Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Pridgeon. Them and their team share their story with us below:
The story of Erin and Sarah, two friends and neighbors, who became closer neighbors (literally across the street), even closer friends, and then founders of Laurel Reath, began during a time that brought families (back) together, a growing sense for communities and individual mindfulness. 2020 not only marked a year of a worldwide pandemic but also shifted lives in so many ways – ours included. While Erin’s job as a creative IT consultant was impacted slightly less by Covid, Sarah, who always had a passion for design including a degree in architecture, got to experience this involuntarily extra time off. At that time, she was working for another local small business creating apparel graphics specializing in spas, resorts, and active studios which were quickly shut down. A shift of purpose became imminent.
Being bound to home and having extra time available, Erin and Sarah noticed that so many people turned to new creative outlets just to make it through including themselves. While Erin had just purchased a new home and had a blank canvas to work with, Sarah was in the middle of her own outdoor remodel. We shared concepts, ideas, usages, and colors. We continued sending each other pictures of products that were useful and added decorative value to our homes.
While these were already signs leading up to creating Laurel Reath, it wasn’t until our friends (also neighbors) asked us to plan their baby shower (for the cutest baby boy named Hudson) that we knew what to do next. While thriving on a true passion for unique decor and its personal touch to make this special event even more unique, we understood that it was beyond just supporting our artisans (neighbors and friends) during this challenging time but involving them and their beautiful creative skills throughout that special day.
That’s how the idea of Laurel Reath was born.
Since our focus is on local artisans and their one-of-a-kind talents, we also wanted a name representing that. Not only do we live and work in a community called Laureate Park, but so do most of our artisans. All its streets were named after true laureates, and back in the day, those creative skilled persons were honored by wearing a crown as a wreath.
We honor local artisans by showcasing their unique creations – minus the actual wreath wearing.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Like any new and small business, there are challenges, especially when starting out and even more so when its presence is limited to online only. We don’t think challenges will subside at any point, nor should they since they mean continuous growth. With the support of our families, friends, and neighbors those obstacles though are much easier to navigate. Being a new business in a newly developed region of Orlando called Lake Nona, we need to get our name out there and what we represent. We are surrounded by so many individuals with such incredible talents that we can’t afford to ignore the potential impact they could and should have on our community. Our current struggle is definitely brand awareness and we are so thankful for this opportunity with the Orlando Voyageur to spread our mission and get noticed.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We are an online boutique (hopefully a brick and mortar in the future) offering creative home decor and lifestyle accessories while featuring local artisans and their handmade products. We offer a wide range from home to outdoors, pets, kids, fashion pieces, and seasonal items. Our artisans specialize in crafts(wo)manship that includes glass fusion, leather creations, woodturning, crochet masterpieces, hand-drawn art pieces, eco-friendly candle making, and local fun merchandise. At Laurel Reath we will never run out of ideas or creativity. We want to connect you to handcrafted decor on a personal level…one artisan at a time. That’s why every artisan has his/her page on our website including behind-the-scenes pictures and interview questions. We want you to get to know the real people behind the products they create and accentuate their undeniable quality.
While offering our customers unique products, we also empower our artisans to focus solely on their creativity by taking care of everything else business-related. They don’t have to worry about setting up an online presence via a website, interacting on social media, being concerned about timely handling of shipments, or being discouraged by all the official paperwork necessary to be credited as a legit and protected small business entity. We enable them to just focus on their passion and help them push the envelope for new ideas, inspiration, opportunity, and growth.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
We learned that we weren’t the only ones with a longing desire to be part of something and supporting each other if that entailed helping our community, neighbors, friends, and family. Now that we were told to stay isolated and at home, the desire luckily wasn’t eradicated but on the contrary, grew much stronger. We, for example, helped sew masks for our surrounding hospitals here in Medical City. We feel that the Covid crisis made people more alert of helping lift each other, that we are indeed stronger as a whole vs. each on their own. Our neighborhood did really well in coming together and supporting small businesses.
Pricing:
- We take pride in offering our customers a transparent shopping experience. They can take a sneak peek of our artisans’ behind-the-scenes pictures creating their goods, and just because it’s handmade in the USA doesn’t mean that our products can’t compete in pricing with the regular big box store offerings. For everyone that appreciates local craftsmanship and unique products that represent quality and durability with options for customization, you will love what we have in store for you at Laurel Reath. With us, you can find great gifts starting as little as $4 for one-of-a-kind and locally inspired magnets, glass fused jewelry for $15 and specialty baseball hats for $24, home decor products like hand-painted bud vases as low as $8, wood turned serving bowls and leather valet trays starting at $18.
Contact Info:
- Email: yourfriends@laurelreath.com
- Website: www.laurelreath.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurelreath
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurelreath
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/LaurelReath
Image Credits
Sarah Pridgeon
