Meet Kenrick Headley Jr. | Graphic Designer & Imprinter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kenrick Headley Jr. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kenrick, how do you think about risk?
Risk taking has definitely played a significant role in my life/career as the very move to start my business was a huge gamble/risk in itself. Moving to Georgia in 2017 from the Virgin Islands after Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated our islands, the decision to relocate and start all over was definitely a risk that I was initially hesitant to take as I was leaving my support system, my wife and son, family & friends behind to navigate new waters. I relocated with a little less than $6,000 to my name, not knowing what I was about to face or how I would even start over, but I just knew that I had to, for my family, for my business, and for our future. I must say now looking back in hindsight, the risk was definitely worth it all as four years later, we are now reaping the rewards. Ever since then, my whole outlook on risk taking has transformed. I have had to take several risks since the big move, and not all have played out, but, I don’t regret any as the ones that did have definitely produced the returns. I now see risk taking, calculated or not, as a necessary tool in the growth and development of my business/career and overall success. A wise business man once told me “Scared money don’t make money”.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The name of my business is Nova Vita Apparel & Prints and we are an apparel printing and branding imprinting company. We specialize in custom design and printing of everything from t-shirts, to banners, decals, signs, vehicle wraps, promotional items, logo creation and more. Our products and services are ideal for birthdays, anniversaries, family reunions, family vacations, company events, marketing events, office signage, and uniform branding just to name a few. Whether you have your own image already or would like us to create one for you, no job is too big or small.

Nova Vita which is Italian for “New Life” was birthed after the 2017 hurricanes devastated our islands, the British Virgin Islands, and the company which I was a partner with at the time was totally destroyed. I was now left to make some tough decisions and figure out the next best move for my family, and our future. My wife and I prayed and discussed for several weeks on what to do next, and on October 11th exactly one week before our 1st wedding anniversary my daughter and I left for Georgia. For the next three years, I worked day in and day out to build this new business, and you can imagine the difficulties doing this thousands of miles away from your client base, family and support team. Several new business relationships had to be formed both back home and here in Georgia, new suppliers, new machinery and equipment to purchase, various shipping methods explored, new client base to build in Georgia and soo much more. I literally turned my cousin’s sitting room into my little factory where I did all my designing and printing for the next three years, my wife did lots of the administrative work from back in the islands, corresponding with customers etc. and so many other family members and friends assisted every time I called on them. It was a very ‘colorful’ journey to say the least, but December of 2019 we were finally in a position to re-open a store-front back in the islands with now three members of staff. Let me pause here and say a huge thank you to Ms Kedreana Parson of Urban VI who was our local distributor for those years before opening our store. It has now been four years since 2017, my wife and son have now joined us, and Nova Vita is only just beginning as we focus even more on our US, Caribbean, and international markets and are currently preparing for our website launch. In the mean time, customers can view our products on our Facebook and IG pages @NVApparels.

As a small business we are proud of many things, especially our ability to overcome and persevere, as a custom apparel provider however, we are most proud of our two in-house brands (so far), BeVI and ELEVATED. BeVI was created to promote patriotism amongst Virgin Islands residents and tourists alike. While ELEVATED is a brand created as a testament to our ability to strive and rise above adversity and in turn be a reminder to entrepreneurs and individuals alike that they too can do the same.

NV Apparels may not be an international household name just yet, but we promise you we will be. We are determined to push beyond limits and boundaries and prove to ourselves that we can. Persons who may be in the market for any of our printing/branding services, we promise you you won’t be disappointed as we pride ourselves in providing quality products and 1st class service.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
So being from the islands, family and friends visiting is a regular occurrence as the US is one of the main stops to vacation. Some of the spots that have become a staple in these visits are: – Top Golf
– Six Flags Water Park
– Atlanta Zoo
– Georgia Aquarium
– Dave N Busters (for those who come with kids)
– Cheese Cake Factory (everybody loves cheesecake)
– Negril (amazing brunch)
– First Watch (amazing brunch)
– Bahama Breeze (touch of Caribbean Cuisine)
– Club Bliss (for the night lifers)
– Carla Bar & Grill

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are soo many that I can definitely shout out and recognize for the role they have played in my success to date, but if I begin to name names, I might get in trouble and miss someone so I’d like to simply say huge huge shout out to my wife and kids, my immediate family and friends, my staff, my former T-Shirt Genius family, the entire Virgin Islands community and most definitely Jehovah God.

Instagram: @NVApparels

Facebook: @NVApparels

Other: Tel: 404-395-7976 email: novavitaapparels@gmail.com