Lavender Tales Bridals celebrate a decade in business
Emily Nikanor, Founder of Lavender Tales Bridals celebrated a decade in business at a recently held event.
With keynote speaker, the Founder of Karibu Flowers, Lydia Jacobs, social influencers, business partners and media in attendance, her celebration in the industry was a symbolic meaning to show other women in business that it is possible to scale their business.
At the launch, Nikanor shared her experience with those in attendance.
Born in a northern small town, called Oshikuku, Nikanor identifies Lavender Tales as a bridal boutique and consultancy operating in Windhoek, known for its service, tranquil setting, and wide selection of designer gowns.
“Making every woman’s dream come true by providing the wedding dress of their choice was my main goal throughout my business. I saw a gap when I got married 11 years ago and wanted to afford every bride to be a pleasurable experience finding her dream dress. Growing a business and starting a business comes from small steps and processes. It is not an easy journey but all worth it when you experience scaling in your business,” she delightfully noted.
Nikanor started her bridal shop in Swakopmund in a two-bedroom apartment, where she made one bedroom for designing and the living room for consultations. After moving back to Windhoek in 2014 she continued her business from home and eventually found space in the City Center for a formal shop in 2016 and by then she has dressed over 300 brides. To date, she has served over 1000 wedding dresses and catered to brides from Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Finland, Sweden, Germany and USA.
Lavender Tales currently has a team of 6 employees, including Emily as the founder.
Despite challenges experienced during Covid 19 she encourages business owners to embrace setbacks, as they catapult into greater experiences. “Lavender Tales’ biggest achievement so far is that we’re still standing despite many challenges, such as COVID- 19 which made us close shop for almost two months,” she added. Emily states that she has grown as an entrepreneur, and businesswoman to a point where she is willing to mentor other entrepreneurs. One of the biggest lessons Emily has learned is that
“if you’re in business try to have as much control over your products so that you can determine the
delivery dates, quality, output and just the general process. If most of your production is under your control then you can be able to have your business in control,’’ she added.
Speaking at the celebration Lydia Jacobs applauded Nikanor for her perseverance and the ability to still operate despite a global pandemic.
“I salute women in business and encourage ourselves to motivate and encourage others in this difficult period to invest in our local businesses. It was no doubt in my mind when I got married that I would make use of Lavender Tales Bridal Services. They did justice to my big day and I am confident
that many of their customers have received service beyond their expectations. Let us invest in our people to keep them in business and not by asking for discounts. Let us pay for their service and recommend it to the next. The one unique factor about Lavender Tales Bridal is the spiritual ambience you feel, once you step into their studio,” she admitted.
In attendance were previous customers such as the business owner of Premium Wear, Nomvula Mapolombo – Mbwaluh. “Emily and her team delivered more than what I expected. Her team was professional, on time and made my wedding a dream come true. I still look in awe at my wedding pictures and the ease of not worrying about the most important thing which was the dress for me,” she said.
Daisry Mathias highlighted the realities around women’s economic empowerment and commended Lavender Tales Bridal for marking a decade in business.
“Personified, Namibia is a 21-year-old black female residing in a rural area. So, to achieve truly inclusive growth, we have to unshackle whatever is limiting the 21-year-old black woman from maximizing her potential. Emily, you embody the Namibian dream of a job and generational wealth creation, economic growth through value addition, and economic empowerment by owning and managing a productive economic asset. This is the transformation we want to see,” she stated.
Apart from offering Bridal gowns, Lavender Tales Bridals also offers Marriage Counselling, facilitated by Nikanor herself who is also a Certified Marriage Counselor. She finds her real fulfilment through couples’ therapy. “Gods’ granted me a gift that’s greater than making dresses but through my business to allow couples to start a firm foundation on his word navigating through many challenges that may come along its way,” Nikanor cautioned.
Lavender Tales Bridal scaled its business by launching its online shopping website which will allow a customer eccentric experience from the first week of May. Apart from its tech-savvy approach they still embrace the walk-in experience and have teamed up strategically with others in the industry such as AM Photography and Ada s Creation.
As they expand their partnerships with more partners to be added, the ultimate aim is to allow a first-time bride to receive all services through a click of a button and a one-stop-shop approach.
For more information contact Lavender Tales Telephone: +264 81 755 1600 E-mail: [email protected] You may visit their social media pages on both Instagram and Facebook @lavendertalesbridals
Frt left: Lydia Jacobs, Emily Nikanor Back left: Daisry Mathias, Nomvula Mapolombo – Mbwaluh
