and the stainless steel bar necklace."
And these fairly new entrepreneurs are hoping you'll keep your money in Belize this Christmas.
Jolie Pollard, Owner, Ikooma
"It's hard to live comfortably as a new entrepreneur and we really depend on your support to sustain our business, I mean that's how it works, if we're going to try and make it and actually build a profitable business, when we're this young in the game most of us are just breaking even, it takes a while, we have to start producing and selling at a certain volume before we can rep the rewards and I'm not there yet, and a lot of the other entrepreneurs aren't there yet, you might see us on social media with all the marketing and the buzz and maybe our graphics look cool and the truth is a lot of us are just hoping we can make it another week."
Sapphira Pelayo, Owner, Safyre Jewelry
"When you support a Belizean, you support a Belizean's dream so definitely I feel like Belizeans should choose local products for their Christmas present. This Christmas, I hope everyone, all Belizeans, try to support local."
You can contact these businesses through their Facebook or Instagram pages.
