Bea Twumasi: 2010 Calgary Immigrants of Distinction Awards Business Award

Calgary 2010 Immigrants of Distinction Awards

Business Award

Bea Twumasi

Walking into her shop situated on 222, 17 Ave SE Calgary one is reminded of everything about customer care and 'feeling at home.' On top of an array of cosmetic products on display, smiles and laughter are among the most salient features of Bea Twumasi's business.

Beas Braiding and Extensions has been called "Calgary's answer to bad hair", it might as well be but the salon does much more than just hair. In fact it is among the most enduring features of Calgary for hair care and has been an icon of the city life for 17 years. The proprietor of the business; Twumasi, has been braiding and weaving since she was a child in her native Ghana of West Africa having learnt the trade from her mother, she started doing it as a businesses when she moved to Calgary in 1974 and her basement suit acted as a saloon. 

Such is the significance of Bea Braiding and Extensions that it has been featured in the business section of the Calgary Herald, the Calgary Sun, and Global TV's Breakfast show.  The salon is a major participant in the Calgary high schools Beauty Culture Program mentoring students interested in a career in beauty and costmetics. From this program students get a chance to intern at the saloon and some are even luckier as they are retained for employment. Twumasi has also provided hair extensions and accessories to Calgary's movie and music industry players. Currently there are 5 permanent employees of Beas Braiding and Extensions, the salon also exhibits art pieces made by new immigrants to Calgary.

Twumasi grew up as an only child with a single mother in Kumasi a major commercial centre in @@@@Ghana. Her mother Agnes Okyem ensured Twumasi learnt about entrepreneurship earlier in life, she was taught hair braiding at home but the daughter turned out to be a teacher instead but hair care remained her first love was hair care. In 1974, Twumasi immigrated to Canada and has since been living in Calgary with her husband Emmanuel Twumasi an oil engineer, they have three children. 

Immediately after arriving in Canada Twumasi enrolled in the University of Calgary and graduated with a bachelor of Education. Having learnt the ethics of work earlier on from her mother she worked for the Calgary Catholic School Board and cleaned offices in the evenings to take good care of her young family then, she later worked as a Rehabilitation supervisor for people with mental and physical difficulties at the Legion Group Home. In her free time Twumasi started a hair care business in the basement of her family home.

While she worked as a manager at Legion Group her basement salon continued existing and later hired more staff, her client base expanded from a predominantly ethnic composition "and crossed cultural lines" according to Gloria Mensah who has known Twumasi for 25 years . Demand for her services grew so big that her home salon needed an independent premise of its own. In 1993 Beas Braiding and Weaving opened its doors on 17 Eve SE, it was among the first ethnic hair saloons in Calgary back then and Twumasi resigned her managerial job to concentrate on her love of hair care. She hired 6 staff members and according Mensah, many of these maiden staff members have since gone on to open their own hair saloons. 

As a living witness to the great Canadian success story Twumasi wants to share the inspiration of her transition and her success from being a child of a broken family, young and challenged immigrant to Calgary in the 1970s to entrepreneur. Twumasi a Calgary role model, she is part of efforts that enhance the spirit of Alberta as a home for all. From new comers to Canada, young people that are in need of guidance in life and celebrating the true joy of living in Canadda. 

She is currently working with the McBride group which seeks to help job seekers learn skills and trades that they can use to find meaningful employment. She participates in various events like the Carifest, the Calgary Women's Show and Afrikadey. These events are some of the features that make Calgary city a community of fun, work, love, peace and creativity for Calgarians of all walks of life.