Today we’d like to introduce you to Lacory Noel.
Hi Lacory, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I and my family are originally from Freeport, Grand Bahama. Back in the early 2000s, it was just me, my grandmother, and my father. My father is very creative and a carpenter by trade. He made sure he worked tirelessly to support us. After a day at primary school, I could always be found on one of the many construction sites by father spare headed in Grand Bahama. Being with my father on those construction sites fueled in me a passion for construction, not just the technical aspect but also the creative side as well. That passion never left but rather continued to grow teen years after we relocated to New Providence.
As a high schooler, I was involved in art, carpentry, and the pre-engineering program offered at my school. In my downtime, I enjoyed sewing and crocheting garments. During my last year of high school in 2018, I had the privilege of participating in a country-wide Build-A-Bridge Competition hosted and sponsored by one of the top civil engineering companies in the country, Integrated Building Services (IBS). This competition served as a way for students pursuing an interest in engineering to make sustainable, innovative bridges using a limited number of popsicle sticks and school glue to test to see what bridge has the highest efficiency. IBS also rewards one team member from the winning team to work a two-month summer internship at its local office in New Providence. That year my team and I broke history by being the first all-girls team of five to win the load competition. Our bridge weighed 0.4255 lbs. and carried 214.8 lbs with an efficiency of 516.968.
Being on the winning team, I was then selected to take part in the internship for that summer. My two-month internship turned into an eleven-month internship where, each day, I got the opportunity to learn something new. In 2019 I was officially hired at IBS where I am currently employed. Daily, I experience the excitement of a child when I see my creative designs take life and become buildings used in my community. I, like my father, never lost touch with enjoying my hobbies. As mentioned before I always enjoyed sewing, crocheting, and crafting. It was a pleasure wearing or displaying what I had made. My father is a skilled carpenter and he found enjoyment in using scrap material to create wonderful woodwork pieces. During the pandemic when there was more downtime than usual, my father and I were able to combine our creative skills. With this dynamic duo, we were able to expand our creativity into jewelry making and created a brand from it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We are still a fairly new business but we still have our challenges like any other business. During this difficult economic time, finding the resources to create and boost our brand has been a challenge. Also, it can be challenging to get consistent sales and find vendor partners to display our new designs and pieces.
Currently, we have a local footing but desire to share our brand in an international marketplace. In addition, having our own unique brand means having to always make sure that our jewelry stands out from others, having a unique voice and vision is important to us. Therefore, occasionally we have to take a break, reset, and allow nature to re-inspire us. Nature has yet to fail us!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Nature’s Designs is a home-based business that started as a fun idea in January 2022 and became a business six months later. Initially, the idea began with creating innovative ways to make the beauty of the natural resources of the Bahamas wearable. With the assistance of my younger 9-year-old sister, Kaleah, the name “Nature’s Design” was birthed, and it has stuck ever since.
We offer a custom selection of handmade earrings, necklaces, rings, and more that are inspired by our beautiful Bahama Land. Our two main jewelry collections are our “Bougainvillea Collection” and “Seashell Collection”.
The Bougainvillea plant comes in a variety of vibrant colors that range from shades of pink and purple to yellow, orange, and white. Many of these are on brilliant display on our island of New Providence and also beautifully dot the landscaping of the home where my family lives. The beauty of these plants is what inspired our most popular collection and most of our designs. We’ve been able to capture the delicate beauty and color of the bougainvillea in traditional drop, dangle, and stud earrings. We’re currently working on necklace and ring designs for this collection as well. This collection is a must-have and most definitely a show-stopper.
The Seashell Collection is a personal favorite of mine as I am a beach enthusiast. The salt, sun, and sand are intoxicating and we’ve captured that emotion in our one-of-a-kind pieces. Sea shells and our uniquely colored tan and pink sand are prominently featured in a variety of shapes and styles in this collection. We’ve ensured that these pieces are both beautiful and resilient for all wear forms.
Thus far, we’ve enjoyed being featured in several local pop events where we got to see people’s love and admiration for our designs. However, our most memorable and encouraging client experience has been with a local vendor, Craft Cottage. They purchased and displayed quite a number of pieces from our “Bougainvillea Collection”. We find so much joy when we’re able to share our love of our home and love of our craft with others. It is our desire that eventually we are able to widen our reach to an international customer base. We also have a goal of eventually having our own storefront where we can display our collections.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. Growing up I saw my parents take risks in regard to business. They set a goal and followed through with hard work and determination. My sister and I were always cared for and never lacked anything.
We’ve travelled the world and have had many experiences. From my perspective, as a child, I always felt my family had it all together. It is only now as an adult that I understand and appreciate the fearlessness of my parents as they took risks in their business ideas. Now I understand that not all of their ideas were successful but they kept trying until they got it right. That is my personal understanding of being a risk taker.
I believe that risk-taking shouldn’t be confused with being irresponsible, but rather it is the ability to have an idea or concept and believe it enough to follow through without being 100% sure of the results. I also, believe being a risk taker means being able to adjust or pivot from a situation that may be familiar but no longer beneficial to something more favorable. My parents taught me that.
I’m still a young adult and a new entrepreneur myself. I think most of my big risks are still ahead of me. However, I’m not afraid of them, but rather I see the value of risk-taking and the role it plays in personal growth and development.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/naturesdesign242?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naturesdesign242?mibextid=LQQJ4d
