By Marissa Victoria Foster

MARISKA Gittens-McEwan is a self-driven, ambitious, hardworking woman who always had a knack for creating and inspiring, but she never had the opportunity to do so until two years ago when she took a leap of faith. Her business, Kishy’s Crafting Cottage, is focused on helping others with their skincare and haircare journey by crafting the best handmade, local products from the highest quality ingredients.

When her daughter was born in 2013, McEwan realised that she did not want to put anything harsh in her hair. As such, she started to experiment until she got the right formula for her daughter’s hair. Two and a half years ago, she felt stuck in her daily ‘nine to five’ job and routine. That motivated her to follow her passion that she had been putting on the back burner for years. Mariska released her formula to the public in June 2018 and from then to now has progressed to owning one of Guyana’s best skincare and hair care line of products. She also inspired her daughter Corey McEwan as she is following in her footsteps with her very own business.

One challenge she had to overcome was being conservative and shy to get her business known to others. “I quickly overcame it and got to work on letting people know about Kishy’s Crafting Cottage and that we were there to help in any way possible,” said Mariska. When asked what makes her business unique from others, she replied: “My passion for my work sets me aside from anyone else because this is not just a job or a way to make money for me.” She continued by saying: “This is my life, this is my dream, this is my passion and my way of giving back to the world and helping others who struggle daily with skincare and haircare issues.”

Kishy’s Crafting Cottage can be found on 129A, Duncan Street at the Babe Cave. Her products vary from hair serums to shampoo bars, body and face soaps and even body/facial scrubs. She is a living example that it is never too late to start living your dream. Her brand is proof that there are quality and creativity in handmade Guyanese products—sometimes, local is better.