St. Vincent, the Grenadines, and a Collection of Caribbean Creatives with Jeneille Lewis from the Karibbean Kollective

Meet Jeneille Lewis, the Vincentian founder of the Karibbean Kollectives,  a website dedicated to Caribbean artists and creatives.

In this episode we talk about the festive soul of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and get to know the story behind the Karibbean Kollectives.

Listen as Jeneille depicts  the beauty of  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. We talk about the vibrant local traditions of Nine Mornings and Carnival, and the candid symphony of local life—yes, even the barking dogs join our dialogue!

Jeneille's passion for spotlighting Caribbean artists is nothing short of inspiring, and together we dive into the topic of Caribbean creativity —it's a lively exchange that'll leave you feeling a part of the Caribbean family.

Visit the Karibbean Kollective and follow her on Instagram and Facebook.



Join me in St. Maarten for the Island Awakening Luxury Retreat from June 4th to 9th 2024. Visit the website to secure your spot. There's only space for a few!

Awaken your BEST LIFE  and join me, your host and island friend, Riselle at my island home St. Maarten for 5 amazing days of luxury, fun, wellness and  personal growth.

The Island Awakening Luxury Retreat is a retreat like no other and a unique way for you to dedicate some time to yourself in the company of like-minded people. Don't hesitate because space is limited. Visit the website to secure your spot.

Top Villas has the best selection of luxury villas in the best spots in the Caribbean. Visit Top Villas now to start planning your dream Island Getaway. 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:57

Hey, it's your girl, Rizal, the traveling island girl. I am a Caribbean blogger, youtuber, podcaster and since recent, I've also added Motivational coach to my many hats that I wear. So, as you know, I live on the island of see Martin, and every two weeks I am actually now thinking it should be more frequent I share a little bit about my Caribbean region, and today's episode is no different. This time we are traveling to the beautiful group of islands that is Saint Vincent and the granite deans, and we're doing that just to sit down and have a chat with a beautiful, the inspiring and the wonderfully creative person that is a Janelle Lewis, the woman behind the Caribbean collective with a K. I loved the conversation I had with her about her home of Saint Vincent. We talked about nine mornings, we talked about Carnival, the granite deans and, of course, we dove deep into her brand Caribbean collective, which is like a collection of Coradian Caribbean creatives Sorry, I'm misspelling Caribbean. What the hell is wrong with me today? So it is a collection of Caribbean creatives and you must check it out. So I loved that our conversation could not get more Caribbean than it did.

Speaker 1: 3:14

Listen, especially for the ever-present barking dogs in the background. If that is not a true Caribbean sound, then I don't know what is. You, as a non-Caribbean person, might not notice, but barking dogs in the background is a normal thing here. Anyway, here is Janelle Lewis, writer, and a great oh my goodness, that word again creative. Okay, let's try that again.

Speaker 1: 3:43

Here is Janelle Lewis, writer and a Caribbean creative. Take a listen, welcome, welcome, welcome back to Paradise perspectives. I'm so happy that you were able to Give us a lending, or lending your ear to us today, because we have another great, great episode of Paradise perspectives here For you and today in the studio with me Well, actually, virtual studio, that is is Janelle, and Janelle is from Caribbean collectors, and that is one brand that I have been Really stalking on social media for the longest while, and I think it is such a such a great Concept. I love what you did there. I love what you did for the Caribbean people, you know. Applause to you to use Janelle for, you know, for this initiative. So I'm gonna let you, of course, introduce yourself and then also introduce Caribbean collectors.

Speaker 2: 4:39

Okay, well, thank you so much for that introduction. So my name is Janelle Lewis. I am from the Absolutely stunning island of st Vincent's and the granadines. I was born and raised here, even though I have traveled to other countries to go to uni. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I.

Speaker 1: 5:46

I.

Speaker 2: 5:49

I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I I.

Speaker 1: 6:12

I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I I.

Speaker 2: 7:35

I.

Speaker 1: 7:36

I.

Speaker 2: 7:39

I.

Speaker 1: 7:40

I I.

Speaker 2: 7:45

I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I.

Speaker 1: 10:57

I, I I.

Speaker 2: 11:02

I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I I.

Speaker 1: 11:54

I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I I.

Speaker 2: 12:44

I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I I.

Speaker 1: 13:07

I, I I.

Speaker 2: 13:12

I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I I.

Speaker 1: 13:51

I.

Speaker 2: 13:53

I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I I.

Speaker 1: 14:22

I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I. I think is that a lot of people don't realize that when they are talking about mistake, back way, etc. They are actually talking about same things and tend to gratidines. It's like for some reason, we separate them and we don't consider them part of, but they are part of, that whole group. Okay, so there's one thing and I have and of course you know, say Martin, being so multi-Caribbean I would say it's like we have over a hundred different nationalities here, including a lot of people from St Vincent and the gratidines, and one of my friends is do you call yourselves Invincian, vincentian? Okay, and a lot of people actually call them Vinties. I guess that's also another thing, but I'm not quite sure if we're supposed to say that as a non-vincension. I don't know.

