Businesswoman Kesia Estwick wants to bring peace and happiness to your home. Through her relatively young business, My Zen, she intends do just that with unique pieces.
Known more as a fashion designer whose Kiss The Girl line has graced international catwalks, she is using her talents to create throw cushions, accent pillows, plant pots, candles, curtains and bed linens.
She told the BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY she always wanted to get into interior decorating and given the clothing line was seasonal in nature and sales were slowing down, now was as good a time as any to step assertively into this aspect of her business.
“My Zen is very young; I started earlier this year. It is always something I wanted to do, even before I got into fashion designing. I just like to use my hands – cooking fashion designing. It started as just a hobby while I was doing Kiss. I started during the down period,” Estwick said.
She will not be giving up the fashion designing though, as she explained that is still a main source of income. However, she said that even though she has her regular customers, this summer was slower than last year.
It was in February this year that she exhibited some of the products in her line at Girlfriends Expo.
“There was a good response. People were interested, including a wedding planner. I would say there was a really good response,” she added.
Since then she has done throw pillows, accent cushions and floral arrangements for clients. The flowers were made from scratch using wood for stems and fabric for the flower petals. It was harder to create the petals, she said, as she explained the process, but she got it done.
With less than 90 days until Christmas, the businesswoman is optimistic about offering her home accents to a number of clients.
The plant pots will be up-cycled, with her using regular pots and applying the papier mâché technique to give them a unique look. The candles will also be different as will be bed linens. Everything she makes will be branded My Zen.
Estwick said it makes her feel good knowing she and her works serve as inspiration for others and related meeting someone recently at a mall who told her “all your work is on my walls”.
“I was flattered. It is very encouraging,” was how she summed it up.
The interior decorator got a loan from Fund Access last year for both her clothing line and the home accents, which she said would be affordable.
Although she is looking to set up a space at a south coast hotel during the upcoming winter tourist season, she is presently operating from her Coles Terrace, St Philip based home.
Estwick is optimistic there will be a good blend of local and tourist traffic interested in her offerings.
You will not find any of those cheap “Made In Barbados” souvenirs in the shop either. She will happily be creating unique pieces that will remind visitors of their time in the sun.
The young entrepreneur knows what she wants and stands ready to go after it. As she moves along this journey she intends to please her customers, bringing a sense of peace and happiness to their homes with her handcrafted, My Zen line.
