Cartoon Kids: The Story Behind It All
By Maryam Azwer
Ask any mom what it’s like when she takes her little kids in for a haircut, and chances are she’ll shudder before launching into a horror story. Ask any mom who’s trying to juggle a whole lot of duties, at home, and perhaps even at work, how she manages to find time to shop for herself and the kids, while making that an enjoyable experience, and chances are you’ll receive a mournful sigh and a very sad tale.
For Ishfa Nawaal, mother of one and aunt to two young children, such stories won’t be news. She’s heard, and been through, it all. But she’s also gone a step ahead and, together with friend Madhiha Jabir, another busy mom, come up with a solution to some of these problems mothers here run into on a daily basis.
“It all started with plans to open up a children’s salon. We saw a kid’s salon in a movie once, and it was the first time we got a clear idea of what it really looks like,” says Nawaal, describing the colourful atmosphere and special kiddie seats in all kinds of shapes and colours, “… and we realised the lack of all that in Sri Lanka.”
With plans for some interesting new venture already on their minds, Nawaal and Jabir proceeded to hunt for some suitable location for a prospective children’s salon. “We thought of getting a place with a garden, to keep the kids occupied while they waited their turn, but since rents are high in and around Colombo, we thought, if the garden was big enough, we could even give it out as a party zone,” says Nawaal.
When they finally did locate a place to suit their liking at Suvisudharama Road, Colombo 6, they were faced with one small hitch: the building had too many rooms. “What do we do with all the other rooms?” Nawaal recalls wondering. The answer to that question is what took their little idea a long way.
When Cartoon Kids was finally launched in January this year, the exclusively-for-children-and-mothers venue comprised of not just a salon and play area, but four other outlets too: clothing stores Junior George and Grasshopper, wooden toy and furniture store Wood 4 Kids and donut café Gonuts With Donuts.
After thus renting out the extra space, Nawaal and Jabir went another step ahead and started organising themed children’s parties on the premises too.
“It’s just growing,” says Nawaal with a smile. “Once in a while we try to add something more to it,” she explains, listing out their latest additions: maternity clothing store MATERNIA, Geghush, Sweet Buds edible chocolate bouquets and the Super Kid loyalty card, offering special discounts. “We also try to organise new entertainment and educational activities every month, especially during the holiday season.”
On the subject of things that inspired her and Jabir, Nawaal says, “We’re both busy moms who have been through the hassle of getting an unwilling child’s hair cut, and also value the convenience of being able to do this and the shopping under one roof. We know the stress of trying to be a ‘super-mom!’ ”
She goes on to add, “I remember when my nephew was very little, we had to get someone to come home to cut his hair – because he simply wouldn’t stay in one place.”
She feels the attractively designed children’s salon does the trick; “It takes their minds off what’s happening. There have been a few fussy kids, but we’ve had more successful haircuts than failures,” she laughs.
“These are things we didn’t have when we were young… and many children today are more into studying – we’d like to give both them and their mothers a break,” she says, speaking of the project as a whole. At the end of the day, she points out, it’s all about taking some stress off the moms, and making childhood memorable for the young ones.