Speaker 2: 15:37

Is there any rules? No, there are no rules. Okay, so I can call you.

Speaker 1: 15:41

So I can call you a Vinci and not insult you. That's good to know.

Speaker 2: 15:48

I think what's really strange for me is I've heard people call us Saint Vincentian and I'm like no, and there's no saint in front of that. Yeah, there's no, there's no saint Right oh my, no saint.

Speaker 1: 16:02

Yeah, so my friend was telling me the story about and I don't want to miss quote him and I think it's called Nine Mornings. Oh yeah, is it Nine Mornings? I was fascinated by that. I thought that was so cool. I was convinced that I was going to go to St Vincent for Nine Mornings. I want to know more about that. What can you tell us about Nine Mornings?

Speaker 2: 16:27

So it's basically our Christmas celebration activity. It happens nine mornings before Christmas and there tends to be like little pockets in different villages. So you would have one in Kingstown itself, you would have another one set up in, like Mespo, leu, you know all other, I think. Each village has their own Nine Morning celebration and it's pretty much. I cannot tell you how it started, even though I know somebody who probably can, but it's pretty much. Where we don't have. I don't want to classify, I love, I love how you're finding.

Speaker 1: 17:23

You're trying to find like the adequate word to describe.

Speaker 2: 17:26

I'm trying to be politically correct, right, I'm trying to be politically correct. So you know how Trinidad has Parang, right? So we've only recently, like in the last 10 to 15 years, we started to do a kind of I guess, soca Parang type of music. It's not the same as what's done in Trinidad, but our, our RTS have been putting out music for the Christmas season and a lot of that is, you know, played during that time. So we have our own music. My stepfather, who is a former Calypso monarch, he is, you know, one of the major players yeah.

Speaker 1: 18:13

He's one of the major players in.

Speaker 2: 18:15

Yeah, he's one of the major players in the, I guess, the Vincy Parang scene. There are competitions on stage, so like they have this competition where you have to drink like a liter, a 1.5 liter of soda before everybody else in order to get the prize, or you know, they have like singing competitions, they it's just this whole kind of community centered, community spirited activity that is centered around Christmas, and I hope that our, our tourism people don't come for me for not explaining myself properly where that is concerned.

Speaker 1: 19:09

I think you did a good job so far. I am, I am super interested in it, but what I love also about it and what I've seen from my friends pictures and stuff it's also centered on our lot around food, which you know. Of course, that is our favorite effort in here in the Caribbean it's. There's also a lot of like food vendors I've seen during this nine morning thing where you have street food going on and all of this. So it's it's kind of like a whole vibe and it reminds me a little of Carnival for us. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it has that same feel.

Speaker 2: 19:47

It is a little bit like Carnival, but Christmas, so I know when I used to attend, I mean I don't, I haven't been to nine mornings in a very long time, simply because I don't think I have it in me to get up that early.

Speaker 1: 20:05

So how early are you supposed to get up for nine mornings?

Speaker 2: 20:08

I'm tired man, like I need to sleep, I think. I think people are usually out and about by three, four o'clock in the morning.

Speaker 1: 20:20

What do you mean? Three, yes, three, three. What three yeah?

Speaker 2: 20:24

three am, three am. They're usually out, and I think I think some people are also out even earlier than that.

Speaker 1: 20:35

Because my bed is really really comfortable.

Speaker 2: 20:38

I don't think I can do that Exactly. I'll get there by six.

Speaker 1: 20:42

Six will be the earliest that I can get there.

Speaker 2: 20:44

And that's when they're wrapping up.

Speaker 1: 20:47

Oh my gosh, you're kidding, Wait so. I was thinking I can just show up at nine o'clock you know have some breakfast and go.

Speaker 2: 20:55

no oh wow, it takes. It takes place in town, like the the main one takes place in Kingston and people have to go to work. So you need to be done so that persons can go home and change and come back and or persons can clean the area so that there isn't like a huge traffic hold up when you know the time to get to work.

Speaker 1: 21:23

Yeah, I don't know if you can see me right now, but my, my jaw is hanging open. It's like you mean to tell me that you all go to this party from three o'clock to o'clock three o'clock in the morning and then you go home, change, shower and then you go back out to go to work yes, okay, that's. That is the craziest thing I've ever heard, and I am so in for that party, I think, if I do come to the same Vincent. I am going to try that. I must. I think it's a must.

Speaker 1: 21:53

But as a tourist I have the luxury of going back to the hotel and sleep.

Speaker 2: 21:57

So there you go, but it's, it's um. When I used to go, it was actually one of my favorite like cultural activities, because I love.

