JAMPRENEUR

PEOPLE seeking to go into business are often told they should not just start a business, but ensure in doing so, they are solving a problem, whether it be one identified by a consumer or the prospective business person.

Well, that is just what Angelee Powell, owner and operator of Angelee Powell’s Fashion and Essentials by Angel, set out to; so this is not your typical story.

The affable young woman who is based in Montego Bay, St James did not start one, but two business lines as indicated above.

“Angelee Powell Fashion is a clothing brand that caters for female and Essentials by Angel is the natural skincare line,” Powell told the Jamaica Observer. Angelee Powell’s Fashion was established February 2019 and Essentials by Angel was established January 2021.

Getting into details she added: “I do custom-made clothing, so if people see something that they like or they imagine something, I just create it for them. The only thing I don’t do is swimwear and underwear.”

As for the skincare line, “I cater for everyone, all skin types. I do like turmeric and lemon face scrubs, soaps and wax kits. I also do natural hair growth serum for all hair types. I do carrot oil, which is good for the skin and the hair. I do body butter as well, and I do scented candles.”

She said her skincare line is all handmade, all natural ingredients which means the shelf life is no more than 12 months.

But what led her into business? Powell began first with the clothing line Angelee Powell’s Fashion.

“That line started from frustration. Because I’m pear shaped, which means I have a small top and a big bottom, whenever I go to stores, I cannot find anything to fit me. Either the top is too small or the bottom is too tight, or the bottom is too big, and top is too big. So I just got frustrated one day, and I’m like, I’m going to make my own clothes because nothing that I actually put on can actually fit me,” she said.

With that determination, Powell said she got a sewing machine for her birthday and made her first outfit for herself.

“I didn’t have any formal training. I just watched YouTube and imagine whatever I need in my head and created it,” she said.

The story of her start is similar to a few other small entrepreneurs interviewed for these Jampreneur feature over time who used YouTube as a tutorial to making products.

“It’s just like a hands-on site for you where you can just get everything and it’s more convenient than formal schooling,” Powell acknowledged.

But she said she went to get training afterwards from a fashion designer. “I did the training for about a month where I got certified.”

But Powell said getting people to accept her clothing meant she had to show them, literally, how they looked on a human being, rather than a store mannequin, which comes mostly in one size.

“At first, persons were very sceptical. They want to see what you make and everything. So what I do, whatever designs they want to see, I would normally just make it and wear it when I’m going out on the road or I would just wear one of my designs. So when persons ask me, ‘Whoa, that looks nice though’, I’m like, I made it. And they’re like, ‘Wow, really?’ and they take my contact.”

She said from that, she learnt that many people were having the same problems she was having, in that store-bought clothes were not fitting them properly.

“That’s where it started from. Persons started getting to know me just by me wearing my design.”

She said at the height of COVID, she was even contracted to make masks for two companies.

“I had my brand printed on the masks. So everybody sees it and they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s Angelee Powell,’ and that’s how I got more audience,” she continued.

But two years after she started the clothing line, Powell was to branch out again, this time in skincare products, under similar circumstances which led her to go into custom-made clothing.

“The skincare line was started because of the same thing: frustration. I had acne on my face and I couldn’t find anything that works in getting rid of them. I had a cabinet full of products for acne and they weren’t working. So I just got frustrated one day and I went into my kitchen cupboard and I got two ingredients, turmeric and sugar and I mixed them together and add some other ingredients and put it to the test by trying it on my face for a month and I saw where there was major improvement. The spots faded, my pores got smaller and my skin was evening out. I was like, ‘wow, this is something very good to market’.”

She said again, she turned to YouTube for your training and she made the products and marketed them by word of mouth, sales started.

“The skincare products go fast because persons are getting so health conscious and prefer natural things on their skin and that causes people to gravitate to Essentials by Angel,” she told Sunday Finance.

But starting was not easy. Like most budding entrepreneurs, Powell said the issue she faced most was finding capital to begin. Lacking adequate resources of her own, friends and family were tapped.

“I didn’t take any loans, so they assisted me in that area. Also the other frustration was getting the materials that I need. Ingredients for the natural skincare line are very costly and they’re very hard to find. So when you find someone that has them, it’s going to cost you a lot of money to get those resources.”

Powell said the same issues are being faced with the clothing line, the pricing and availability of materials which add their own problems.

“Persons will see me wearing something that they like and they want that material, but when you go back to the store to get it, it’s out of stock. So those were the two challenges I faced.”

She said having face those issues she went into partnership with the fabric store company, which calls her when they get stock. “And with this skincare line, I found a very reliable and convenient source that I can go to and get my products anytime.”

But why get into these lines which seem to be a target for most young women getting into business?

“I know a lot of persons are getting into that market, but at the same time, everybody is trying to get on the healthier side of life,” Powell observed as she added, “I don’t have any issues in that aspect where the competition is concerned, because I have a very good supportive team with me and whenever I create something, persons want to try it, and the word of mouth is getting it out there for me as well, as well as the Facebook and Instagram advertisements.”

Powell can be reached on Instagram at angeleepowell_fashion for the clothing line and essentialsbyangel for the skincare line. People desiring to reach out to Powell can also get her by WhatsApp at (876) 513-4372.

While her business is now conducted from home, Powell, who does everything including being the manager, the accountant and distributor, has big dreams for her lines.

“I would like to get it like in Fontana and those well visited stores. I’d also like to take it in the Caribbean and maybe around the world,” she concluded.