When artist and interior decorator Tikosai Ledua took the BLP’s Business Tool Kit ‘Health Check, she wasn’t expecting it to change the way she thought about her business. But one insight from the toolkit stood out: her revenue stream was too narrow.
That revelation became the turning point for her small enterprise, Ledua’s Art Collection, a family-based business in Suva specialising in upcycled home décor.
“If I didn’t do that test, I would never have known,” Tikosai reflects. “The toolkit made me realise I needed to diversify. I came back and wrote it on my board to challenge myself every two months to create a new product line.”
A simple tool, a big shift
Like many small business owners, Tikosai had been running her venture largely on instinct. She relied on her creative background as an abstract artist and interior decorator, pouring her energy into designing ottomans made from old tyres and other upcycled art pieces.
But the toolkit forced her to pause, step back, and see her business from a wider perspective. It highlighted the risks of relying too heavily on a single product.
“Sometimes we run our businesses like we know everything,” she explains. “But the toolkit makes you stop, take a breath, and see where you really are. That’s why I’d recommend it to any small business it helps you reset and start again with a clearer focus.”
Armed with that insight, Tikosai pushed herself to diversify. Her first move was to introduce mirrors as part of her product line an expansion that was both creatively fulfilling and commercially promising.
Next, she began experimenting with plastic bottle brooms, an idea developed with the community of Wailekerekere. By repurposing discarded plastics into household cleaning tools, she not only added a new revenue stream but also created livelihood opportunities for local youth, who can sell the brooms to households and councils for a small but steady income.
“I wouldn’t have taken that step if it wasn’t for the toolkit,” Tikosai says. “It gave me the push to explore new ideas while still staying true to upcycling.”
The roots of Ledua’s Art Collection
While the BLP Business Tool Kit helped sharpen her business strategy, Tikosai’s story begins much earlier with a vision to turn waste into beauty.
In 2022, she and her husband were walking through Raiwaqa, where they once lived, when she noticed how much waste littered the streets. “Maybe we can do something out of all this waste,” she suggested. “Beautify our surroundings, earn a living, and clean the environment at the same time.”
That idea sparked what is now Ledua’s Art Collection. Tyres became ottomans, baby cots turned into candle stands, and everyday discarded items found new life as home décor.
The business’s first major exposure came at Suva’s Rock Market, where feedback from customers helped refine products for wider appeal. From there, Tikosai began envisioning a larger mission: combining traditional Fijian motifs with modern design to tackle excess waste in the Pacific.
Upcycling is still a young industry in Fiji, holding about 2.5% of the market share. But Tikosai sees this as fertile ground for growth especially when small players collaborate.
She has worked with other indigenous-led green businesses, such as Envirotech Solutions Pacific and Trash Boom Pacific, to expand impact. Together, they applied for and secured support for projects aimed at tackling waste pollution before it enters the ocean. Ledua herself is a recipient of BLP’s Climate Change Category that allowed her to buy her work tools.
Beyond production, Ledua’s Art Collection now runs upcycling education workshops, targeting women and unemployed youth. In villages like Muaivuso, participants are learning practical skills that not only address waste but also generate income.
Why the Tool Kit matters
For Tikosai, BLP’s Business Tool Kit didn’t just highlight a weakness in her business model it provided a framework for sustainable growth.
It showed her that being innovative as an artist wasn’t enough; she also needed to be strategic as a business owner. By diversifying her products, she built resilience into her business model while still staying true to her eco-conscious mission.
Her story is a reminder that small tools can have a big impact. A simple diagnostic test helped her identify blind spots, take corrective action, and set a course for future growth.
Today, Ledua’s Art Collection is more than just a business. It is a movement that turns waste into art, creates livelihoods, and champions sustainability in Fiji. And at the centre of its transformation was BLP’s Business Tool Kit.
If you’re an MSME looking to grow, diversify, or strengthen your business model, take the Business Tool Kit diagnostic. Like Tikosai, you may uncover the key insight that helps springboard your business into its next phase of success.
BLP facilitates access to business advisory services and financial support. To start your journey with BLP, you can self-assess your needs by using the free online tools available to help small- and medium-sized businesses diagnose areas in their businesses that an advisor could improve.
The first step can be the online Business Health Check. You can also check your business’s resilience to respond to crises or climate change challenges on the Business Continuity Planner and the Climate Action Sensor.