Small Business Spotlight Feature: Toni Daley

Hey Hey Hey Beautifuls, have you heard of Toni Daley??? If not, you gone learn today😃. I was asked by one of you to do a feature on Toni and I’m so glad I did. Toni was more than willing to participate in my small business segment. Her work is absolutely amazing!!! I love her creativity and the love she has for gift!!! Don’t take my word for it….see for yourself!!! If you want to know more about Toni and her business read the Q&A below…Thank you Toni!!!

 

 

Q. What is your name and where are you from?
A. My name is Toni Daley. I’m from Toronto, Canada.
Q. Can you tell us a little about your company?
A. My website is tonidaley.com and I offer unique handmade jewelry, custom earrings and original artwork. I started about 2 years.
Q. What was your inspiration behind starting the brand and for each design?
A. My inspiration for my brand, my jewelry and my artwork is natural hair. It’s a bit of an obsession of mine! I love natural hair and because I find so much beauty in it, it’s often reflected in my artwork as well certain images within my jewelry. Although anyone can wear my jewelry I do tend to design with the naturalista in mind. I offer large bold pieces that will stand out against big dark hair, and sleek rounded designs that won’t snag in loose hair.
Q. What distinguishes Toni Daley from other brands?
A. I think there are three main things that separate me from other similar brands.
1) Originality – All my designs are my own original concepts and I like to add fresh new designs often.
2) Diversity – Although it’s obvious that my main love is natural hair my designs don’t solely focus on that. You can find an array of designs ranging from afro picks to dragons!
3) Value – I search for the best value for my materials so I can keep costs low and pass the savings down to my customers
Q. What challenges have you faced with starting the line?
A. I can’t think of a specific challenge that I had to face, it’s all been an ongoing process. I’m still learning as I go.
Q. What personal goals would you like to accomplish with your business?
A. I’d love to be able to do it full time one day.
Q. Do you have any advice that you would offer to an aspiring entrepreneur?
A. I never decided one day that I wanted to start making art, I’ve ALWAYS made art. I didn’t decide one day that I wanted to make jewelry, I’ve ALWAYS made jewelry. I’m an artist, I love to create so this has always been my hobby. I would make earrings for my family and friends and people would see them wearing my creations and then try to find out how they could get some. So my advice would be do what you love because when you love something and have a passion for it, people can see that and will seek you out.
Q. And finally, how do we get our hands on Toni Daley jewelry & art?
A. You can visit me at www.tonidaley.com
For the Naturalsita in You!!!
Q. Why did you decide to go natural?
A. I actually didn’t decide to go natural….at least not intentionally. I damaged my hair with relaxers and as an alternative started wearing braids. I ended up absolutely loving my braided styles and went through a sort of “Brandy” phase. I wore braids for 2 years straight! When I finally stopped, I fell in love with what was revealed underneath and decided not to go back to chemicals.
Q. How long have you been natural?
A. Since about 2006
Q.What has been the most rewarding part of your natural hair journey?
A. The most rewarding thing has to be YouTube. Going/being natural opened my eyes to this amazing online community full of support and love and I’m so happy to be a part of it.
Q. Has anything been a challenge on your journey?
A. I can’t think of any challenge that is specific to my natural journey. It’s been a great road so far.

 

 

Small Business Spotlight Feature: Twizted Divas Boutique

 

Peace Beautifuls, it’s my pleasure to present to you Twizted Divas!!! This business specializes in crocheted and hand painted jewelry and accessories. I’m so honored Tina reached out to me to feature Twizted Divas. Her brand is unique! The quality is awesome! If you dare to be different then check out Twizted Divas!!! To learn more about Tina and Twizted Divas, read the Q&A blow.
 

 

Q. What is your name and where are you from? 
A. Hello Diva, my name is Bettina “Tina” Lawson, I was born in Memphis but raised in Kansas City.

 

Q. Can you tell us a little about your company (name, what you offer, when established, etc)? 
A.My company is TwiZted Divas Boutique, we crochet and make hand painted jewelry and accessories. I’ve always crocheted and draw as a hobby, after losing my job a yr ago I decided i could make money doing it. So I launched an online store 2/2013
Q. What was your inspiration behind starting the brand and for each design? 
A. My inspiration stems from my love of art and fashion. I love the creativity, originality and the boldness of others. I love doing things outside the box, so a person, place or thing can spark an idea.
Q. What distinguishes Twisted Divas from other brands?
A. What distinguishes TwiZted Divas from other brands is there isn’t a specific target area of customers. What’s available now is for the ladies. We’re currently working on baby items, men items, apparel and the list goes on. Everyone can be bold, my goal is to have a wide variety of what we have to offer.

 

Q. What challenges have you faced with starting the line? 
A. Challenges faced are things such as the financial aspects that come with starting up a business and balancing it with everything else going on in my life.
What personal goals would you like to accomplish with your business? TwiZted Divas Boutique is my baby, I would like to be successful and keep growing as an entrepreneur, I’m learning new things everyday.
Q. Do you have any advice that you would offer to an aspiring entrepreneur? 
A. Patience is a virtue, it can be frustrating at times. Stay motivated and determined if its what YOU want to do. Don’t start something you don’t intend to finish, and remain positive. Go for it.
Q. And finally, how do we get our hands on Twisted Divas? 
A. Go to www.twizteddivasboutique.com (I am currently moving everything from the Etsy store to the website) Facebook: Twizted-Divas-Boutique, Instagram: twizteddivas
For the Naturlista! 
Q. Why did you decide to go natural? 
A. I decided to go natural because I got sick and tired of my hair being unhealthy from the chemical dependency of perms, it was growing past shoulder length and I could never get it to be thicker. So I chose to join the natural hair movement like so many others and I talked 2/3 daughters to do the same.
Q. How long have you been natural? Did you transition or did you big chop? 
A. I am transitioning to being natural and have been natural since April 2012.
Q. What has been the most rewarding part of your natural hair journey? 
A. The most rewarding part of going natural is even though its more work than I initially thought, I’ve noticed how much my hair has grown and how fast and thick it is.Love it. I get excited doing the length checks.
Q. Has anything been a challenge on your journey?
A. My personal challenge has been trying to figure out which products work better on my hair and stick with it. I don’t like buying alot of different products just to try them.