Today we’d like to introduce you to Shaqaydra Bryant.
Hi Shaqaydra, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Amber Throne is my special way of saying “Golden Throne.” Amber Throne was supposed to be the name of one product that I was going to name after Òrìṣà Ọ̀ṣun. Òrìṣà Ọ̀ṣun is the Òrìṣà (an angel of good) that God Almighty allows being the divine example of divine femininity, inner and outer beauty, womanly protection and power, love, and much more.
I decided to name the overall company Amber Throne after Òrìṣà Ọ̀ṣun to pay her the respect and honor she rightfully deserves. Òrìṣà Ọ̀ṣun has gravely supported this company and my life as an Ìyánifá (a priestess in the West Afrikan Traditional Religion of Ifá). Her guidance and touch can only be described in my journey of what it took to start this company.
I am originally from Mississippi. I began testing cosmetic products and learning about the cosmetic industry around 2016-2017 when I created eight body cream formulas.
Around the beginning of 2018, I tested my products with a sample group of women ages 17-70. These eight women were comprised of my family who told me that 4 of 8 of my products were fine just the way they were and to work on the other four. These four products were Pink Palace, Sirena Galore, Violet Dawn, and Royal Red which would be the first four products that launched my business in 2022.
It took four years for me to start my business because I had many doubts and fears, I went through a divorce where I had to start my life completely over from scratch with my now 11-year-old son, and my initial investment plan for my business failed.
I felt defeated! I felt so close to my goal only for it to fail before my eyes. After a week of pitying and feeling sorry for myself, I found the strength and courage to revamp my entire business plan and budget. I took a great risk and spent $1300 in startup costs to launch my business on May 5, 2022.
In my first month of business, I only had two orders: one from my sister and one from myself. I was determined to at least promote my products and I decided to follow up with the market manager at Agricenter Farmer’s Market in Memphis, Tennessee about my application. On June 18, 2022, he offered me a temporary vendor spot as a trial run. After faithfully coming to the market to sell for five months, I was offered a permanent vendor spot.
I went to the market with hope and optimism in my heart. I said, “If someone just gets one of my business cards and a sample, I will be happy they just gave such a new business a chance.” I ended 2022 by making back all the money I invested by selling 188 products from a total of 31 popup events that I attended.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road was not smooth; however, I am internally grateful for the lessons it taught. I have had days where I do not sell one product. I have also had days where my products have sold out.
Additionally, for the first three months of business, I did not have a car and I would have to pay $75 per week in Uber fees to make it to the market to sell my products. With the help of my sister, I now have a car which saves me hundreds of dollars in business expenses a month.
I feel that everyone has challenges and obstacles. It is up to us to decide what we allow to defeat us. It is okay to cry, it is okay to vent, and it is okay to feel sour about the conditions of your life. However, from my experience, we must take those emotions to talk and work ourselves into healing with hard work and prayer.
As you know, we’re big fans of Amber Throne. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Amber Throne is a Black and Woman-owned company owned by Shaqaydra Bryant that sells handcrafted beauty products with a primary focus on skincare and personal hygiene. Examples of current Amber Throne products are body creams and body mists.
Amber Throne aims to give customers royal treatment by ensuring that all of our products are beautiful to look at, the best in quality, distributed with care, and managed with grace should any issues arise.
Amber Throne strives to be charitable, representative, operative, winsome, and nice.
Charitable: Amber Throne will give back to the same community that makes our company what it is. We feel that we cannot expect the world to support us if we do not do our part to support the world in its various world issues. For each collection release, we randomly select one charity to donate to.
Representative: We highlight diversity in our campaigns to show that beauty has no archetype as the owner is from a community that is marginalized.
Operative. We test our products to ensure that they are of the best quality possible.
Winsome. We work hard to ensure that our products are aesthetically pleasing or beautiful to look at.
Nice. We strive to treat our customers well for there is no Amber Throne without our customers.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Oh, I was a class clown and talkative. I was the student that the teacher had to sit beside them because I was talking and cracking jokes only for me to sit by the teacher and talk to them. I would get “Shaqaydra, I sat you by me so that you would stop talking.” My response would be “Well, who else am I supposed to talk to?”
I was an intelligent child; however, I felt my clownery and talkative nature did get me in a bit of trouble which I had to learn to balance to the best of my own ability.
I have been called theatrical, dramatic, animated, and the works. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I enjoy a good laugh. In fact, I am still like this now.
I get a lot that I am a bit “too extra” or “too much.” I can ensure you this is not an act. I am actually this level of buffoonery in real-time. I feel that I am like this because I do not take myself too seriously. I am hard on myself, I am flawed like everyone else; however, I am that person that will say “Girl, take a joke. Live a little! Laugh! Stop taking yourself so seriously.”
I can be trouble for those who pride themselves in “Life is not a joke! Take it seriously!’ I am that chaotic foolery that says, “Yes it is true, life is serious. But I can laugh about it too.”
Pricing:
- Body Cream Sample Pack- $4
- Body Mist Sample Pack- $4
- Body Mist- $13
- Body Cream- $15
- Any Two Full-Size Items of Your Choice- $25
Contact Info:
- Website: theamberthrone.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/theamberthrone
- Facebook: facebook.com/officialamberthrone
- Twitter: twitter.com/theamberthrone
- Other: tiktok.com/theamberthrone
