Photos Courtesy of Sarah Pridgeon
Sarah Pridgeon is the co-owner of Laurel Reath. She is also a Nonahood resident. Read our interview with her below!
Nonahood News: What is your job?
Sarah Pridgeon: I’m the co-owner of Laurel Reath. We are an online store, and we offer creative, meaningful and quality home decor pieces and accessories made by local artisans.
NHN: What does your day-to-day schedule look like?
SP: This is tough because we just had a baby, so it all changed. I would say first take care of the baby, then take care of the dogs. We have two big dogs, and they’re used to long walks around the neighborhood, so we take care of that. And then, it’s either taking care of the house or doing stuff for Laurel Reath. We’re an in-house company, so we don’t outsource anything. Work includes everything from answering emails to taking care of orders, admin work, social media, websites, you name it.
NHN: What would you say is the most challenging aspect of your job?
SP: I would say it’s social media. We live in this time and age where you’ve got to use it. Obviously, you want to hit the right spot of quality versus quantity. The other thing would be that we are like an online business, so it is hard. We only launched in summer in July of last year. We want to be in people’s minds, and that in-person aspect is obviously missing even though COVID helped a lot for people to dip into the world of online shopping more.
NHN: What would you say is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
SP: In the beginning, it was the followers. It was a joy to see. You start off with your friends, your family, your neighbors, and then you have people that you don’t know and you’re excited. It’s the same way with orders as well. Fulfilling orders for people we don’t know is super fulfilling, and it is also great for artisans because, since we take care of everything else, our artisans are in the background and that’s how they know [that] some of their products sold. And then reorders obviously are great as well.
NHN: What got you interested in doing your current job in this area?
SP: I used to work for a neighbor for the last five years. I got to know the small business world and how everything from production and getting the orders out the door was always a priority. And I saw what fell short, like the social media was behind and new product ideas were behind. The same for artisans. Because of COVID, my hours were cut back. Then, we were planning a baby shower for our dear friends and neighbors here, and we got to include some of their work. That sparked the idea of ways to help, ways to be stronger as a community. We took charge. We’re like, ‘Okay, so you artisans, you just focus on what you love to do. You don’t need to be overwhelmed with social media and all the rest.’
NHN: Do you have any hobbies, collections or interests?
SP: I like to be creative. I see something on Pinterest, and I’m like, “I can do this myself.” I’ve made a lot in my house. It makes me happy and relaxed. I’m also developing a green thumb, finally. I have a big collection of succulents that I’m growing, and I’m even into plants.
NHN: Where do you see yourselves in the next five years?
SP: It would be really awesome if we would be able to have a brick-and-mortar. The vision I’m seeing is shopping in the front and a workshop in the back. Even maybe offering classes. There are so many people out there that are like, “Oh, wow, you made this?” Sometimes it’s not hard at all, so it would be great to have something like an East End Market kind of concept of small businesses collaborating.
NHN: What brought you to Lake Nona and where are you from?
SP: I’m from southwest of Germany, close to the French and the Luxembourg border. We moved here in 2014 because of my husband’s job. His coworker, who was originally from Orlando, told us about Lake Nona. We scouted around the area, and we fell in love with Laureate Park.
NHN: What would you say is your favorite part about Lake Nona?
SP: Our best friends live on the same street! We hang out all the time. We also even have the same dogs. My favorite thing is making those friendships that also became our family.
