To booth or not to booth at CFW? That is the question…

Now I have my skinny latte close to hand, I have positioned myself in a comfy chair to write this post, which gives you a snippet of what happened last night at CFW.

Upon entering the venue… all ready for our 7p.m start, I heard the end of an announcement. Once I found my colleague I was told that the show would not be starting until 8p.m. This really surprised me as Pulse usually begins promptly so I was certain that there was a major problem. Once I saw the catwalk I was certain the delay was going to be more than an hour.

As you can see from the picture of the stage needed to be erected and painted. To my mind that was going to take a while.

So off we went to check out what was in the booth. Some of the booth holders were setting up when we arrived but, we were lucky enough to speak to a few.

Our first stop was Nine One Designs. The Springer’s a husband and wife design team based in Christchurch, Barbados are at CFW for the second time. As you can see from the pictures (left) the jewellery they created was nothing less than exquisite. Nine One Designs has jewellery for all occasions and to suit a wide range of tastes. So if you’re a trendy girl or a conservative mother there’s something for you and everyone in between.

This creative team use metals as there primary base and combine it with gold, silver and amazing stones. The designs have a strong Afro-Caribbean influence.

However, you can feel certain pieces are channeling a hint of European inspiration.

Navazoe is Marva Forde. She is a fashion designer and the owner of this company. She has been in the industry for nine years and participating in CFW for the second time.

Marva’s pieces are all inspired by nature and in the booth we saw her Orchid and Bamboo lines on display. You know me and my temptations! I found a treasure of a bag that’s perfect for size. That means BIG… I feel no guilt as it is made from eco-friendly materials and has a lovely natural tonal bamboo print. Got to go back and get that one! I’m sure you’ll find treasures of your own here, as Navazoe has many amazing pieces.

The hats, bags and belts on display were absolutely gorgeous and we will be seeing her latest line Leaves on the runway adorning a clothing designer’s collection this weekend. So watch this space for more info and pictures.

When we have it you’ll see it here first!

Yahuda Originals is Velda Tyson. She is the designer of Yahuda’s accessories. Yahuda is Hebrew for law giver. Stay with me now.. That would mean that Yahuda is the law giver of fashion right! Nice concept! As you can see from the picture (left) the accessories are made from natural materials such as bamboo. All were extremely soft to the touch.

Velda has an amazing 700 bead necklace (it’s the ivory coloured necklace in the picture). This necklace is versatile, feels wonderful and looks amazing. It will be on the runway this weekend, alongside a bag that can be worn as a dress, or a belt or just used as a bag. Keep checking this as I will most definitely be bringing you the scoop on this.

Luna Designs: Here again we have a Barbadian husband and wife team, Emesto & Gloria Plata-Neira. Gloria’s main involvement is in the colour selection and dyeing of the jewellery while Emesto is the creator of the jewellery designs. A perfect match I’m sure you’d agree!

As you can see from the picture they are truly talented at what they do. The jewellery ranges from rings to anklets, to belts, necklaces and earrings. If you like muted tones they have it or if you’re like me and want to go bold and vibrant that’s available too. The colours and shapes of the jewellery are organic and evoke a feeling of femininity, truly beautiful. This is there fourth visit to CFW and it’s something they look forward to doing every year. The jewellery displayed (above ) forms the 2008 Rainbow collection. But we will be seeing more over the weekend when they showcase the 2009 Sunsplash collection.

I’ll be doing a much more detailed piece on this amazing environmentally friendly company over the next few days and the Sunsplash collection. Don’t miss it

As you can see from these reviews all of the booth holders we spoke to are repeat CFW exhibitors. I asked myself why that is. Well it can only be that not only do they truly enjoy the Jamaican experience… they also see growth in there businesses from participating in CFW. All admitted they were gaining knowledge from the workshops, seminars and open discussions from colleagues involved in the sector from around the globe. Keep up the good work Pulse.

Okay time for the black americano, I’m still tired from the extremely late finish last night. I got out of the stadium just before 1 am. So I have a lot more to share on the evening.

Stay in touch by commenting on the blog. Maybe I need two americanos. I’ll be in touch.

Lata Shaz

P.S. I forgot to say the actual show started after 10 pm. Yes we waited three hours.

All words by Sharon Davis. All images by Jermaine Evans.