Speaker 1: 22:09

Christmas.

Speaker 2: 22:10

I'm a Christmas person there used to be I don't know if they still have it because, like I said, I haven't been in a very long time but they used to do like roast honey roasted nuts. There was like a vendor selling honey roasted nuts by the side of the road, so you know that adds to the whole smell.

Speaker 1: 22:28

That is great the atmosphere.

Speaker 2: 22:31

Persons would have things like saltfish and like coconut bake. They would have things like Kalalu soup, because it's so early in the morning that it's just really cold. And when, when we had wait, wait, wait.

Speaker 1: 22:48

What do you mean? Cold, what is called the soup or the?

Speaker 2: 22:51

the temperature, because the temperature so it's cooler, it's not cold, it's cooler, then we're a girl.

Speaker 1: 23:01

I know exactly.

Speaker 2: 23:03

I know exactly what you're talking about, because when that Christmas breeze, when that Christmas breeze starts coming down from North America. So it's, it's, you know, and people would sell things like hot chocolate, they would have tea. There's basically a lot of local food being sold, so it's a great experience. And if tourists are on the island and they come down to the main square, they get to. They're very involved in these activities, so they partake in the singing and the dancing and that's amazing yeah the competition.

Speaker 2: 23:43

So it's really really nice to see and experience.

Speaker 1: 23:47

I just I. Just when you said you know that like it's cold. Well, yes, it was like I have to explain that a little. Yes, indeed, in the in the more in the December, yeah, it does get a little chilly Like for us especially. We're not talking like freezing temperatures here, don't worry about that, it's still the Caribbean, but we are talking about it lightly chilly. There's a little bit of a chill in the air, especially so early, early in the morning, and then with that Christmas breeze, oh my gosh.

Speaker 1: 24:15

And there is something about drinking hot chocolate on those special days leading up to Christmas, because the hot chocolate I don't know if it's because of my childhood, but I feel like the hot chocolate hits different when you drink it, like around that time. Because I remember going to the early morning mass with my mom and I to this day. I mean I don't want anybody no church goers to come and camp outside of my house to kill me. But or, you know, tell me I'm doing wrong, but I do not like going to church. I never did and I don't think I ever will. I just don't not have the patience for a Catholic church mass. So, but going there was one thing growing up that I love to go. I love to go to that early morning mass just for the hot chocolate, like I will suffer throughout the entire hour of mass, just so I can get that hot chocolate to the end, because it just feels so different, especially around Christmas times.

Speaker 1: 25:20

I can only imagine that the especially visitors that go they'll have a grand time celebrating nine mornings with you. Wow, that's just blows my mind. It's so, so beautiful. I also saw a lot I'm saying Vincent has been a lot in on Instagram lately on all the Caribbean pages about the, about your carnival, which is also something on like I have never seen in our carnival. Our carnival is nothing like yours. And I have to talk about the black. I think people in the black faces when you're just, they're all. They all paint themselves all black.

Speaker 2: 26:03

Oh no, we don't. I think that's Grenada, grenada does.

Speaker 1: 26:06

Oh my gosh, am I completely? Yes, with the horns and stuff. That's not okay. That's where I'm getting the kicks.

Speaker 2: 26:12

No, that's not. That's not, that's not St Vincent, that is Grenada. And they're the ones who do the. It would scare me too. It would scare me to see it's almost like I'm seeing.

Speaker 1: 26:30

Tell me, you guys don't have that as well.

Speaker 2: 26:33

I think some persons do because it's oil right, it's, it's oil that they use to cover their body. It's called Jab Jab and there's a whole there you go Jab Jab Right and there's a whole historical thing behind it as to why they do and carry on that tradition, but I don't think that's something that is inherent to us. No, I have seen people do it.

Speaker 1: 27:05

Yeah, I think that is where my confusion is coming from.

Speaker 1: 27:09

I think it was videos that I've seen from your carnival last year that I've saw. I've saw the Jab Jabs in it too, and then somebody was explaining why it's such an important part. It dates back to slavery, and the one thing that stayed with me was not only how they look scary because of the then you know they have. Some of them will go all out with horns on their head and all of that, but it's just also with if you're going according to tradition, there's also dead animals involved, which is where I draw the line. I guess it's like wow, no, you cannot kill animals just for tradition. I'm sorry we're not doing that anymore, but, yes, that's, that's just me being like a super animal lover. But going back to the Vinci carnival, I want to talk a little bit about Vinci carnival, because that is special on its own. When do you do you celebrate carnival and what is? I want you to explain why this in Vincent Carnival is so special.

Speaker 2: 28:11

So for us, vinci mass is in July I think it's July 3rd I was just googling July 3rd to July 10th this year. Okay, and in my opinion because I don't actively participate in carnival, even though I love the carnival content what makes Vinci mass so special is that we have retained elements of traditional mass while stepping into the future of mass Right. So that's something that I it's not unique to us, because other countries also do that, but I think for us we're very new to the pretty mass type of carnival.

