The SJU Naturals club hosted a “natural marketplace” pop-up outside Campion Student Center on Sept. 24, featuring seven small businesses selling a variety of products for skin, hair and wellbeing.
Jala Cosley ’22, president of SJU Naturals, said the club held the event to get people to learn more about the club and to feature Philadelphia-based vendors who promote natural health products in positive ways.
“I just really love what [the vendors] do and how natural everything was,” Cosley said. “I feel like all the people who are visiting this event appreciate what they do.”
One of the vendors, Nijah Burgess, created What’s The Tea, LLC, with her mom. Burgess said she wanted to teach people what she and her mom learned after taking care of her father, who died of cancer in 2018. Burgess said using mint tea helped her dad with nausea caused by the treatments he was getting.
“We really started to take a closer look at herbs and what they can achieve in the body,” Burgess said. “When you have radiation and chemotherapy and things of that nature, you really have to watch what you put in your body.”
Burgess said a lot of younger people have now become more cautious and health-aware since the pandemic.
“I think that people are more health conscious because of covid, especially with tea and everything,” Burgess said. “We are starting to see a lot of younger people that are interested in tea.”
Mirage Candle Company owner, Lynn Buckley, said she was happy to be at an outside pop-up event because people could pick up and smell her handmade scented candles, all of which are skin safe and made from soy.
“I make sure my energy is good when I’m making a candle because I want to put good vibrations into the world,” Buckley said. “I make sure that I’m in the right headspace, so I’m sending and packaging candles with love.”
Vendor Zaahira Tomlin, who is a licensed cosmetologist and CEO of SCENTual Feels Skincare, said she sells products that promote self confidence, and improve physical appearance in natural ways.
“I have all natural skincare products, from cleansers to toners to body butter,” Tomlin said. “My product helps by giving a natural glow. Some people feel that their radiant skin helps with their personality and helps with their day to day life.”
Kiylah “Ky” O’Brien, who graduated three years ago from Drexel University with a degree in design and merchandising, said she ensures that all her products are affordable, especially for college students.
“I definitely understand sometimes you’re balling on [a] budget, sometimes you just don’t have it or you’re the college student that’s going to school full time, or you are working full time so you’re paying for everything yourself,” O’Brien said.
Elise Cost-Brown ’24 said she was walking back from her afternoon lab class and saw vendors selling products that she was interested in, so she decided to stop by.
“I didn’t even know this was a wellness thing,” Cost-Brown said. “I wanted to come over to show my support and to see what it is and what they have.”
Cosley, who also participated in the pop-up with her business, African Twist, said she was initially concerned about coming back to campus in person, but feels more at ease now.
“I am grateful that we can have events like this,” Cosley said. “There’s definitely more interaction, and I feel like I know people better.
