TONYA HEARN, LATONYA FOSTER, KENNEDY FITZGERALD, DESIREE HARRISON, AT THE FIRST “SIP N’ STYLE” EVENT, JULY 11, AT DREAMZ HAIR SALON IN HOMESTEAD. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
by Rob Taylor Jr., Courier Staff Writer
One woman was a business owner. One woman was a stylist. Another woman was in tech. And another was in the corporate world.
New Pittsburgh Courier “Fab 40” honoree of the Class of 2022, Ieshia Nicole Hearn, set out to bring together women of all different adult ages, backgrounds and professions, and network with each other. In Pittsburgh, sometimes one feels like they know everybody, but in reality, that’s not the case.
“I hand-selected the people that were there,” Hearn told the Courier of her July 11 event, “Sip N’ Style,” at Dreamz Hair Salon in Homestead. “I was intentional. I knew that Sondra D. Hunter owned a tech company; she was able to meet some other women she didn’t know in Pittsburgh.”
IESHIA NICOLE HEARN
MONIQUE SMITH, WITH THE NOIR COMPANY
SELENE RICHARDSON AND IESHIA NICOLE HEARN CHECK OUT THEIR PHOTO FROM PHOTOGRAPHER JASMINE LEFTWICH (JVISIONARY VISUALS)…
Hunter owns Tech Savvy Consultants, LLC, and is the founder and CEO of the non-profit BGC (Breaking Generational Curses). Then there was Toni Nixon, not even 30 years old, at the event letting people know about her trucking dispatch company, Toni’s Dispatching, LLC.
Adele Morelli made an appearance, too. She’s the owner of the longstanding Boutique La Passerelle, on Wood Street, Downtown.
Hearn said she wants to dispel any myths about women not being able to work with each other, or uplift each other. The “Sip N’ Style” events are a place where “fashion and networking collide,” she said. The evening event even provided each woman with a bouquet of flowers courtesy of Serenity Bloom Floral Couture, owned by a Black woman, Brandi Taylor. It was a way of saying, “each of you women deserve your flowers,” Hearn said.
About 40 women, most of whom were Black, came to the first “Sip N’ Style” event. Hearn expects more women to attend the next “Sip N’ Style” in late October, at a location and exact date that’s yet to be determined.
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s office gave Hearn a proclamation making July 11, 2024, “Ieshia Inspires Day” in the City of Pittsburgh. Turns out, “7-11” isn’t just a convenience store, it’s more importantly, Hearn’s birthdate. Hearn, now 39, graduated from Oliver High School in 2003 and the HBCU Lincoln University in 2008.
Catapult Greater Pittsburgh was the lead sponsor of Hearn’s July 11 event. Other sponsors included Dreamz, The Noir Co., Boutique La Passerelle, Tay’s Creations, La Creative Eye, PAIR Charcuterie, and Dazhia Vu.
“For my next event, it will have a short fashion segment,” Hearn told the Courier, “show women how to dress to their body shapes, and how to use different items in their closet and style them differently.”
As for the first event, Hearn called it a success. “I really wanted this event to be about dispelling the narrative,” she said, “and also connect women with resources that they may not necessarily know are out there.”
SHARDAY HARRIS, LATAVIA CHAPMAN AND TANEISHA OWENS GETTING THEIR FLOWERS…
BRANDI TAYLOR OF SERENITY BLOOM FLORAL COUTURE
MORE PHOTOS….(BY J.L. MARTELLO)