Speaker 1: 29:08

It's only recently that we've had this kind of upsurge in the bikini and feathers and exactly oh my gosh, I'm so happy that you're actually coming up with that, because actually the carnival with the feathers and stuff is it's not a tradition for a lot of islands. This is coming mostly from Trinidad. We're not a bikini, and the Washington isn't either, but for some reason it has completely taken over our carnival as well.

Speaker 2: 29:39

Yeah, and I, I think it's because of it's because of social media?

Speaker 1: 29:44

Oh, absolutely, Because now our eyes are more open to other places and we're more like oh, we want that, you know, and then we incorporated it into ours, but it's not our tradition.

Speaker 2: 29:56

And then and then for a lot of countries. A lot of the Trinidad designers would design for our local mass bands. So there is this kind of marrying of the cultures. People would argue that for Trinidad theirs came from Brazil, Right.

Speaker 1: 30:15

So there's a kind of marrying of the cultures.

Speaker 2: 30:19

I see Jamaica is, and I don't think Jamaica is is historically or was historically a place where there was carnival and mass as such. I could be wrong.

Speaker 1: 30:33

Which, by the way, I have to explain, because you know I still mass. I guess you're you're speaking of? You mean the parade, yes, vincy mass, right, okay, so I don't want anybody to get confused, as we just spoke about church mass.

Speaker 2: 30:49

Church yeah, that's when you go to church, and you said really nice and decent.

Speaker 1: 30:53

Yes, and, and you know you don't say no bad words, you don't smoke, you don't drink, you know that's that mass, yeah, and hot chocolate in the morning. If you go around Christmas and then you have Vincy mass, or mass as they call the parade, the carnival parades, which is where you get people dressing up and then you know doing all sorts of things that they normally wouldn't do down in the streets.

Speaker 2: 31:22

Yes. So I think I think we've, kind of because of social media, we've we've adopted and you know we've kind of brought that because our population is younger, they're seeing the, the costumes, they're seeing the, the nakedness, and they want that for themselves. And for us it's actually a lot cheaper to play mass here than it is to fly to Trinidad to play mass there. So it's a. It's a bit like the best of both worlds, where you get the costume. So, do you remember?

Speaker 1: 32:08

right? Do you remember what it was, what Vincy mass was like before this big surge in, should we say, beads and feathers?

Speaker 2: 32:20

We have the traditional mass bands. We have the traditional mass bands. We had the. Well, there are bands like Mirage who were kind of making that transition from traditional to a bit more. You know feathery, but it wasn't as it wasn't like how it is now.

Speaker 1: 32:46

So what were people, what would people dress like in mass back then, before this big influence of feathers?

Speaker 2: 32:53

I think a lot of the again coming from a seven day adventures who did not play carnival, a lot of the costumes that I remember seeing. You know they had like the standards. They had like the, the cardboard I guess, wings, but they weren't. They weren't like feathered wings, I remember they had beads, they had whatever it is that they used to make the costumes. That's what they used. They didn't, they didn't try to source too many things from outside. They used what was on the island and I guess, as the bands grew, you know, if they had to bring something in, they probably would, but it probably did not cost them as much as it would cost them now to make the costumes that they're making, because I remember when a costume was $150.

Speaker 1: 33:56

Oh my gosh, that's nothing. I think that's not even a headpiece nowadays, cause it costs $150. Exactly, it's much more than that.

Speaker 2: 34:03

Yeah, I remember when the costumes were $150 to $300. Wow, if you paid $500 for a costume, that was super expensive. You paid a lot, exactly, and now the costumes are $1800, $2500, almost $3000. Oh yeah, so you know, there, there has been a lot of changes where that is concerned.

Speaker 1: 34:27

And I think it's the same here in Samaritan as well. Our carnival has started to slowly be more represented of the. It's looking more and more like the Trini carnival, but you know, but it's a worldwide thing, and even Kurosawa is now getting influenced. Like wearing Kurosawa, you get more tumba, which is the carnival music there in Aruba, kurosawa, bonere. Now you're seeing a lot more influence of Soka, trini. Soka is starting to be played during carnival there as well. So, yeah, trini Dot is playing like a big, big role in a Caribbean when it comes to carnival, that's for sure.

Speaker 2: 35:06

And the dresses are getting skimpier and skimpier and as somebody who is, I think of myself as a pan Caribbean, a pan Caribbean person. I love the Caribbean. I love all Caribbean islands. I studied in Trinidad for about four I think it was four to six years that I was there. I still have friends who tell me you need to come home.

Speaker 1: 35:32

Oh, yes, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 35:34

You know you need to come back but also the influence that they have on the rest of the islands. Where carnival is concerned, I love it. A part of me loves it, but then there's a part of me that worries about the smaller islands Losing that identity.

