If she concedes that her own pursuit of a career in creative disciplines arose out of being “first pushed by my mother,” Shonta Noel is quick to add that she had always been aware of the need “to be my own person” rather than to dwell “in the shadow of my mother.”
Mind you, there is no mistaking the high esteem in which Shonta holds her mother, Sonia, who has made her own waves in the local fashion industry. That, however, hardly precludes her from declaring with an unmistakable bluntness that whilst, with some persuasion from Sonia she had once paid an interest in fashion designing, that dalliance was brief. “I did not like it,” she declared. Afterwards, she was solely preoccupied with telling her own story.
These days Shonta runs her own ‘show’ as the proprietrix of Crafted By Chey, a 60-61 Croal Street establishment that specialises in the creation of ‘nice things’… event invitations, cake boxes, decorative party bags, customised and elaborately designed cake boxes and décor created to the particular tastes of her clients.
When we looked up Crafted by Chey on the entity’s Facebook page, we found it listed as a Gift Shop, Arts & Crafts Store and Event Planner, the evidence suggesting that Shonta is backing herself as a multi-talented creator.
Currently in the fourth year of running her establishment, she appears satisfied that her creative skills have set her on a path to making a name for herself. The décor aspect of the Crafted by Chey establishment was launched back in January and when she spoke with the Stabroek Business earlier this week Shonta seemed upbeat about the challenge of taking the new pursuit places.
Her real strength, she says, reposes in her innovative disposition and her preparedness to try new things. “What I started with is not entirely what I’m doing now,” she says.
She explains that simultaneous with the honing of her craft she was also challenged to develop the ‘people skills’ associated with marketing herself and her talents, by no means an easy task, she says, in a field that has, over time, become fiercely competitive. Here, she concedes that despite her fierce determination to be her “own person” her work in support of Sonia’s events has helped to build her own profile.
Time was when she used to work out of her home. Working these days from her “own space,” she says, creates a feeling “of control.”
The recent launch of the décor aspect to her enterprise has re-energized her after she had taken a break last year. Currently, she says, the establishment is enjoying a sufficiently good period to cause her to have to secure the services of a friend as a helper. “I’m a good teacher and we work well together,” she says.
Watching the creative sector in which she is now thoroughly immersed challenges Shonta to continue to make her mark. She talks animatedly of the space that she has created in the sector for her own particular skills and the contribution that her pursuits have made to her growth as a person. “When creativity is involved you have to wow your client,” she says. It is that challenge, she concedes, that she is enthusiastically embracing.
Gradually, over time, she has come to understand the sector in which she works. Tastes are evolving and the growth in the market for ‘pretty things’ has made the sector increasingly competitive. There are, as well, challenges associated with engaging a market which is not always appreciative of the skills associated with the pursuits of creative people.
Our clients value our talents but then there are others who don’t.” she says.
Shonta Noel can be reached on Facebook and Instagram: Follow us on IG: @craftedbychey
Phone: (592)668-3019
