There is something in the appearance of Quintasia Whyte – ‘Queen Whyte’ as she refers to herself in her promotional blurb – that is deceptively ordinary, as if beyond an evidently creative spirit sits the persona of a genuine ‘home girl.’ That, when added to what appears to be a carefully cultivated inclination towards being charming, conceals one feels, a more racy, creative side in which the real ‘Queen Whyte’ resides.
‘Added Dazzle’, the name of the pursuit of which she is the Chief Executive Officer, provides what she describes as “everyday elegance… wall art, handmade home décor, canvas prints, decals for weddings, birthdays, and other special events.” ‘The Queen’s’ own creations apart, Added Dazzle also offers what she describes as “highly polished stainless steel jewelry.”
The handful of visual images of her work which Queen Whyte afforded us, does not, one suspects, do complete justice to her talents. Like other local creative spirits whose works cry out for larger audiences, her pieces are a tasteful microcosm of the abundance of artistic talent for which our official ‘gurus’ of culture are yet to make anywhere near sufficient public accommodation, are indeed refreshingly pleasing.
“I have always wanted to have a business of my own,” ‘Queen Whyte’ told Stabroek in a brief that also talks about her considerable self-search not just for her “hidden talents” but also for that niche in what, these days, is a continually expanding market where she believes she belongs. She is, she concedes, playing catchup… a late starter in the world of art and craft who may well have been a non-starter but for the fact of a relative, an aunt, who was prepared to back her talent. Perhaps shockingly, up to the point in June last year when she launched Added Dazzle, she still considered herself an “untalented and fearful girl” whose search might end up in a considerable loss of self-esteem.
The passion persisted, she says, eventually superseding the self-belief deficit. That was when both Queen Whyte and Added Dazzle were really born.
These days she spends what she says are “countless hours” casually creating new craft pieces “just for fun.” Her new mindset amounts to a quantum leap in self-belief that have left the stifling self-doubt in which she had long been imprisoned behind. “I knew that it was something that I could definitely offer the world while I create a legacy for my family and I.”
To view or purchase her pieces, readers can contact Queen Whyte on 612-1698.