Speaker 1: 35:59

Losing the tradition Yep, exactly, I agree.

Speaker 2: 36:02

Losing their identity. I think it's something that you have to work very hard to retain, but when you are faced with a commercial product and you are faced with something that's going, that's probably going to make you a lot more money than your tradition, I could see that yeah.

Speaker 1: 36:23

Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I agree with you, and we see that a lot here too, because there's a lot, a lot of things that have changed in Samaritan over the years. But if you really ask anybody here, for instance, it's like nobody really knows anymore a lot about the actual traditions of Samaritan itself, because we've been adopting things from other islands in the long run. But, yeah, so now speaking about the influence that the bigger islands have on the smaller islands, I want to talk now about the Caribbean influence and a lot of things that are going out there in the world right now, like fashion and paintings and music, and we have so much, we have so much influence in all of that, but still we are not a lot of ways, we are not recognized for the talent that we have in the Caribbean and there is.

Speaker 1: 37:22

That is where Caribbean collectors come in, and that is what I love so much about the brand that you build, because you are still sharing. You are. You have created a platform where the smaller not even only the smaller, but even the ones that I, as a Caribbean person, have never heard of I am now proud to say, oh my gosh, I, that is a talent from the Caribbean. We are not often spoken about our talents. You know, we need to actually screen this from the rooftop. We have so, so much talent in the Caribbean. We need to talk more about that, and that is where I am really really glad to start a Caribbean collective. So tell us a little bit more about that place.

Speaker 2: 38:04

So for me, I think I mentioned in my little bio to you that I wanted to be a writer. I still want to be a writer, but I tell people that it's no longer a want. I am. Because, I am. I was just going to actually tell you. I was already going to tell you I don't know why they're saying you're not, you are a writer.

Speaker 1: 38:27

Look at everything that you've accomplished so far. You are definitely a writer. You may not be exactly a writing a column every week or whatever in a magazine or newspaper but you are definitely a writer.

Speaker 2: 38:43

And I needed to write about something that I was passionate about. I still have the dream of writing the great Caribbean, you know the great Caribbean novel. But I also knew that, in order for me to get my name out there, I had to niche down a little bit. And, of course, what else could I have written about but my love for Caribbean people and Caribbean businesses. And I am that kind of person. When I go on social media and I see a brand from St Lucia that makes skincare products and I love skincare and I see a brand from St Lucia that makes skincare products, I get so excited, right, because I'm like, hey, we are doing that.

Speaker 1: 39:43

Yes, all of a sudden, it becomes sweet. It does become we.

Speaker 2: 39:50

I see somebody from Trinidad who's making chocolates and they're doing like artisanal chocolates and I'm like, wow, we are doing that. And then I started searching. When I, when I first started, I used to do like a hashtag that said, hashtag Caribbean people are everywhere. I started doing my research and realizing that a lot of people who work for very famous and powerful people are Caribbean people. So, for example, a vet from Grenada is Beyonce's publicist. Then I think, yes, she's from Grenada, she, I mean, I think.

Speaker 2: 40:40

When I found that out, it blew my mind. And then I said, but of course she's from the Caribbean, of course her publicist is from the Caribbean, right. And then I think I did a bit more research and found out that Jay-Z's stylist is from Antigua Duh, right, of course. And then Dwayne Wade, d-wade and Gabrielle Union their chef is also from the Caribbean. I think he's either from Jamaica or Barbados. I believe it's Jamaica. But I started finding all of these people who, I think, gave me permission to dream big Because in my mind, in my mind, if they could make it, then we can, and then we can all make it. There's Rihanna, right.

Speaker 1: 41:43

But, rihanna, I think it's so interesting that you bring this up because we and you're a little younger than I am I wouldn't even say little thank you. Much younger than I am, but growing up in the Caribbean, we were never really like. Right now you see this more and more about people from Caribbean that have a Caribbean roots, but they're mostly from North America or somewhere in Europe, and so it kind of like the Caribbean gets a little bit, you know. Yeah, they are from the Caribbean, but it's no longer placed such a big role. I feel like growing up we didn't have a lot of these people to look up to and realize that we can become that as well. And also, like you said that in your bio, which I thought was so that that really hit me because I went through the exact same thing.

Speaker 1: 42:37

I wanted to be a photographer when I was younger. That was my passion, but my dad would tell me, no, you can't, because nobody makes money with that. Everything that is art. The older generation in the Caribbean would tell us, no, we couldn't.

Speaker 1: 42:54

But for us now to see more people in art that are really talented, showcasing all of their work, and they are from the soil of the Caribbean, and I'm not even talking about the ones that are first generation Americans whose parents migrated years ago.

