What was once fatigues or dress uniforms can be transformed into a handmade, custom wreath with Wreaths by Nicole P.
“These wreaths are not just a decoration. Each tells a story and honors military service,” said Nicole Pompei, owner and founder of Wreaths by Nicloe P. “As a veteran of two services, I understand the significance of military service.”
For assistance in her business pursuit, she contacted TVC’s Programa de Emprendedores Veteranos.
“The TVC program helped me find discrepancies after I registered for an LLC. Somehow, two LLC’s were written in my business name, and a member of their team caught the issue and notified me right away. This saved me a lot of money and headaches down the road!” said Pompei.
Pompei added that she has also utilized small businesses guides with resources from TVC’s Entrepreneur program. This includes applying for and receiving Veteran Owned Business certification and branding.
Since starting her business in July 2020, Pompei has made over 2,500 wreaths, which come in four sizes. The wreaths have not only gotten the attention of customers, Pompei and her wreaths have been featured by People Magazine, ABC, Fox News, The Washington Post, CBS, and in Military City USA San Antonio by KENS5.
Each wreath tells its unique story and gives special honor to someone’s service. Of all the wreaths she has created, one made for a Gold Star family is especially memorable to her.
“Usually when I make wreaths for these families, I use their uniforms, ship them off, and I get choked up while working with the material,” said Pompei. “This particular mother of her fallen son met me to pick up her wreaths. She showed me photos of her son and we both cried as she recounted various memories. Being a new mother myself, I cannot imagine that pain, and I felt so deeply honored that she would entrust me with her son’s uniforms. In that same order, I found a backing to a set of his ribbons. The backing was a note from his mom saying, ‘Love you, son.’ She had no idea that he had even used that as one of his backings, which made the whole moment even more special.”
“The most rewarding part is hearing all of the stories of my customers and their family members,” she said in People Magazine. “I feel so honored that I can memorialize and honor their service. I have such respect for anybody who has served in the military.”
Pompei served in the Marines and Air Force and currently is a military spouse while her husband is in active duty.
