The Finishing Touch

You can walk off the hot, dusty streets of Ariapita Avenue into the cool, fragrant atmosphere of Basia Imports and let your spirits soar.

Opened in May, Basia, is   owned by West Indies cricketer Ricardo Powell and his wife Alicia John-Powell. It is a cottage business catering to the quirks of home-owners with a hunger for the unusual.  The couple recently migrated to Trinidad from Jamaica to start the business. “My husband loves Trinidad, so that’s why we decided to open our business here,” said John-Powell. Basia is a Polish word for ‘exotic’ and Mrs John-Powell felt it was exactly what she needed to define her shop. She is the driving force behind the business. As her husband sat at his desk, Alicia was the one giving insights into the business.

Over the past few years, numerous small businesses have sprouted offering locals antique jewelry, charms and unique furniture brought in from foreign places. In San Fernando, there are like Fetish and Studio XTC, Precious Little in West Mall and Bynoe in St James. But, Basia, say its owners, offers homeowners  a different twist. John-Powell calls her merchandise, “conversational pieces”. She acknowledges that there is competition in her line of business, but feels she has the edge. “People may have unusual stuff, but when you come to us you are getting one-of-a-kind things. You won’t go to someone’s home and see something you bought from us,” said John-Powell. When the Powells first began thinking about opening a business, they mulled over exactly what it would be.

In Jamaica, Alicia was a human resource consultant manager, a job, she said, was too seasonal. She wanted something to occupy her time during the off-season. According to her, the idea for the business came as a divine intervention. “At the time when my husband was in India I was still living in Jamaica, doing research into what would be a good business to get into. I spoke to a lot of my friends in Jamaica trying to get a taste of what I really wanted to do. I also did a lot of praying,” said John-Powell. She felt it was a huge step closing down her business in Jamaica to move to Trinidad to face the unexpected, but it was a chance she was willing to take. As far as she was concerned, she had nothing to lose.  “The way to know if you chose the right business,” said John-Powell, “is when you get up every morning and don’t have that feeling of going to work.”

For the Powells, Ariapita Avenue, is working out just fine. In the two short months they have been there, the business can boast of having a dedicated list of clients along with curious people walking in off the street. After careful research of the market, the Powells decided to import their merchandise from India and different parts of Africa. Now the store is full of hand woven rugs, furniture, hand painted ceramics, large multi-coloured candles and candelabra, cushions, black metal lamps and even ancient masks. With such diversity, Basia can hardly be described as ordinary. The interior of the store is painted dark red, making it dim and daring. The store can have a calming effect on you. The air is filled with a Vanilla aroma, giving it a homely atmosphere. “My things are eclectic. A person goes to a furniture store, buys a formal living room set and beds and then they come to me to fill the gap,” she said. “I sell them character, an image for their home. The finishing touch,” said John-Powell. Basia though has had its fair of critics. According to John-Powell, she has had her share of rude remarks from the odd customer. She said while some people come in and immediately fall in love with what she has to sell, others say because it comes from Africa,they won’t buy it. She calls this “historic thinking” and says she does not allow it to faze her. “I am beyond that, it is not part of my psyche,” said John-Powell.

The actual setting up of the business the Powells said, was a horrifying experience. The business process began while they were still living in Jamaica. This, in itself, is a difficult thing, since the business was being set up in Trinidad. The most strenuous part was finding the right suppliers. She said finding reliable suppliers in Asia is a difficult task if you don’t know where to look. “We could have bought merchandise from anywhere, but Jamaicans have this thing they call ‘Banduloo’ and we didn’t want any Banduloo suppliers,” she said with a grin. According to her, a “banduloo” supplier was one who would send you an empty container, without any remorse. Her advice to people getting into this type of business, where you depend on the shipment of containers, is to ensure you do careful research into your suppliers. She said it makes no sense to invest your money in a venture unless you are sure you are getting what you pay for. Also, John-Powell said if you have friends in business, seek their advice, even if it is to learn from their mistakes. Her husband, she said, is very careful and selective in choosing the right suppliers. After finding the right suppliers, John-Powell said traveling to each supplier and choosing the items they wanted for the store, became a hassle. It took the couple three months to source their items. Since almost everything in the store is custom-made, the ordering cycle was a lesson in business. Sometimes they needed to wait for suppliers to design their new pieces before they could have placed the orders. With all this in mind, the Powells were still dead set on making the business work for them. They want to ensure all the items brought in are as unique to the local market as possible. And if this business does not succeed, John-Powell said, then they will pick themselves up and try something new.