Speaker 1: 43:12

I'm talking about the ones who were born and raised in the islands, that are still in the islands and that are now coming with all of this spectacular not only skincare, but fashion, say the songs, music, art books. Oh my gosh. There's so many writers in the Caribbean that have such a talent for storytelling. It's all around us poets like yourself, you know. We have a lot of poets in the Caribbean as well, but we are not. It's almost like we are afraid of showcasing that, and that's why I don't know. That's the thing about Caribbean collectors. I am so happy that you put this together because you have done such tremendous research into finding already smaller brands that people normally wouldn't even know about, and now you're putting them on a pedestal and you're putting them on your platform, where they can get the recognition that they deserve.

Speaker 2: 44:10

You know, it's like I told you I mentioned to you in the little bio I sent you and I have to smile because I just pulled it up and wrote it down. I didn't even edit it because I was like, if you do that, because I hate talking about myself, right? So for me it was very important to build a table. It's not just about the seat at the table, it's about building the table where anybody can pull up. Once you are from the Caribbean region, you have a place here, and I did that for myself because I so badly at the time was stuck in a job that I was trying to figure out if I liked. You know I was trying to figure out if I liked that job, if I wanted that to be my career for the rest of my life.

Speaker 1: 45:07

And that is like what all of us have been doing for so long I think I find yourself doing a job that you hate because you can't. You can't really live your passion.

Speaker 2: 45:18

And, like I also said, I also said if you are a creative and you are an artistic person, your art makes the worst mistress Like. Your art is going to nag you, it is going to eat away at your soul. It reminds you that your purpose on this earth is to create, it is to do what is your God given talent to do. And for me, I found myself. You know, I tell people I found myself. At the time when I started Crimean Collective, I was extremely depressed because I had just come back from university. I had invested so much money into doing a degree that I didn't even know if I wanted to follow through on that career path.

Speaker 1: 46:17

Can I ask why don't you study actually?

Speaker 2: 46:25

So my first degree was history, which I absolutely love because of course it's humanities and art, so that has always been my passion. But then I got it into my head that I was meant to be a lawyer.

Speaker 1: 46:42

Wow, yeah, that's not exactly artistic, is it no?

Speaker 2: 46:47

it's not.

Speaker 1: 46:48

And there's so much, Some might disagree.

Speaker 2: 46:50

But there's so much structure and there are so many rules, and I think, because I studied at the time I had studied law in the UK and I had, you know, I had encountered persons who were very sad no, no, I'm not going to say they were very particular about about what they were teaching you that you know, if you had an opinion that was not in line with theirs or you raise the point where you thought something was unfair In a case that they presented to you, their response would be well, this is the way it has always been and it is not going to change. And I think that, like my soul, it gripped me and like it rung, you know, like every last bit of you know, anything that I had in me that wanted to be a lawyer left to when that was said to me, you know. So I came back home, I was there, I was like especially as a creative.

Speaker 2: 48:13

Exactly. You just invested all of this money. What are you going to tell your parents? Oh yeah, that's a big one. How are you going to approach this?

Speaker 2: 48:24

And I sat in my office at the time and I said I am going to pitch to Zing, to Zing magazine, and my pitch is going to be that I am writing about Caribbean people, that I can write about the creative sector, I can write about just our people doing really big things. Sorry, and they took about two weeks to get back to me. Excuse me, they took two weeks to get back to me. And when they did this, and yes, but you have, you have about a week to hand in your article, luckily I had done enough research and I had networked with enough people that I had about five people lined up that I could reach out to.

Speaker 2: 49:20

That set me things, you know, just like that. So amazing, that happened, yeah, that happened, and I wrote for them up until the pandemic the start of the pandemic, when we act Unfortunately experienced some financial issues. Fortunately, the persons who took over from my previous editors, the new editors and the old publishing company decided to keep me on to basically work with Kaseek magazine in the in the fashion that I had worked with Zing, so my writing career didn't end there.

Speaker 1: 50:02

You see that and it's still ongoing. Yeah, ongoing, not to mention all of the great stories that you come up with almost weekly for Caribbean Collector.

Speaker 1: 50:12

So I'm going to you know before, before ending our conversation today, because I see that we're we're getting closer to an hour already. This is so much interesting stuff that you are that you and I are discussing right now, and I can have this conversation go on for hours, so we definitely need to. You know, we need to chit chat a little bit more after this or on another occasion, definitely, but I love what you did and what you're coming up with every time you do an article on your blog and and I thank you also for featuring, you know, paradise Perspectives and one of your list, it's like Janelle does this amazing thing that she does the like 10. You know Dan Brands.

Speaker 1: 51:03

You didn't know were Caribbean or the 15 or 30, I think it was 30 Caribbean podcasts that you need to stream right now. And so I love that because I find out a lot about so many you know Caribbean talents or talented people out there that I didn't even know. And it's not just skincare, because right now there's like a surge of a lot of people making their own skincare and a lot of hair products. But that's not only it. That's like so much like big things happening, especially in the fashion world. You know so many designers are up and coming that are Caribbean. It's really.

