December 17, 2021, 11:52 AM
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Say what you want about Naomi Neo—she's giving you more to talk about.
The latest development in the 25-year-old influencer/mom-of-two/Lamborghini owner's life?
She has launched her own accessory label, NNCHANTED (enchanted).
And it's been a long time coming.
"The entire process, including conceptualisation and delays due to Covid-19, took about 1.5 years in total," Neo told Mothership. "But I’ve been dreaming of this idea for years!"
The debut collection has three items: two multi-purpose chains, and a scrunchie that can be unzipped to store knick-knacks.
The chains cost S$55 and S$65, while the latter, called the stashchie duo, is priced at S$50 for a set of two.
The point, Neo said, was to make convenience stylish.
It's not cheap, for sure, but the scrunchie is supposed to be unique.
After all, it only came about after the influencer realised that she couldn't find what she wanted on the market.
For her, similar existing products were all lacking in some way: quality, function, or aesthetics. So she decided to make her own.
A "risky decision"
But even with more than 650,000 Instagram followers to leverage on, Neo thinks that it's a "risky decision" to venture into the relatively niche market of hair accessories.
"I guess most girls would choose to spend their money on actual jewellery for different parts of their body—but people tend to forget that your hair, with the right accessory, can be a huge confidence booster too. It’s so neglected!"
Other influencers who have their own brand typically sell apparel, cosmetics, or skincare products.
But Neo might have found it hard to start with anything else.
"[...] I’ve always told the people around me that if I weren’t doing what I’m doing now, I would’ve probably pursued hairstyling," the newly minted entrepreneur added.
Challenges have been aplenty for Neo—"really overwhelming" were the exact words she used.
The influencer personally thought through many aspects of the products, making sure that they worked the way they should.
Part of the process included checking through the samples and reworking what wasn't right, and each revision took at least a month, Neo revealed.
"I was initially hoping to launch NNCHANTED last Christmas, then V Day this year, then Mother’s Day… etc. It was really disappointing and I even lost touch for a period when everything didn’t go as planned."
In the future, Neo wants to do more than "just launch accessories"—collaborating with her favourite brands, or bigger brands, is something she's hoping for as well.
"NNCHANTED isn’t just about hair or accessories, it’s a feeling I want people to receive when they put on my products and how I want others to perceive them too - just as its name suggests, enchanted."
Top image via Naomi Neo's Instagram page
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