THE BEGINNING
DE-COLLE-TE was birthed just over a year ago quite by happenstance. The founder and
creator, Natalie Howe stumbled upon this gift of producing wearable art from fabric while
unconsciously searching for methods to be more impactful in the community of women. She
realised that she became the confidant of many women enduring pains of adulting and wanted
to provide a means of motivating and empowering women while encouraging them to embrace
their presence and power.
Natalie feels strongly about being divinely lead into the directions of her gifts and talents and is
the epitome of Proverbs 18:16 which says “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him
before great men.” She believes that our gifts come from God and we are connected to our
destiny and our destiny is where we find our influence.
De-Colle-Te is therefore a realization of hidden gifts and talents and conceptualized with women
in mind. The founder was inspired to use african prints as a result of her observation that these
prints were only being worn seasonally. There was therefore a need to promote cultural identity
through inexpensive means while utilizing items that are already part of your existing wardrobe
such as a plain blouse, shirt or vest. The De-Colle-Te necklace was therefore born and therein
the brand.
Decollete is french for “Low and plunging neckline” and hence the company chooses to produce
necklaces as the primary product. The pieces are handmade, colourful and take unique shapes
and sizes that are very difficult to overlook. The intent is to encourage women to keep their
heads held high, achieved through showing their neckline (decollete).
THE JOURNEY
In 2017 Natalie made a bold step to dive first into her entrepreneurial journey while still fulfilling
the demands of a full time job and also having numerous commitments to being involved
competitively in sports. It was certainly a challenge and still is challenging as the company is still
being single handedly operated by her.
Natalie quickly learnt that owning a business is no walk in the park. She wears a million hats
and works tirelessly towards the brand. She understands that sleep is certainly a luxury. “I
invest a lot of time towards my craft. I do all the shopping, sewing creating, designing, marketing
and media, deliveries networking and budgeting. It is very time consuming and can be very
draining at times, but the journey is quite fulfilling!”
THE BRAND
The cornerstone of De-Colle-Te is Quality and Creativity. This entrepreneur embraces her love
for people, her humility and her passion for life to create ART. All these values are visible in her
work. She believes that the focus should be an offering of high quality consistent product while
valuing each and every customer. Purpose follows Passion which eventually leads to Profit is
the mantra of De-Colle-Te. It is for the this reason that the brand exists and remains
competitive. Sometimes the intangible rewards are more fulfilling than the bottom line.