We were lucky to catch up with Ishyta Andrews recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ishyta, appreciate you joining us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

Wow i can remember it as if it was some hours ago, for a year i was asked what are you putting on your children’s skin and i will tell them ‘ Tomcu’ they would respond “i have never heard of it” and i will give them a bottle of that product, not knowing that the feed back was amazing and the people was talking to other people about the product.

One day i sat at home watching television an i recieved a phone call the person on the end said” hi i am looking for the lady who has the body cream for eczema” i wanted to faint in the very moment with shock,excitement as all these emoitions rushed to my heart my palms started to sweat, ” hi sure can you message me on whatsapp an we will go forward from there and how did you hear about us” she replied facebook, that moment i calmly said “ok message me”
The phone hang up and i stood up feeling each emotions i screamed with smiles and laughter, seconds after a message came in it was that complete strange,the lady wanting the Tomcu, she stated the need for the body butter as her child has eczema and she tried so many other cream but it was only temporary relief, i made arrangement to get the product to her and my heart was so happy knowing that she will experience relief and comfort.
That day will remain in my heart as a land mark for my business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Welcome to Shimkizi’s Touch where “organic is the new you”. At shimkizi’s Touch we serve you a wide range of products that is not just a product but products that serve to treat hair and skin daily issues from sensitive skin to damaged hair. Our company celebrated its 7 years in 2022, we started 7 years ago turning my stress into a story, i am also a mother and my children where diagnosed with allergies,eczema and impetigo skin it was horrible, itchy, flared up from time to time, it left unwanted marks on there skin, my girls was mostly affected it looks like boils that would ooze a clear liquid, i have been in the nursing field for years there where times i left work head home and back at the children unit for treatment, know brands was recommended and i became very stressed knowing the results will be the same “temporary”.

I started reading,researching, mixing,formulating, seeing spoilage and experiencing victory of that said product, so i moved on to there hair, we have 4b-4c hair type an i got into an accident which left me incapable of doing motherly daily duties, turning this experience into what is known today as our “Stretch love ” hair butter, i could not longer comb out their hair and the discomfort that my girls experience drive me to formulating that hair butter.

We do both local and international shipping we are from the caribbean Trinidad and Tobago all our products are handcrafted from our kitchen with love to your skin and hair crafted from ingredients such as but not limited to are Tomatoes,limes,prickly pear, aloes,yoni,sugar,flaxseed,bananas,shea butter,essential oil and much more.
Many ask me why be organic, i say to them “why not be different” because of knowing people with sensitive skin have a difficult time finding the right product that will actually do what it says it will do, i want to be the one to serve it, to bring that smile on my clients face, skin has no gender,no race and it takes 26 seconds for what ever is put unto the skin to be absorded into the skin, feed your skin with excellence, i never intented to have a businsess i just wanted my children to be relived from the stress of having skin allergies,eczema that flare up more around the July -August vacation i wanted it to stop it hurt seeing that it affected their self esteem, their smile, their social life.

I am proud to know that i was able after long nights of reading,studing, formulating,testing that shimkizi’s Touch product works, that mostly someone else can feel happy, relieved,satistified that there skin and hair is happy once again with long term results.
Our products was created with children at heart, we thrive to serve with ingredients that we can eat as we lean on the organic side of the industry.
Our products range from body butter,hair butters,skin & hair oil,soaps,shampoo & conditioner, facial mask, body scrubs, lip gloss,lip balms, lip scrubs, we also do candles to set the right mood in your rooms, as a business owner i also do facials,body massages, body scrubs etc.

I encourage you as a reader,business owner, entrepenuer to do not give up on what you are birthing or have birthed, things will happen to discourage but take that an ride it as a tide or learn to swim for that lession will or should motivate you to push even harder, stay inspired.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Life hits you some hard ball and knocks you down but whats most important is that you “get up”.

As an entrepenuer/mother it isn’t always easy but i will not trade it for the world because it has groomed me into the best version of myself each day.

As i brain storm how to go about spreading or informing people about shimkizi’s Touch i remembered someone once said” the best way to spread news is via word of mouth” i laughed and proceeded to ask my sister to print some black and white flier for me that her friend candice also assisted (can’t forget that day), i took those fliers everywhere i went, handing in out, at times i will travel in a maxi and gather the courage to speak to a total stranger asking “if i can share this flier with them” sometimes the response is flat no, the first three times it hurt, but i said to myself “this is mines i have to do this no one will do it for me” and i pushed i asked and the yes i got i told those strangers about Shimkizi’s touch, those yes also helped motivate me, i asked myself “how bad do you want to see this business grow”? At that point i knew that not everyone will understand my version but most important, i have to understand the version an carry it as heavy as it maybe sometimes, it only me will let the version die or bloom.

Do not let the “No’s” stop you use it to fuel your version, one day the “no’s will remember you.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

Manufacturing is solely done by Shimkizi’s Touch company, we create,formulate,pack and make our labels for ourselves.

I had no idea how to manufacture a product, or did i?
I will always bake something new, make a new drink give it a name, i always enjoy using my hands to create and this was extended into the idea of crafting/manufacturing our products.
The curiosity became stronge as i started reading, researching, making calls,asking questions, at this point i saw where mathematics and chemistry came in, the right quantity of each ingredient plays a critical part in manufacturing.
Manufacturing has expanded my knowledge on the industry and the simple intricate source that each ingredient serves, i am now aware of both local & international vendors,suppliers, other entrepenuers in the industry, i now create our own labels, i have learn that investing in your business is investing in you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shimkizistouch.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shimkizis._.touch/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/