Fabulousity Table Decor and Event Planning, owned by Navisha McLean Gordon, specialises in themed events, a business which she says has grown solely out of the recommendations from clients. The company has spread geographical impact from its centre of operations in Portmore, St Catherine to Kingston and St Andrew and beyond.

McLean Gordon told the Jamaica Observer, “This all started with my many “godchildren”. I was always the one to decorate for their birthday parties with just a few items that the parents would get from abroad. Each time I did the designs, I would receive a call telling me how people loved the design and wanted to know who did it. The rest is history.”

The events management specialist commented, “I would say my God-given gift was coming to life there and then. Later I developed a passion and the Lord just paved the way.” After one year of doing more and more events, the company was registered in 2018 and today employs four people including delivery personnel.

Services at Fabulousity Table Decor and Event Planning are tailored to meet the demands of each client. McLean Gordon shares, “When a customer calls and describes [his/her] event, I first need to know which package [he/she] is interested in and the budget. Knowing the budget helps me to create a beautiful design around a theme.”

Products are used according to packages. Different events are themed for uniqueness. McLean Gordon says a birthday party for a child would include themed props, balloons, cake and other pastries, and possibly more.

The decor CEO explains, “A client’s budget of $70,000 would not include items that are used in an event budgeted at $135,000. Therefore a client’s working budget is very critical to the service that is provided. All services are fabulously creative and uniquely designed.”

The biggest business line for the events company are birthday dinners and parties, with McLean Gordon explaining, “People more often celebrate this event as a special milestone.”

Fabulousity Table Decor and Event Planning is the entrepreneur’s first and only business. She says that the target market is just about everyone with a need to celebrate or entertain. Events revolve around children’s birthdays, newborns, those with a desire to get married, those celebrating anniversaries/birthdays, farewells, family reunions, to name a few.

Initial challenges experienced in starting her business included the need to rent all items needed for decoration. Renting was easy but not necessarily the most cost-effective way to run the business.

McLean Gordon reflects, “Starting the business, I had to use a strategy that would sometimes seem “penny-wise and pound-foolish”. Thank God it worked. I never had to seek a ‘start-up’ capital, as this strategy worked. I would ensure that a client’s budget is uniquely tailored and would be sufficient to cover all of what was needed.”

However, the entrepreneur has been challenged by conditions brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic. For three and a half months after the first case of the disease, all business ceased.

McLean Gordon said, “There was no business coming in for that time and with Government protocols and restrictions, events became few and far apart.” However, after that time engagements have begun again with the woman stating, “I give thanks to the Almighty God for what he made possible. As a sole proprietor and small business owner I consider myself blessed as I continue to commit my time, effort and thought in every single detail of each job. This for me is a total investment [of myself]. Each and every client must be well-pleased and satisfied at the end of the day, so I take pride in what I do to make that happen. And as my tagline says ‘Relax and let us do the work for you’ [and] that’s exactly what we do.”

She ended, “Fabulousity brings your theme to life in a creative and fabulous way… uniquely and exceptionally different in every way. We can be found on Instagram @fabulousity_table_decor; and Facebook: Fabulousity Table Decor.”