Speaker 2: 51:44

It's really funny because I did an article for fashion designers. I did 100 fashion designers that you need to know right now, and that took so much energy out of me.

Speaker 2: 51:59

Just putting that article together took so much energy out of me, and what's crazy is that that list is not exhaustive. There are so many persons that could have been included and if I do, you know, I probably would do a part two to that article but there are just so many fashion designers who are from the Caribbean, who are living in the Caribbean, who have Caribbean roots, you know, who are just making an impact in the fashion industry and, like I told you, I'm not a fashion girlie that I think I think for a while I would have been able to tell from your articles.

Speaker 2: 52:45

Listen, I think for a while a lot of people thought that's what the brand was, because for a while we pushed a lot of fashion content. But I had to bring it back to my roots and and start over where I had first started, when I was pushing content out, and I think that has resonated. I was so surprised when I saw the website hits and the clicks. I am so surprised every time I go on to Google App Analytics and I look it up, that people are just looking and absorbing this information. I'm really happy, but it definitely surprised me. So it's kind of the motivation to keep doing it because there's a lot like somebody. I saw a repost of that same fashion article and somebody commented on it saying oh my God, I didn't know that there were so many, you know and I wanted to right and I wanted to respond and say but there are so many more.

Speaker 1: 53:55

Because when I realized that we've never had this, have we? We've never had anybody that took the time to research how many Caribbean people are out there creating and this has been something that for me, it has been grand just being named in that list, because for a long time I thought there's probably not a lot more of these podcasts about that are created by Caribbean people, and especially from Caribbean people that are doing it from their home in the Caribbean. It has been something that podcasts and things like this are things that people in the Caribbean are now starting to get more into, but it's been existing for so long already, so it's beautiful to see. When I went to that list, I think it was 30 or 50 podcasts. It was probably about 50.

Speaker 2: 54:50

It was a long list.

Speaker 1: 54:51

Yes, so when I was, looking at that list I was like why, like look how many podcasters from the Caribbean there actually are out there, you know, and you probably didn't even mention all of them. It's like well, you definitely didn't mention all of them.

Speaker 2: 55:06

I couldn't. I mean the brand. I am literally the person behind the brand. I built my own website, I run my own social media, I do my own research, I write the articles. It's a lot so to do. I mean, like I said, that list of a hundred persons, a hundred fashion designers. When I was done, my husband looked at me and he was like are you okay?

Speaker 1: 55:41

I can imagine yeah, it's quite a bit, but you know it makes me happy.

Speaker 2: 55:46

I can definitely say that I am just so passionate about it. I am so passionate about giving persons their flowers, Like I don't care if you are a small brand or if you are a big brand. I want you to be seen, I want you to be heard. I want you to put your country's flag in your bio so I can find you. Yes, I want you to be proud. I want you to be proud to be a Caribbean person, so that other Caribbean people because you know, that's who we are Once we find out that you are from the region, it becomes we.

Speaker 1: 56:27

It's no longer.

Speaker 2: 56:28

I, it's like, listen, I'm getting, like I'm just getting so excited.

Speaker 1: 56:33

Oh no, I am feeling it too, but listen as a Caribbean creative. As a Caribbean creative, I want to thank you for starting Caribbean Collector's Like you have no idea so important to have our platform, where our voice is, where we can be seen as a Caribbean people, as Caribbean creators. So thank you, so so much. My last question to you, before we round up today's conversation, is going back to travel, because, after all, this is a travel show.

Speaker 1: 57:04

I need to ask you as a local person, as a local Vinci, what would be some of those things that you say somebody coming to St Vincent and the Grenadines need to avoid doing. What are some of the things that tourists sometimes can do that might come across a little bit in a negative way with locals?

Speaker 2: 57:29

I'm not sure how to answer that question.

Speaker 1: 57:34

I always ask this and I was like you know, my thing is, I just need to clarify it a little bit. It's just that I feel like we, when we're growing up, we were growing up with the you know take. You need to respect tourists, and tourists to this and tourists to that. Tourists are our bread and butter and yes they are, and as happy as I am every single time I see them come off the plane or off the ship to spend their hard earned money here there are, there's a lot of things that they don't know about the Caribbean and there's a lot of ways they tend to in, not without they're doing it without actually with mal intent, obviously, but there's a lot of ways that you can insult a Caribbean person by you know doing certain things. I think I have the perfect response.

Speaker 2: 58:20

I have the perfect response to that. There is this Trinidadian I'm going to call her writer because she's I think she's written her first book, just completed her MFA. She lives in Brooklyn. I know her as no more fashion victimscom. She's from Trinidad, stephanie Ramlogan, one of my like. I just love the way she writes and she had written a blog post about five or six years ago titled entitled we Live when you Vacation.

