Networking dividends

Forging business links might have taken her all over the world, but her heart lies at “Chic Shak Lifestyle,” her own business creation. Opened in March 2003, the store has two locations, one at the corner of Jerningham Avenue and Norfolk Street in Belmont, and the other at Voyager Mall in Port-of-Spain. Noel designs one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry and clothing under the name Manzanare Designs Solutions Limited. The company consists of two full-time employees and one part-time worker.

“Because of the type of organisation, the size will change according to the size of the project, as we need other people we will call on them,” she said in an interview last week.

Noel also imports exquisite pieces of fabric from Africa, with which she creates a contemporary line of Afro-Trinidadian designs. Most of her clothing is produced in Tanzania, Uganda and Brazil, as this turns out to be more cost effective.

“We have serious labour issues here,” Noel said, referring to TT’s work ethic. She said even if it was cheaper to get production done here and pay the same price, there was never any guarantee on product delivery. “The people there have a different work ethic, so I know that if I place an order today, I will get it completed in the time frame I want,” she said of the foreign business partners.

However, she has now established a relationship with a Trinidadian manufacturer and has high hopes for local production.

“The advantage of producing items locally is that a tailor or seamstress will understand a little bit better what we want,” she said, adding, “We are closer to the market so we can make changes faster.” Noel also imports a diverse range of items from different places, including necklaces, bracelets, earrings, handbags, baskets, and lamps from India, Brazil, Vietnam, South America and as far as Asia. Asked how she was able to develop her contacts with these countries, Noel said when she pursued her undergraduate and postgraduate degree in furniture design in Brazil. And working with the Emancipation Support Committee, she was able to set up a contact in Tanzania.

She then worked on development projects in Dominica and Uganda and forged links there. Having won the Commonwealth Arts and Craft Award, Noel got the opportunity to travel to Tanzania and Mozambique where she extended her list.

Later, she met an artist in Tanzania, who later moved to Vietnam, and was her grounding to access Vietnam goods. She managed to purchase and collect items from Guyana during her stint as a furniture designer there.

“That’s just the way I live, I travel and make contacts quickly and easily and I follow up on them. Once you have a network of contacts it just continues to grow,” she said.

Last year, for instance, she travelled to Ghana and as a result, will be getting clothing from there soon. “I am an opportunist, as opportunities are presented to me I act on them and that is the way my business goes,” she said.

Although some may describe Chic Shak as an African store, Noel refers to it as ethnic, saying it comprises items from various cultures. “At one point you might find we have more stuff from India while at other times it will change,” she said, noting items from Brazil were popular all year round. Around Carnival, the store is inundated with local creations, she said.

She works with her staff for design ideas. “I might do the bulk of the design but I want them to be creative so I always have craft supplies for them to be doing something on a slow day,” she said.

Before branching into her design career, Noel was a part-time lecturer in Design at the University of the West Indies.

When Chic Shak first opened, Noel said her aim was to help local producers find a market where their work could become more mainstream.

She started off working with straw craft producers in Toco and is still working with producers in rural communities. She also works with a local leather craftsman who does custom sandals with the Chic Shak design. Saying that she has no plans to open other stores, she said her goal now is to design and produce a wider range of home accessories.

“I am aiming at having more local stock available to the customers so that for this whole year that will be Chic Shak’s focus,” she said.