Meet Phaedra D’Ambrosio | Chief Creator – Simple Celebration

We had the good fortune of connecting with Phaedra D’Ambrosio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Phaedra, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Simple Celebration is a concept that grew organically but with 2 major intentions behind it. The relocation to sunny NC caused me to pause and really consider what I would bring with me, I knew that the new look and feel of my home would be something I loved and didn’t want to clutter it up with lots of outdate decorations. Second, newly divorced and downsizing I knew I would no longer have help carrying heavy totes from the attic, hosting large holiday gatherings and that I may spend my holidays traveling. The goal: reduce, simplify, but still honor the traditions in my home. When friends would stop by my home, they would see my decorated tiered trays and ask about them. My answer was always the same: This is how I celebrate the season, holiday and the fact that I live in a coastal community. I had one tray for the season with bumble bees, one for the upcoming holiday and the final with things I loved from the coast. Friends and Neighbors noticed what I was doing and would buy items off of my trays in my home and several friends suggested that I bring my tray concept to the semi-annual Compass Pointe craft fair… I did and it was a huge success. People would buy the entire tray set, and not one tray but 2 or 3. Folks began to decorate their guest bedrooms, bathrooms with my designs. I had requests for lady bugs, birthdays, lavender, nautical the list went on and on… as my house became the storage for all these items, I realized my goal of simplification wasn’t being achieved. I had too many orders and items, so I reached out to Joan Pacifico as Sandalwood Shoppes in Leland and with some persuasion she gave me a shot. Much to both of our surprise the concept caught on and now I can’t keep up with orders! It’s a wonderful problem to have.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
By day I train doctors, nurses and support staff technology. I’ve been an instructional trainer/designer for over 30 years. At night, I host semi-precious bracelet making classes out of my home.  Once Simple Celebration concept caught on, I decided that this might be the perfect way to transition from full-time professional to pre-retirement planning. I thought perhaps this is the way I would like to spend my retirement years. Crafting, designing, joyful, yet simple holiday concepts. So far, I’ve found the more obscure the holiday, the more people love it…. Mardi gras, Cinco de mayo and seasonal trays like ladybug, lemons or mermaid have been the biggest hits! I hope more folks will let me help them simplify their holiday decorating. Wouldn’t it be better to have more time to play pickleball or visit family and enjoy your quality years than dragging out the huge containers and forgetting where you put your favorite item?

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
North Carolina has so much history, sites to see and best beaches around. Traveling up and down the coast brings me great joy. Wilmington is rich with history and traveling to quaint towns like Southport to visit the shops or Elizabethtown and drive past the cotton fields is really remarkable. I am looking forward to seeing the Biltmore manor this May and visiting friends in Fayetteville. North Carolina has welcomed us with open arms and Leland is truly a growing population. I look forward to seeing every bit of the countryside and mountains soon.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The kindness and support of neighbor-friends at Compass Pointe. As I mentioned, this concept grew because of word of mouth, friends seeing other friends’ trays and loving the idea of a simple way to celebrate the holiday. Many of my neighbors were traveling for the holidays and wanted to come home to clean home without the dread or rush to put holiday decor away. Others wanted to spruce up their young independent’s child first apartment and more wanted to add a touch of holiday to their aged parents assisted living space. I knew I struck a cord with people when my cleaning lady said she saw of my designs in several homes here in CP and wanted to buy a set up for her mother-in-law.

Sandalwood Shoppes was instrumental in mentoring me as a vendor. Helping me with designs and finding companies that sold the products I needed.

Marylynn Caldor and Kathi Savarese – “my masterminds” the artist behind the scenes making all of my idea come to life.

Website: www.simplecelebrationshop.com

Instagram: beadwithphaedra and simplecelebrationshop

Linkedin: Phaedra M. D’Ambrosio

Facebook: beadwithphaedra and simplecelebrationshop

Other: https://shopsandalwood.com/pages/seller-profile/simple-celebration

Image Credits
T.J. Drechsel