Nneka is the Creative Director & Head Designer of the bespoke luxury bridal and formal gown brand – Brides by NoNA. Lover of all things classy and sophisticated chic! Born with a creative mind and a brain that can’t seem to stop multitasking. Nona operates her business from Atlanta, Georgia but serves both domestic and international clientele. Happily married to her sweetheart for eight years and they are blessed with a super stunning daughter, who seems to have an affinity for fashion {I wonder where she got that from}.
Your Brand In Three Words… Luxury, Sophisticated, Timeless
The Part of My Job I Enjoy The Most? I actually have two: 1) Client interaction, and 2) Client satisfaction. It feels isolating when I get busy with sketching, garment design & construction so I love it when I can interact with my clients over the phone and especially in person. I also love it when I see my clients’ faces light up at the first sight of their gowns — it’s very much like love at first sight.
What’s the most difficult part of your job? The extra long hours. Since I create garments from scratch, the process is extremely detail oriented and that requires a lot of time and physical man hours which makes it challenging for me to juggle both family life and the business. Whatever the case, my mantra never changes — family always comes before work!
My Biggest Accomplishment To Date… Being named on Okay Africa’s list of “10 African Wedding Dress Designers To Know” as well as Ladybrille Magazine’s “20 Influential African Women Entrepreneurs & Leaders in America to Watch in 2016”. Another big accomplishment coming soon — can’t reveal it now 🙂
Do you think Nigerian wedding vendors are well respected? I think vendors in general are well respected for their talent and skill regardless of nationality, skin color or race. My father taught me this one principle which I hold on to dearly. It is actually a verse from the Bible and it goes as follows: “Have you seen a man who is expert in his business? He will take his place before kings; his place will not be among low persons.” – Proverbs 22:29. So I do think that skilled Nigerian wedding vendors are well respected for the creative work they keep putting forth and for the great strides they are making in the industry.
The Best Vendor You’ve Worked With… To be honest, I have worked with so many great vendors I would need the entire interview just to name them all.
One Quality Every Nigerian Wedding Vendor Must Have and Why? Integrity — do what you say and say what you do. Keep the lines of communication open and honest. Be quick to apologize and make remedies where you fall short.
Most Embarrassing/Awkward Experience… I actually thought hard and long about this question but I still came up blank. I haven’t had one with regards to the business. But in my personal life — MANY! lol!
Does anything scare you? Of course — my dreams and aspirations. When I think about them and brainstorm on strategies to achieve them I, get pretty scared. However, you know the saying: “If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough!” – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
What makes you laugh? I love children. They have such an unadulterated spirit and being in their company gets me really cracking. They say and do the funniest things and I just love them. I have been a volunteer at my local church teaching the babies in the two to three year old class for the past five years and I always look forward to having an amazing time with “my babies”.
What’s the best souvenir you’ve gone home with from a wedding you’ve attended/worked at? I have received some amazing and very creative souvenirs at weddings but my absolute favorite has to be from a Nigerian wedding I attended in Barbados two years ago. We were given these beautiful goodie bags that were filled with snacks and candies from our childhood days growing up in Nigeria. When I opened up my bag, seeing those items brought back so many great memories of my childhood back in Nigeria and that meant so much to me because I have been living away from Nigeria for almost two decades now.
Your thoughts on social media? When used the right way, social media is an extremely powerful tool. It connects you with and educates you about parts of the world you never knew existed. I will always use social media for social and business purposes while being careful not to fall prey to its addictive tendency.
Do you ever Google yourself or your company and what did you find? Ha ha! I do this all the time! My clients Google my company so I have to be aware of what’s represented out there about my company. It’s very important to view your company through the eyes of your “potential” clients. With the advent of Google and several other search engines at our disposable in this modern age, the average client is much more equipped to make “educated” purchases so before the client books a vendor they will typically dig up as much information on the vendor via search engines and social media platforms.
What did I find? Thankfully, nothing negative. I found mostly articles written on my previous campaigns showcasing my collections.
In my Spare Time, I relax, put my feet up and movie binge with my family. It’s the best feeling in the world!
Interesting Fact about You… I will make it more interesting and tell you two facts:
1) I am a twin. We are fraternal. I am the quiet one while she is the boisterous, talkative one. Please don’t tell her I said so 🙂
2) I am double jointed so I have two ankle bones on each leg and two wrist bones on each hand. My husband is still fascinated by this.
Where do you feel most at home? Anywhere in the world as long as I am in the presence of my family.
What Songs Are Currently on Replay?
- I Hope You Dance – Mandisa
- You Are Great – Steve Crown
- Guilty – Newsboys
- Drops In The Ocean – Hawk Nelson
- More Than You Think I Am – Danny Gokey
- Dansaki – Lara George
What Book are you currently reading, or what was the last book you read? Yikes! I dislike reading a whole lot actually. I know that’s bad. The last book I read was “Battlefield Of The Mind” by Joyce Meyer.
Confession: I still haven’t finished reading it…three years later.
Call or Text… Text. I get a quicker response and I can see if they have read it or not as is the case with Blackberry Messenger or WhatsApp.
Cook or Be Cooked For? Be cooked for. I am very detailed in anything I do so it takes me hours to cook because I take my time to prepare all the ingredients. For that reason I’d rather be cooked for.
Favorite Food… Jollof rice with stewed chicken. I can eat it all day every day!
Favorite Movie… “300” — I have watched it almost ten times now and I am not tired of it.
What’s your favourite item of clothing? Five-inch stilettos — they make any outfit look good!
Ideal Holiday Destination… Anywhere in the world as long as I am with my family.
Any Pets? Nope. I’m not an animal lover at all. I’m scared of dogs; and cats give me the creeps. My daughter loves animals so I’m praying she doesn’t ask for a pet.
What would we find on your bedside table? My watch, wedding rings, my cell phone and a bottle of water.
3 Guests For Dinner, who would they be?
- Pastor E.A. Adeboye — great spiritual leader
- Mark Zuckerberg — great business mind
- Elie Saab — great fashion couturier