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Tuesday, 08 July 2025
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Written by Anna White
A one-day event hosted collaboratively by several Fayetteville businesses and organizations is preparing to equip female entrepreneurs to chase their dreams. Women’s Business Center of Fayetteville, Center for Economic Empowerment and Development, Blissful Alchemists, the Greater Fayetteville Region, and Sunshine Beauty & Bliss will collaboratively host the event, “Beauty, Bliss and Business" on Monday, July 28. The event features 30 subject matter experts, panel discussions, speed networking, and a wellness emphasis including the chance to practice self-care through breathwork.
Behind the event are two key organizers, both passionate about empowering women in business.
Danice Langdon, WBCFay director, said the event was born out of connections forged during other WBCFay events, which led her and Brittany Campbell to consider what else they could collaborate on.
Campbell, owner of Sunshine Beauty & Bliss, and co-founder and owner of Blissful Alchemists, says entrepreneurs can deal with information overload, especially from internet resources, making an in-person resource day the perfect option.
“When you have the opportunity to sit with someone right in front of you that is either doing what you’re doing, or has a resource for what you’re doing, you can build that trust and connection instead of just randomly looking for things online, because I think that gets overwhelming more than it ever has been before,” Campbell shared.
Langdon added that the resources available will be highly practical and will save entrepreneurs time and energy identifying ways to strengthen their business operations, sharing examples of experts like bankers and lenders who can help solo entrepreneurs set up retirement accounts for themselves.
Both Langdon and Campbell share an enthusiasm for empowering female entrepreneurs that is grounded in personal experience.
Before becoming the WBCFay director, Langdon’s educational path gave her an up-close look at community connection and women in business. With a Master's degree in Sociology and a thesis titled “Gender Wage Gap and Its Associated Factors: An Examination Of Traditional Gender Ideology, Education and Workplace,” Langdon’s passion is clear. She said that while WBCFay doesn’t serve women exclusively--25% of their clients are male--they do emphasize women.
“How do we lift one another up? How do we create balance and equality?” are questions that Langdon says intrigue and motivate her.
Campbell shared her dynamic path from operating a home-based business to now co-owning and operating a beauty and wellness co-op space with capacity for nearly 20 beauty and wellness entrepreneurs under the same roof at Blissful Alchemists.
An esthetician and military spouse with an undergraduate degree in marketing and a master’s degree in business from Methodist University, Campbell began offering spray tans, hair and makeup services out of her home, and eventually transitioned to a brick-and-mortar location, forming a co-op with other beauty and wellness entrepreneurs. Now, with their recent move into a 20,000 sq. ft. space, Blissful Alchemists is Fayetteville’s largest Beauty and Wellness Co-op community.
“We really are about uplifting the entrepreneurs in our business and giving people a space to live out dreams,” she explained.
Langdon and Campbell say the upcoming event is perfect for individuals in all stages of the beauty and wellness industry. Whether considering entering the industry by attending school or opening a business, or already in it, the event is for you. “We’re going to be meeting the needs of everyone from that beginning stage up to potentially opening up their own salon,” Langdon shared.
Beauty, Bliss and Business will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., opening with a panel discussion led by subject matter experts. Later on, there will be opportunities for speed networking, including 12-minute sessions where entrepreneurs can speak directly with an expert.
“I always tell people, it's not a sales pitch, it's not high pressure, it's genuinely just an empowering, learning kind of day that is full of knowledge,” Langdon said.
Light refreshments will be served for breakfast and lunch, and more panel discussions will be interspersed throughout. During the afternoon, attendees will even have the chance to slow down and practice breathwork together, a skill that can help entrepreneurs maintain a healthy body and mindset through the pressures of work.
The list of subject matter experts that will be present includes: Awaken Wellness, First Citizen’s Bank, PNC Bank, Truist, ADP Payroll and HR Company, C&C Accounting, Clikk Accounting, Cavik Insurance, TrueCare DPC, DeNoire Suites, Glow Head Inc., Hairlooms Natural Hair Academy, Skin Specialist School of Esthetics, Dixie Rose Studios, Tiffany Haywood Blog & Brand Consultations, Blue Star Families, FTCC School of Cosmetology, Elements Salon, SBTDC, CREED, City of Fayetteville, Camy Kennedy, Saha Happyness, Waxology by Dee, Heal Holistic, Greater Fayetteville Chamber, Saucha Living, and The Drip Bar.
