A Realized Hope

March 22, 2026

Today I attended the Sr. Thea Bowman Center Women Owned Business Fair held at Siena University Campus. It was an experience!

For a little context, last year I also attended this event but as a customer. Tyiesha Ford, the owner and founder of Fullness of Joy Photography, LLC was there as a vendor and she invited me to stop by and see this event. I was at the very early stages of opening my store, Fresh Water Ink Christian Book Store. I can remember walking in and being so inspired by so many women-owned businesses. I walked around with my mouth open at all the different creations and dreams I saw at each table. It was then I decided that next year I would be a vendor. 

This brings us to today, it happened! I was a vendor at this event and my first one at that! I was blessed enough to have a team of capable and beautiful women help me. With much planning, packing and elbow grease we were off and hauling all our things into the building to set up.

We walked into smiling faces and warm welcomes. We handed over our raffle prize and found our table. After a few moments and some tweaks, our table was set up and ready for women to come in. My first impression as I stood next to my table was a bit of awe and complete gratefulness. I was among these inspired ladies. As I walked from table to table to meet other vendors, I watched their countenance as they introduced themselves and let me into their heart’s creative beat. 

I passed by women who sold crafted jewelry, specialized badge reels and pens with beads, classes for mental health, skin care products, crochet pieces and so much more. Their faces lit up as they told me what they did and why they did it. I watched the sheer giddiness as they showed me their displays and best products. These women told me of their lives behind the products, their full-time jobs, families, hobbies, etc. Having now ventured into the world of entrepreneurship, I have a better idea of what it takes. While they shared with me, I imagined the late nights, the many hours of practice, the time it took to develop their craft and I was almost moved to tears. 

This was the beauty of the event. Seeing a wife/mother have her own business that she does between changing diapers and cooking dinner, is something to behold. Sometimes we look for the extraordinary, hoping to be amazed, we forget the ordinary done with consistency is truly an artform. I was in the room with like-minded women who came out and were brave enough to share their passions and lives with people. What a gift. I felt like I walked away with something I could have never expected, a dream realized and hope in another woman's eyes. I can only pray I gave them some hope as well.