THE DESIGN MASTER

WITH Christmas Day now behind us, we tend to cling to the elements of the season which remain after the painting, cooking and shopping are complete. One of these elements would be the breathtaking interior decorations at West Mall, Gulf City Mall, the Hilton Hotel and Kapok Hotel. Who was the creative mind behind it all? That would be Brian Mac Farlane, owner and chief designer at Mac Farlane Design Studios. The 46-year-old designer says that being involved in design was always his dream. At age 15, Mac Farlane left St Anthony’s College and began working at Raoul Garib’s mas camp. “I always wanted to be involved in design. I was always very fascinated with Carnival. I was never inclined toward academics but had a great interest in art and creative expression. There was a group of about seven of us at St Anthony’s about two years after the school was built who were interested in art but there were no classes available at the time,” said Mac Farlane.

The Carnival Designer of the World title winner attributes his success to a number of factors including the strong family ties that existed among his parents, two sisters and two brothers and his meticulous nature. “I would say that my spirituality along with strong determination have contributed to my success. In addition, regardless of what I’m doing, from the smallest jobs to the largest, they are all treated the same. The same amount of attention is paid to every little detail. I would call my staff together and have our work redone repeatedly to ensure that every job is done right.” Mac Farlane added, “I really strive to be different. I really don’t intend to sound pompous but when I design for a mall, you tend to see my ideas repeated the following year by other designers.” What was going through the mind of this well-established designer to create some of the most talked about artistic displays of the season? “With regard to West Mall in particular, they are renovating and will be state-of-the-art, really clean and hi-tech. In accordance with this, I tried to set the trend for what the new mall will look like. The design is very contemporary and minimalistic, while maintaining the traditional elements of Christmas,” asserted Mac Farlane.

After frequenting other islands in the region, spreading his talent to places like Guadeloupe, Martinique and Barbados where his work at a popular night club is ranked among the top five night club designs in the world, what would Mac Farlane be doing if he had not become a designer? “I can’t imagine myself doing anything else,” declared  Mac Farlane. He went on to highlight the other activities which are incorporated into his profession, saying that the broad scope of it covers enough to consider it to be multiple professions under a single heading. “Right now I want to do more international work. I have established myself in the region but want to probably enter the North American and European markets. “Young artists and designers need to believe in themselves. I had to fight to get to where I am today. I had my first big break in 1984 when I first did West Mall. Once they get that opening people would try to pull you down. I feel the jealousy but it’s all about being confident and striving to be the best at what you do,” Mac Farlane asserted. “There is a lot of frustration involved in the work I do but my satisfaction comes from the immense happiness that I bring to clients. We always get lots of calls and letters from clients and citizens who appreciate the work.”