Designing With Glitz And Glamour
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Deidre Garland uses crystal beads for her Sachi
Designs
Sachi Designs makes cell phones, laptops and shoes sparkle. Deidre Garland custom designs selected items including lighters, shoes and belt buckles with more than 50 colors of high-quality Swarovski crystal beads.
“I’m artistic,” notes the East Honolulu resident, who has a dance background. “Once someone else sees my work on a phone, then they’ll want one too.”
The high-end product she created is a result of something she saw when she was watching Sex and the City . Actress Sarah Jessica Parker had a sparkling beaded phone, and Garland wanted to make one for herself.
“It took me about one to one and a half years to find the right adhesive to keep the beads on the phone,” she says.
Others saw her phone, and orders started coming in. It takes between six and 11 hours to do the custom work, and clients get their shiny new phone in three to five weeks from the initial meeting. Garland advises her customers to use their new phone for a while before having it beaded to make sure it’s one they’ll like and want to keep.
Garland also offers premade items including beaded business card cases, iPods and compact mirrors, which can be found locally at select shops like Silver Star in Waikiki, the Ihilani Resort and Spa, and Misfortune at Ward Centre.
Her marketing plan includes reaching out to the Mainland celebrity market via stores in Los Angeles, and future ties to some big screen features. Locally, she appeared on the recent premiere episode of
Hawaii In Style which airs on OC16 Mondays at 7:30 p.m.
Garland also makes beaded hairbrushes, baby first brush/comb sets - and yes, pet accessories.
“I like detail,” she says noting that her company name is a take off of her middle name, Sachiye.
Her husband, James, and her two sons Ethan, 2, and Scott, 5 are supportive of her endeavor, as is her assistant, Mariko Merritt.
Garland advises others starting a business to write down a business plan so you know exactly what it is that you want to sell.
“You should also research the market demand for merchandise to sell on the Mainland, because that market is very different from Hawaii,” she adds.
For more information, call 232-4782 or log onto www.sachidesigns.com
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