Meet Ivy Nichols | Entrepreneur & Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ivy Nichols and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ivy, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have always loved making creative things and doing art projects. When I was a child and overwhelmed or frustrated, sometimes my mom would sit me down in front of the art cabinet, and I would just make random things and it would bring me peace and joy. In high school, I spent much of my free time making elaborate projects, some of which took 40 or more hours to create – everything from making a quiver, recovering my sword sheath, hand-sewing costumes without patterns, and making elaborate Narnian-inspired crowns, and other jewelry. After college I had gotten stuck in a dead-end job, and thought it would be fun to start my own business, in the goal that eventually I could work from home doing what I love, and if I eventually get married and have children, would be able to spend more time with them while managing my business part-time. I chose to start with jewelry because it was something I had experience creating before, something with an appeal to a wide audience and a decent profit margin for the time spent making it, and I felt there was a hole in the market for a well-known brand that was affordably priced, good quality, and feminine, while capturing a fairytale-esque style. This year I have branched out into two additional brands – one for lightly hand-bedazzled womens athletic clothes, and one for gorgeous non-toxic candles, and coming soon stationary and other related items.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
To the question “Was it easy?” Absolutely not. Was it fulfilling? Absolutely. I think something that sets my brand apart from other brands is the commitment to excellence for a price regular people can afford. I use the highest quality wax, wicks, and fragrance oils I could find so that they are non-toxic, pet safe, and vegan. I looked through thousands of candle jars, and as many features and processes as I could get my hands on to make the highest quality products available on the market for the prices (as far as I have found through extensive research). I hand-bedazzle the athletic clothes I sell with Swarovski-quality crystals, and the clothes are comfy and gorgeous, without being over-done. The jewelry is tarnish resistant, non-toxic, and so darling, if I do say so myself. All of my items – candles, athletic clothes, and jewelry, come beautifully gift-wrapped, and I can truly say I am very proud of each product line and have poured much research, time, effort and resources into making them what I feel are some of the best on the market. And, I am always looking to improve and innovate more, so am excited to see what the future holds for making each brand truly dazzling.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There is so much to do in DFW! It’s truly a great place to live. We would probably eat at Velvet Taco, Thai Star, Mehfil – an awesome and affordably-priced Indian restaurant, and the most incredible taco truck in the world (I am convinced), Tacos Eduardos. We might also check out my friend Julian’s delicious next-gen Mexican restaurant, Beto & Son. She also loves crafts, so we would probably go to Hobby Lobby, collab on our businesses together (she does incredible nail art (Azy’s Nails), and we have been planning to coordinate for quite some time), and then go to one of the monthly themed ballroom dances I plan for my dance group, Swinging on a Star. We have an Arabian Nights Masquerade Ball coming up, so hopefully it would be during that time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I could not have come this far without the help of my family, who helped so much with festivals, feedback, and encouragement. At the beginning of covid we even had a whole-family assembly line where we made hundreds of some of the highest quality masks available at the time. Recently I have my boyfriend to thank as well, who has helped me a LOT with festivals this year, loading and unloading the car, and with setup and takedown as well as encouragement and optimization of things. I’d also like to thank the Lord, without whose direction and opening doors and so much provision, I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere. Lastly, my mom deserves a very special shoutout, for the many, many late nights she has stayed up with me preparing for festivals, for being the best saleslady at festivals when I was totally exhausted, and for the honest and encouraging feedback and advice along the way.

Website: Goldberryscottage.com, atalantadesigns.com, https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaPaperieEnchantee

Instagram: @goldberryscottage, @swingingonastarballroom, @atalantaathleticdesigns, @lapaperieenchantee

Facebook: www.facebook.com/goldberryscottage, facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569307478277, facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550679966047, facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556601975108

Other: Tiktok: @lapaperieenchantee, @goldberryscottage, @atalantaathleticdesigns

Image Credits
Marco Morales