Speaker 1: 58:59

Oh my gosh, that is. That is what I say about this podcast all the time, Exactly that.

Speaker 2: 59:06

And it's not what you think. It is right Because, yes, we live where you vacation. There is something to be proud about that. We live in in a place that you pay money to come to. Yes, but also remember that we live here as a functioning society.

Speaker 1: 59:27

Exactly.

Speaker 2: 59:28

And a lot of yeah, a lot of the things that you are probably privy to, that you come and you enjoy. We have to deal with so many things on a daily basis. That may not be fun. It's not a vacation for us, it's our livelihood. We have to deal with, you know, socioeconomic issues. We have to deal with political issues because we live here.

Speaker 2: 59:59

And it's not always yeah, it's not always a fun experience, and that's what I would say. I would borrow Stephanie's words and that's what I would say, because it's something that I think about it every day. You know, especially with the type of work that I do for Collective, I think about the good, and I guess this is why I do it too, that I have to always raise people and lift people up and give them a boost, because I know that in their respective countries they live where somebody vacations.

Speaker 1: 1:00:37

Yeah, wow, that is so well said, thank you. Thank you so much. Whether these were your words or you borrow them from Stephanie, you did so so good. Thank you so much also for the time that you allocated for this, because you and I had you know you were going back and forth about you know me making our schedules meet, but I am so happy that I finally got you on the show.

Speaker 1: 1:00:59

Thank you so much, Danielle, for all your beautiful words, for all your beautiful content, for the great work that you're doing. Keep on doing it. If you are a Caribbean creative and you want Chanel to know about your brand or about your doing, please reach out. I'm going to make sure to link her Instagram account and her blog in the show notes. So hurry up, go to the show notes at the end of this show. You want to get in contact with Chanel and take a look. If you are a visitor to the Caribbean or you're thinking about visiting you you've been visiting for a while please go to the Caribbean the Caribbean Collective, I think, right, the Caribbean Collectivecom Go to the website and check out all of those magnificent creatives that are represented on that platform, and not only that, but all of the lovely products that you can actually get to buy, that is made by Caribbean people, that you can get to get to take back home with you. So thank you so so much, Chanel. Again, thank you so much for your time.

Speaker 2: 1:02:02

And thank you for having me.

Speaker 1: 1:02:05

All that last bit about the Caribbean being our home, but your vacation gave me goosebumps. It really did. It's so well said. Now, thanks to Chanel, you and I now have a reason to visit St Vincent and the Grenadines. Like we needed another excuse, right? I also must apologize for not doing my homework actually about the Jap Japs, and so ashamed before opening my mouth. Oh my God, rizal, remember this before opening your mouth and seeing something as if it was fact, you need to do some research. So I guess this is a sign that I should get somebody who is very knowledgeable about the Jap Japs to come on the show and actually explain it a little bit more in details, because it's such a fascinating tradition and you know. That brings me to my next point. It's also, you know, so interesting, and I think that's why I love Mara's Perspectives podcast so much, because I learned something as I go as well about, you know, the Caribbean region and other Caribbean islands. So there you have it Now.

Speaker 1: 1:03:09

Before I end this episode, let me just move my little kitten aside. If anyone's looking for a kitten, I have an island kitten here that is for adoption, and he is very gentle and he's so incredibly cute and his name is Penny, or Pennywise when he's bad. Anyways, let me get back to what I actually want to tell you Before I end this episode. I really want to tell you that I have decided to actually do a new episode every week, instead of how I've been doing it so far, which has been by monthly. So, starting with this episode right here, you can now listen to a new episode of Paradise Perspectives every Thursday. Okay, and as always, I want you to connect with me on social media. You can find me all over as the traveling island girl on Instagram, facebook, youtube you name it even threads, which is the now Twitter of Instagram, as you know. And let me know which islands you would like me to feature on the podcast.

Speaker 1: 1:04:12

Next, and if you have any questions that you might want me to answer during the show, don't be afraid, I do not buy it. I'm also always, always ready to receive your input. Also, as you now may know, I am hosting a wellness retreat like no other right here in St Martin this June, so consider this your official invitation to join me and others for five days of working on our personal growth while also enjoying all the amazing things that my paradise, st Martin has to offer Seriously, june 4th to the ninth Island, awakening Luxury Retreat right here on my home island of St Martin. I hope, I really do. I really hope you can join me and with that, it's time for me to leave and say adieu with the beautiful sounds of what could soon be you walking on one of our beaches. I'm Reselle the Traveling Island Girl. Thank you so much for listening. I am so grateful for you, my Caribbean listening friend, or my Caribbean loving friend, rather, and I'll be back with more Caribbean tales and tips, and next Thursday. Ciao for now.