Tickets for the event are $25 for general admission, $15 for students. There are additional scholarship opportunities. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beauty-bliss-business-resource-day-tickets-1399863361999. The event will host only 50 attendees. Attend Beauty, Bliss and Business Resource Day, Monday, July 28 at 414 Ray Ave.
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Tuesday, 08 July 2025
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Written by Anna White
Fresh, summer bounty in the form of laden blueberry bushes stands ready for eager visitors at Ithíca Acres Creamery. Stephanie Carter, Co-owner and manager of the creamery, says the crop is good this year.
The Blueberry Festival and Square Dance on July 12 is a first for the Creamery, and it promises attendees more than fresh fruit and the chance to dance in the style of age-old traditions. Carter says it’s about family-friendly fun.
In addition to berry picking and square dancing, there will be live music, food trucks, the farm store selling ice cream and sharing cheese samples, goats to pet, and a rumored pie-eating contest. It’s a chance to learn about farming and food sources, enjoy a summer evening outside, and spend time with friends and family.
The evening will start with live music from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., with a gooseneck trailer serving as the stage for the evening. During that time, visitors will be shuttled back and forth to the blueberry fields, picking to their heart’s content. Dancing is from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Carter says anyone can square dance, even if they’re completely new, as long as they can follow the caller’s instructions.
In between picking berries, dancing, and eating, visitors can soak up everything that Ithíca Acres Creamery has become over the years — perhaps learning something about food sources, agriculture, or the many animals that roam the surrounding pasture.
Carter says Ithíca Acres Creamery is unique because it’s a “farmstead creamery.” That means they create goats milk products with milk from the goats they’ve raised. Producing their own dairy supply, from birthing goat kids on the farm to milking goats, means more work, but more reward.
“A lot of manufacturing facilities source from other dairies — so they get their dairy from a farm down the road or something like that. We don’t, and that’s the cool thing about being a farmstead creamery,” she said.
The Creamery hasn’t always been part of operations at the farm. Carter explained that she grew up on the farm with her family, where operations included farming poultry for Perdue, raising cattle, growing hay, and eventually planting the now mature blueberry bushes.
Carter moved away from the farm to attend Appalachian State University, where she studied marketing. When she returned, she and her family started reimagining what else the farm could become.
She began market research, hoping to find the perfect fit. After culling through a variety of options, raising goats and making goat’s milk products checked the boxes. There was a demand, but very few young people pursuing the industry, Carter noted. For her, that was another reason to take the plunge and continue growing an operation where they could educate visitors about farming and food production. Now the farm is all it was before, and more.
“We advocate for the farming community. So few people understand where their food comes from,” she explained. “We love knowing that we can talk to the customer and say ‘this pound of ground beef came from a steer right out in the pasture.’”
Much of Ithíca Acres' operations centers around education. Carter says they host farm days and regular tour groups. Tour groups range from private, public, and homeschool groups to friends looking for a unique girls' night out. They also conduct education for multiple branches of the U.S. Military, a service Carter says they always provide on a volunteer basis.
Though she knows many of the people she educates won’t be in the area for long, she hopes there’s an enduring impact.
“They may be military and PCSing, but maybe they will go support other local farmers at their next duty point, or there may be children growing up who will know blueberries come from a farmer,” she said.
These educational events provide visitors with the chance not only to connect with food sources, but to sample and experience the benefits of ingredients like fresh goat’s milk.
“We’re not food scientists, so we can’t claim anything like that, but customers consistently say how good [these products] are for internal and external health,” Carter said.
The current farm store special is their seasonal Blueberry Lemon Goat’s Milk Cheese — a treat that may win over the unlikeliest of converts. Carter says the blueberries, while not organic, are grown using organic practices. Other ingredients, whether in their food or non-food products that they can’t grow on the farm, are often sourced nearby, if possible.
“We try to use local sources for our products if we can,” Carter shared.
With music and dancing provided, Carter says the only thing visitors need to bring to the Blueberry Festival and Square Dance is the $15 per-car entrance fee--excluding blueberry purchases--lawn chairs and blankets.
The creamery’s invitation to the community is, “Come by the farm!” and “Welcome to the family!”
(Photos courtesy of Ithica Acres Creamery)
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