At first, the gift sets look like over-sized ice cream sundaes, rich cakes, swiss rolls and cupcakes. On closer inspection, you realise that these yummy-looking treats aren’t edible. But that doesn’t mean that
you want them any less.Shelley-Ann Harris started doing origami (the
Asian art of folding two-dimensional surfaces, like paper, into three
dimensional art) earlier this year, just as an experiment.
“I love art. I paint landscapes and portraits with acrylics; I’ve had exhibitions and I’m a member of the Art Society of T&T.” Harris also has a certificate course in art and figurative drawing from the
University of the West Indies under her belt, so, her fascination with
origami was natural. What was unusual was her medium: towels.
“When I decided to try fold a towel, it came out like a doughnut. I also love food and baking, so I decided to continue folding the towels to look like food. That’s how I got the idea, and it also gave me a
great idea for the name of the business: Heavenly Delights.”
(Heavenly Delights creator Shelley-Ann Harris)
Heavenly Delights has been around for five months, and Harris’ client list has snowballed from that first sale in July. “My first customer was my grandmother. I was trying to do a two-layer cake, and she bought
it as a birthday present for someone.”
Due to an increasing buzz via telephone and Facebook, Harris has custom designed gift sets for all occasions—birthdays, baby and wedding showers, Mother’s Day and Father’s day.“I’ve already started designing
some for Carnival and Valentine’s Day,” she added. Her artistic eye is
always on the lookout for inventive and pretty containers for these
designs. And the response is not surprising.
Many observers first think that her designs are real edible treats. “There are people who have come by me and ask for a slice of the cake! And when I tell them what they are, they’re very shocked. People can
take them out and bathe with them, because some of the sets have soaps
disguised as cherries or leaves. Some of the bath sets now have body
wash inside as well. They also do well as centre piece decorations.”
Heavenly Delights has now become Harris’ full-time job. “Just for the Christmas season, because of the demand. Because I just started, I’d like to accumulate enough capital first. So I need more time to put
together capital to have my own place.”
For now, she makes the sets to client’s colour specifications. Harris also has a display table in her living room and posts photos online. “Facebook is amazing and fantastic. My friends have been forwarding it,
so everybody is out there networking for me. Sales have gone up
especially with that.” She credits her family as her base of support for
this business. “They were actually my first customers. And I am very
grateful for all their help and support.”
