By Jairo Rodrigues
When it comes to designing and décor, Randy Fredericks is your guy, he is the owner and manager of Velvet which is probably Guyana’s leading entity in event planning and decorating, which celebrated its first anniversary on June 7 last.
Randy was born to Pamela and Rudolph Fredericks on June 7, 1987 just 11 months after his older brother Rodwin. “I remember telling my friends that my parents realised they had made a mistake so they tried again and that’s why I was born just 11 months after Rodwin,” he jokes. Randy finds it interesting to share the same age with his older brother for a few weeks. His younger brother Ryan was born in 1995. Randy jokingly said “I assume my father had humour [or wanted] to confuse my mom for the rest of her life by naming all of his children names beginning with the letter ‘R’.”
Growing up his family lived in Georgetown, just a stone’s throw away from Bourda Market. His mother and grandmother would sell achar just outside their family home and the boys would help to grate and squeeze mangoes on weekends. “I found amusement in sitting on the matapee stick which also served as the bar for the back door grill and watching mango juice drip into the large collecting bowl,” Randy added.
He described his childhood as very simple; a fixed routine of school, home and church. His parents are very dedicated to the church and God’s work and his task was to sing in church, and try not to fall asleep after praise and worship.
Because of the area he grew up in, indoors was always the safest place to be. However, there were no video games and expensive toys though his parents worked very hard to make sure he and his brothers had everything they needed. Randy added, “And who will debate that the greatest games ever invented are not with dirt and fruit seeds?
“I remember playing with my cousins in our small yard hiding behind pallets and throwing mango seeds at each other shouting ‘WAR BREAK!!!’ No video game can compare to that. I am happy I did not grow up in a richer home because I got the chance for my creativity to blossom. And most times my creativity got me in trouble. I remember I used to cut up my brother’s Rodney’s greeting cards to make collages and snip pieces of my grandmother’s clothes to make puppets, and the famous drawings on the wall… How my mother adored my wall drawings, and I adored it even more when I had to scrub it off at Christmas time. In primary school, I was drawing on my exercise book in classes and ignoring my teacher,” he said.
After completing primary education at Sacred Heart school and secondary at e St Joseph High, he went on to the University of Guyana where he is aspiring to obtain a degree in Visual Arts after a short break.
When asked for how long he has been interested in décor he said that he always had a knack for recycling old buttons, match boxes or any object he could find and then creating works of art from them.
Kathleen Thompson played a huge part in his life and aspirations; she is an artist and former teacher at the Burrowes School of Art. Every Saturday they met at the church and did skits, singing, crafts and that was the highlight of his weekend in his younger years. He spent a lot of time with Kathleen and even started calling her his mom. Not wanting to get his real mom jealous, he described her as a great mother and Kathleen as his second mother. He watched her paint and draw and Kathleen amazed him at every meeting. So as a child he looked up to her and wanted at be an artist like she is.
At high school, his art teacher, Sandra King, encouraged him with his art. She would include him in little artistic duties around the school, like painting banners and backdrops for graduation. However, it was not until a few years back that he actually realised his true passion, which is event planning and decorating.
The first wedding he did was his eldest brother’s when he was just approximately 15 years old. He then continued helping out with weddings at the church and then started to make money doing bouquets, floral arrangements, and painting banners.
As an artist he said he hates to be labelled or restricted to one medium. “I express myself and I use every possible media to do so. One rule that I live by is to always be improving, make myself better than I was yesterday. So when I come across a new art form I try to at least get in-depth knowledge of it.”
Currently his passion is decorating. He said that when he does a project he uses all of his talents. “Sometimes I have to make sculptures, create graphical logos, do paintings and the list goes on. I believe this is why my work is different from other decorating businesses in Guyana. Because I started as an artist and have knowledge of how to manipulate various media, I can incorporate it all and come up with concepts unique to each event,” he said.
