• WIndhoek Express Focus

Lavender Tales Bridals ­celebrates a decade

- 2022-05-23 00:00:00

Emily Nikanor, founder of Lavender Tales Bridals, recently celebrated her 10th anniversary in business.
Born Oshikuku, Lavender Tales is a bridal boutique and consultancy operating in Windhoek and is known for its personal service, tranquil setting, and wide selection of designer gowns.
Speaking at the anniversary, the founder of Karibu Flowers, Lydia Jacobs, shared with social influencers, business partners and media in attendance, that the celebration was also a symbol showing other women in business that it is possible to scale up their business.
At the save event, Nikanor shared her experience with those in attendance.
“Making every woman’s dream come true by providing a wedding dress of their choice was my main goal. I saw a gap when I got married 11 years ago and wanted to afford every bride a pleasurable experience finding her dream dress. Starting and growing a business comes from small steps and processes. It is not an easy journey but well worth it when you experience growth in your business.”
Nikanor started her bridal shop in a two-bedroom apartment in Swakopmund, using one bedroom for designing and her living room for consultations.
After moving back to Windhoek 2014, she continued her business from home and eventually found space in the city centre for a formal shop in 2016. By then she had dressed over 300 brides. To date, she has delivered over 1000 wedding dresses and catered to brides from Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Finland, Sweden, Germany and USA.
Going strong
Lavender Tales currently has a team of six employees, including Emily.
Despite challenges 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.”
Emily said 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 have as much control as possible over your products so that you can determine delivery dates, quality, output and the general process. If most of your production is under control, then you will have your business under control.”
In attendance at the celebration were clients including Premium Wear business owner, Nomvula Mapolombo-Mbwaluh, who said that Emily and her team delivered more than what she 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 for me, was the dress.”
Advisor to the President Daisry Mathias highlighted the realities around women’s economic empowerment and commended Lavender Tales Bridal for achieving a decade in business. “Personified, Namibia is a 21-year-old black female residing in a rural area. So, to achieve growth that is truly inclusive, we have to unshackle whatever is limiting the 21-year-old black woman from maximizing her potential. Emily, you embody the Namibian dream of 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.”
But wait, there’s more
Apart from offering bridal gowns, Lavender Tales Bridals also offers marriage counselling facilitated by Nikanor herself who is also a certified marriage counsillor.
Lavender Tales Bridal scaled up its business by launching an online shopping website which allows a customer-centric experience.
Apart from its tech-savvy approach, they ­continue to embrace the walk-in experience and have teamed up with others in the industry including AM Photography and Ada’s Creation.
As Nikanor continues to expand her partnerships, the ultimate aim is to allow a bride to receive all services through a click of a button and a one-stop-shop approach.
Contact Lavender Tales Bridals at 081 755 1600 or [email protected], or visit their social media pages on both Instagram and ­Facebook @lavendertalesbridals.