I am pleased to be contributing a weekly feature for the weekend edition called Diaspora Dynamics, where we will focus on keeping you abreast of the activities and contributions of Vincentians in the diaspora all around the world. For my first feature, I had the pleasure of speaking with Stacey Delpesche of Redemption Sharps, a cosmetologist, and entrepreneur, based in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Redemption Song
Her soft spoken voice belies the ambition and focus propelling her to continue challenging herself to create her own pathway. I had the rare opportunity to pin lovely Stacey Delpesche, a Garifuna from Petit Bordel, down in an effort to understand what makes her tick. After approximately two decades in the USA chasing her dream of providing her two daughters with avenues to realize their own, she has found comfort in her space.
Stacey has a creative bent, expressed through her position as a custom hair colorist at a large and successful hair salon in the suburbs for the past 18 years. One of her colleagues describes her as, “super-amazing, spiritual, and supportive; inspiring me to step outside my comfort zone.” I found this to be just the tip of the iceberg.
Her journey began when she left Redemption Sharps, St. Georges, where she grew up with her grandmother, emigrating to Canada in the mid-90s.
She began supporting herself by working in early childhood education through the late 90s. On a visit to see her life partner of 25 years, she recognized the opportunity she was seeking in New York City, where they now reside in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn with their children.
After a relatively brief stint in healthcare, Stacey decided to enroll in Cosmetology School as a bridge to achieving her goal of future financial independence.
Driven by her life philosophy to, “focus on building up a conscious community,” she teamed up with business partners, fellow Vincentian Hazell McKenzie and friend Karen James from Dominica. Together they launched Les Lotus Noire, an event planning and talent management firm out.
Together, they conceive of unique, creative, pop-up, social events that showcase and promote talent, business enterprise, and creative arts for the purpose of encouraging networking and community development. Each event is structured around a specific theme.
At Executive Night Out, for instance, they hosted an event at a very chic, intimate venue in Dumbo, Brooklyn, featuring the cuisine from a variety of culinary artists from in and around the New York City, local visual and musical artists, as well as entrepreneurs for a meet and greet which was subsequently featured in Brooklyn Magazine.
Future plans for Le Lotus Noire include Fashion Night Out, a fashion event featuring Caribbean fashion designers and artists to be held at a location to be determined somewhere in the Caribbean.
Currently, Stacey is in the midst of developing a network marketing venture for a health and wellness company franchise featuring botanically based body care and beauty products that are available at www.msnaffititi.itworks.com. This new enterprise is appealing to her as it offers her the opportunity to be in control of her time and her income, and therefore in control of her personal life which is her endgame goal.
Sweetening the deal for her is that this decision is in complete alignment with her life philosophy as she also able to educate her clients on the benefits of living a healthy, holistic lifestyle.
Stacey is definitely one to watch in NYC as I have a strong suspicion she will broaden her scope, creating ripple effects springing from a deep, focused, and balanced center.