“There is no greater feeling than standing back and looking at a finished piece, whether it be a painting or a wedding. It is great to even amuse myself. Sometimes at weddings when all the candles are lit and the lights are dimmed, just that one peek of the bride and groom’s faces when they see what their decor looks like… it melts my heart to know that I made someone’s special day even more special.
“There are times I even question myself, if I would be able to pull it off. But like reality shows, it always works out in the end after all the drama. Those few moments of ecstasy looking at a completed job are beyond words and the best part is that I rip everything down and all that’s left are pictures and memories. And I get to do it all again for another client.”
Randy said his mother is a big inspiration. “I work extra hard because I want to be able to start providing for my parents soon. My mom has worked hard all her life, and now I would like to provide for her.”
He is also inspired by his clients. “I try to bring out the personality and palate of each client. As a decorator, I think events should reflect the host. I don’t just show up at a hall and throw up things all over. Every aspect of my work reflects the client, even down to the fabric I use and the way it is draped and the types of flowers I use. And when I am given a theme to work with, I get very excited knowing I can put my own Velvet twist on things.
“I am proud of all the events I have done, I tell my clients: I treat each wedding as my own. This is Guyana and the reality is that not everyone can afford two dozen fresh roses on each table at their wedding. Each event I have done has made me proud because I would have put my best out there regardless of the budget I was given.”
But how did Velvet come about? Randy said that during March, 2011 he felt as though his life was stagnant. “I was very depressed and realised I needed to do something for myself and make a better future not only for me but for my family. For years, since I started UG in 2007 I had been working two part-time jobs, going to classes, working on weekends and holidays and partying on every free time slot I had. I am not ashamed to admit that like most young people I was caught up in living in the now and not worrying about my future.
“I believe at the beginning of 2011 I hit my lowest point. I was tired and nothing was going the way I wanted. Somewhere between classes, part time jobs, relationships, pleasing friends, and partying, I lost myself and it started to show. My paintings started to get weak and I lost my passion for art, which was hard for me since art is my life. Then one day I woke up and I started thinking in bed, why am I lying here feeling sorry for myself? This is not me. I decided to take a break from UG to work on myself and resuscitate Randy the fighter that got lost somehow. After much self-evaluating I realized my true passion and in April 2012 I started to build my business. The name ‘Velvet’ was born, and I started looking for the best companies in Guyana to work along with my business. Now Velvet is linked to the finest in Guyana, with the top rentals, cakes, caterers, graphic artist, dressmakers, dance instructors… Velvet had every contact to completely customize any event.”
Since its birth last year, Velvet has done numerous weddings at Pegasus Hotel, Promenade Gardens and many other venues around the country. As a decorator, Randy targets everyone who has a dream.
“I’m here for all Guyanese; elevating the standard of weddings in Guyana. We can take care of every aspect of your event,” he said.
For the future, Randy hopes to have his own home and Velvet headquarters by 2014. Soon, he wishes to introduce his very own line of Velvet wedding gowns and dresses to the public, along with Velvet branded invitations and tokens; basically bringing quality customized items to the Guyanese public at prices everyone can afford.
Randy said that sometimes he gets so caught up with work that he forgets about his social life. He likes hanging out with his friends when time permits. He’s addicted to Farmville on Facebook. He loves Scrabble and other board games (he has a collection of games) and he said he’s addicted to cooking and trying out recipes from his collection of cookbooks then posting the results on Facebook.
He is not a clubber and is someone who generally hates crowds. He prefers smaller settings with friends where he can chat and not have music blasting in his ears.
There was a time when he was into the whole club scene, well more rock parties, but now he describes it as “been there, done that”.
Randy said Velvet has had some help along the way and he owed gratitude to a few people who saw his talent and helped him create a successful business; Sherwyn Blackman – the co-owner of Velvet, Nancy Percival – creator of the Velvet Logo, Kriti- Sita Sugrim – Pegasus Guyana’s event management staff, Joan Ramlagan and Shanti – for all their many recommendations, 55 Photo-graphy, Fidal Bassier and Ms Nunes.
