Naicy Allete Coosnapa: Adding value to simple objects through paintings

Having been a housewife for several years, Naicy Allete Coosnapa decided to take on a new challenge. She decided to set up her own business in a field which fuels her passion, glass painting. The six years spent as an entrepreneur has rendered her more confident in everything that she does. Regular objects such as glasses, flutes, bowls, vases, plates form part of Naicy daily activities. In 2008, the housewife launched her company under the name of ‘Naicy Design’. Her speciality was glass painting, a passion she had had since childhood. However, she says, to be able to survive in a particular business, the need to diversify is inevitable. This is why throughout the years, she has widened her services by learning pyrography on wood. Her objective is to transform simple objects into valuable and personalised pieces. “I have always been fascinated by anything related to art. When my children grew up, I started feeling bored at home. Therefore, I decided to study painting just to kill time. As I was learning, I noticed that there are so many things that can be achieved through painting. In fact, painting is not limited to paper. At that time, painting on glass particularly struck me,” narrates this resident of Curepipe. This is how Naicy got into this adventure.

Word of mouth

However, taking courses was not enough. To follow the trend and learn new techniques, Naicy keeps on searching and learning on the internet. This technique of decorative painting, she says, is a manual activity but also an art that uses several simple tricks. “This is basically decorating simple objects with special paint and brushes using specific type of colours,” stresses the entrepreneur. However, one important factor that needs to be considered is that the paint should be non-toxic, and more importantly once dry, it must withstand washing.

BIO Naicy is married and mother of two daughters. “To avoid conflicts, I make a good planning. There should be an ideal balance between work and family. In fact, this is what every woman entrepreneur should do to be able to succeed in both personal and professional life,” she suggests. Naicy believes that it is never too late to engage in entrepreneurship. Thus, she says, housewives should not hesitate to take the challenge. “In addition to contributing to the family budget, it is also a hobby,” she proudly says.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"10159","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-16309 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"237","height":"316","alt":"naicy1"}}]]Naicy displays her products in a shop in Rose-Hill. “We belong to an association regrouping more that 30 women entrepreneurs. Our products are for sale in a shop in Galleries Evershine in Rose Hill. Regrouping allows us to attract a larger customer base,” she says. Her marketing is mainly done by word of mouth. “Nowadays, Mauritians look for original and unique pieces to offer as gifts and I fulfil these kinds of demand. I create create original and personalised gifts at affordable prices,” she indicates. The Glass Painting products are sold at prices varying between Rs 50 and Rs 400 depending on the size and surface type. “For weddings, I work out on duet champagne flutes, and offer other decorative services on glasses, vases, decanters, mirrors, jewellery boxes, etc,” she continues. The woman entrepreneur has observed an increasing demand for her products. “I often participate in fairs and exhibitions which confer an opportunity to increase sales and render my products more visible,” she says. Usually, on a normal day, she decorates three to four objects. However, for Mother’s Day, Christmas and the New Year, she receives a lot of orders for which she would work until late at night. “I can sell an average of 30 products during these periods,” she highlights. Besides Mauritian clients, the entrepreneur has lots of foreign customers in Grand Bay where she often exhibits her products in tourist shops. Naicy pays particular attention to the colour and the drawings in her works. “I always look for new designs on the internet so as to offer a range of products to satisfy everyone,” she says. She also focuses on the packaging because she believes the presentation of a gift plays a very important role. Her dream: to set up her own shop. But she says she does not want to embark on this project by taking a bank loan. Thus, she has to wait a few years until she has saved enough.