Sonia Noel has been trending on social media and from the buzz, it appears that she is well on the way to closing 2014 with a bang.
Sonia admits that she has had “a hectic” few months, but says it has also been a productive period. She has been to the Caribbean New York Fashion Week, Belize Independence Fashion Show, Suriname Fashion Week, Guyana Expo in Florida, Haiti Fashion Week, a private show in Florida, a show in St Lucia, a show in Guadeloupe and held two private shows in New York, among other things.
She reveals too that her collection was shown in Barcelona, Spain but she did not get to attend because it was clashing with something else.
As one of the participants of the Florida Expo hosted by Go-Invest, Sonia found it disappointing. She says she has read what other participants had to say and agree with them. “Even though expos are for present and future business. It is hard when you invest funds that are already scarce and don’t feel much came out of it,” she says. Sonia adds that she was “fortunate” to have found other avenues to make the trip successful and is thankful for that. She feels the location and public relations needed to be better.
So what was behind her whirlwind globetrotting? “Guyana Fashion Week [GFW] is every two years,” she says, “so I decided to take the year to engage in overseas show which is a great chance to promote my brand and to also network for GFW.” But before the year ends she has a show in Suriname and one in Miami. After that, she will wind down and spend time with family and friends. “I thank God many times a day for blessing me with a talent I made my career and I love every minute of it,” she adds.
During this month she will host a lot of in-store and social media promotions and giveaways. One such will be a special rack where customers will be able to decide what price they are willing to pay for an outfit. She has special exclusive gowns for New Year’s Eve and her new look book is out.
As regards her magazine, she says: “makin’ style is spreading its wings. Everywhere I go, makin’ style goes with me so the networking and PR certainly increased for the magazine. Reviews on the quality and content have been consistent and we very happy about that. Lots of people are surprised that we get that high quality printing in Guyana and I must Thank FH Printing for that. We now have more overseas sales locations and we are increasing our marketing team.”
In Guyana, the magazine is available at Giftland, Shell Gas Station, Matts Record Bar, Sonia Noel Designs Barr Street, Kitty, Gordon’s Stationary in New Amsterdam and Williams Supermarket in Bartica.
“The initial plan was to have the magazine out every 4 months. But we have revisited the plan. We decided that in 2015 we will have 2 hard copy issues, online versions and a radio show. In 2016 we go back to the original plan of 3 times a year and a TV show,” she says.
Looking ahead, she notes that next year is GFW, which is a time-consuming event. “I have a few changes to that too but I will amplify on that later,” she says, adding “I have some shows to attend in Europe and South America which will be new to me but I am excited.”
In addition, the Sonia Noel Foundation for the Creative Arts will collaborate with an NGO in NY for a major event next year.
