Life & Work with Vicki Cunningham Sykes of Bella Events and Interiors LLC of New Bern

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vicki Cunningham Sykes.  

Hi Vicki, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am southern east coast small town raised woman, a wife, a mother of two adult children, three granddaughters, woman of faith and a lifelong lover of all things Design and DIY.

I actually got into designing early in life as my mother had eight children and very little resources, but she took pride in keeping her home full of love, clean, and decorated. Every holiday, season change, or celebratory event my mother made a way to design. She literally would make something out of nothing by doing diy before it was a thing. I have four sisters and we all love designing. Even the siblings that can’t do it themselves they get one of us that loves doing it to help them.

I took on the same love as my mother and started designing as she would do in every home I’ve had and it’s through this and helping others that I really thought I could do it. However, I never took the creative leap or made a go at it full-time until life happened. During a workforce reduction and company restructuring I was laid off with just ten days’ notice with one of the largest government contractors in the world. I was working as a Senior Financial Analyst for almost 10 years, and I’d made it through many layoffs before but this time I was included in the number. With a long period of no job, no great prospects, and a husband that had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a couple years prior I decided to take the leap in entrepreneurship.

I loved designing and doing DIY, but I leaned into the seemingly safe and comfortable place in corporate America instead of pursuing my love and passion for design. However, I believe God had other plans for me, and no matter how hard it get sometimes, I’m grateful I’m on this design journey.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The design road has not and is not smooth for many reasons.

Design has a lot to do with one’s perspective and style which means everyone will not like what you do. As a designer, you have to have tough skin and be open to criticism, constructive criticism. Sometimes people make it their business to tear others down with their negativity and misplaced anger. However, I’m grateful I’ve been doing it long enough that it doesn’t bother me like it used to for so long. Putting yourself out there for the world to see takes courage, and in the beginning, I didn’t have the courage I needed, but over time it has grown tremendously.

I’m a designer, and I just want to design…. Many entrepreneurs have the mentality that they just want to do the designing but there are other things that have to be done to run a business. There’s a financial piece, marketing, networking, training, Human Resources, logistics, IT, scheduling, and many other things that have to be managed. Although I love designing, I had to learn all these other pieces of the puzzle to make it all work. I also had to learn I can’t do it all by myself, and it’s ok to ask for help. I didn’t ask for help for a long time, and I’ve paid for it financially and in many other ways.

Learning to navigate the process of interacting with clients, vendors, and colleagues takes the right amount of leadership and knowledge to be successful. You want to show up in a way that makes you feel heard and understood, but you also don’t want to appear as a know it all but someone that is knowledgeable but teachable at the same time. I didn’t always have the balance that was needed to communicate well, but through trial and error, I have certainly improved. I know I have more to learn, and I’m grateful to be in a place where I can give some knowledge and receive some as well.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Bella Events and Interiors LLC is an Event, Home, and Floral Design Business that takes joy in making the world more beautiful one event and one project at a time. My style is bold, colorful, and timeless, with a touch of elegance. I am the owner and Lead designer so my design esthetic shows throughout all of my projects.

Growing up in eastern coastal North Carolina my southern charm mixed with my passion is seen in everything I create and design. I’m proud that my designs and style has gotten me spotlighted on the websites, Instagram stories and social media of Pier 1, Tuesday Morning, and Restoration Hardware just to name a few. Whether creating a floral arrangement to add color to a room, styling a home, or putting together a fabulous tabletop for an event it all brings me great.

No two events or interior design projects are the same as I take great pride in making each client’s design project unique and elegantly different than the one before. I believe this is what sets me apart and also what I’m known for in the industry; I don’t do cookie-cutter looks, and even when a client brings an inspiration picture, I make it uniquely different but give them the overall vibe they wanted to achieve.

I have a MBA graduate degree, which has prepared me to operate my business in a professional yet personal manner. I was educated with an MBA, but I was definitely created to create.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I’ve found mentors by being in the design business through networking events, social media accounts, social media groups/networking, and just being inspired by other designers that have made a big impact in the design community; it has worked well for me. I have not been afraid to use social media and even reach out to those that inspire me. It’s so much I didn’t know, and it’s no way I could operate without having someone to ask questions or get feedback from about my ideas, designs, mechanics or just business processes.

No one is an island, so to think you can make it in entrepreneurship without a mentor is a great big mistake. I encourage any business owner to get a mentor; do it early, attend workshops, join your local chamber of commerce and attend industry events.  It will save you a lot of money, time, and heartache to connect with professionals in your industry that can pour into you and give you sound advice.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bellaeventsandinteriorsllc.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bellaeventsandinteriorsllc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BellaEventsAndInteriorsLLC
• Twitter: www.Twitter.com/bellaevents4u
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@Bellaeventsandinteriorsllc 

Image Credits
Rotcelis Rose Photography
CMWE Photography