Sydoney Brackett has an eye for decor detail

Claudia Gardner, Assignment Coordinator

WESTERN BUREAU:

From her girlhood days growing up in Lucea, Hanover, Sydoney Brackett had an eye for decorating. Today, she has conceptualised her own home-based company Classique Business Services, which, among other things, offers interior decorating services to small businesses, offices, weddings and receptions, as well as homes across Jamaica.

"As a girl growing up, from about age eight, I would do all of the housework. At Christmas, I would do the decorating - choose the curtains, ensuring that the drapes matched the sheets, and so on. Then, when I had my own apartment in my 20s, I didn't want my home to look like the typical home, I wanted my place to be unique. I started looking at magazines for ideas. I just started setting it up and then friends would come over and say they like it," she told Outlook.

She continued, "I started out by helping friends. I would organise and decorate their homes and offices. Naturally, I am very organised, and so not having a cluttered home, but one which is appealing to the eye - for me - is an ideal home," she explained.

Following completion of her training at Sam Sharpe Teachers' College as a teacher of literacy studies, Brackett opted to venture into the hospitality industry where she served as the assistant to the general manager at one of Montego Bay's major all-inclusive hotels, and this is where she had the opportunity to get formal training in interior decorating. "I
did small courses while I was there working in administration. From
there, I just kept doing it," she said.

For Brackett,
interior decorating is not solely about using items which are brand new.
According to her, recycling is a key element in her work. "We don't
always have to spend. You can use small things and make them workable in
the home. So what I do in terms of preparation, is to conduct an
initial interview with the client to get a view of what they like, and
their personality and, based on that, I will do a design. We use
existing things that they have and choose to use, as well as refurbis,
some things that they have, to make them look brand new again," said
Brackett, who is also a past student of the Rusea's High School in
Hanover.

She continued, "Usually, people think
decorating is expensive. Normally it is not, if you know how to recycle.
Because we know many persons are facing financial constraints, we use
things from their house; walk around and look for things that they have.
Some items can be refurbished," she ended.

She said
working with local resource persons and local material from within the
area in which a project is being undertaken is a key element of her
entity.

"I don't always think about going to buy from
stores. I use local persons (artisans) to make it affordable and to make
other persons benefit from the project. So it's not just about me, but
also about ensuring that the benefits or profits from whatever project
is undertaken go to other persons in the local area," she
said.

Photos by Claudia Gardner