“My mom Sybil Mckinna Petersen, who was a very prominent figure in the community of Atlantis, inspired me daily to better myself and rise up from my circumstances.”
Single mom Jorgina Heugh (29), born and bred in Atlantis, said she moved to Langebaan in 2011 and fell pregnant as a teenager.
Here, finding work in the hospitality and food and beverage industry was difficult. Just months after finding a job she had to leave to take care of her sick mother. “Her death was unexpected and I was forced to home-school my 7 and 11-year-old siblings,” she said.
Whatever challenges she has faced in the past, today Heugh is now a successful businesswoman.
“I always knew I had the potential to run my own business, even though I didn’t have the courage to take the big step that direction required,” she said. “But life circumstances, and particularly my mom’s death, literally forced me to come up with something. My life changed when I saw a YouTube video of Majestic Mey who started her own lash brand.
“One thing that struck me when watching the video was Mey’s declaration that there was a place in the sun for everyone. Also, one shouldn’t fear competition, that one is who one is, and know what one brings to the table, and that people will buy from us because we have our own unique ways.”
After this, the entrepreneur immediately started researching the striplash industry. She discovered a gap in the market for more affordable lashes and decided to fill it with “affordable lashes but still great quality”.
“On the morning of 7 September 2021 I woke up and told myself this is the day. I took the money I was suppose to pay the rates and tax with to register my business, and ‘Adore Her by G’ was born.”
Adore her by G was from then on a registered online eyelash-extension retailer with a presence on several social media platforms.
“We have deliberately gone in this direction because from our research, like the rest of the world, South Africa had a good market for this particular product, the eyelash extension.
“We have about 10 different styles and two glues, and we plan to expand our products before the end of the year. This journey has not been easy at all, and nine months down the line the business has really been prospering.”
These days Heugh is back in Atlantis, she has obtained a shipping licence, and many make-up artists are using her brand.
She proudly says: “From one order a week to almost five orders daily, now I ship countrywide to so many places I haven’t even heard of.”
