Stepping into 2009 with Style

This is a new and exciting year for us.
We ended 2008 with a new 40 piece Collection and now we're starting 2009 with great media exposure in the Caribbean. If you're traveling on Caribbean Airlines in Jan and Feb, be sure to look at our 4 minute inflight video. It should be shown on all 1500 flights by Caribbean Airlines throughout the Caribbean and North America.

This should definitely expose lots of business tourists, Trinidadians and other Caribbean people traveling back home, or going overseas to visit, and the leisure traveller into the Caribbean. Added to this, we are looking to expand our distribution this year into more duty free shopping areas in the Caribbean, opening our own Liz Mannette Showroom and connecting more continuously with our customers, in the steel pan music world and where ever they love the rhythms of the steel drums.

Look out for our big upcoming Museum Exhibition in less than 30 days. Now working on curating the entire exhibition with the Museum asst director. This will be my first such Exhibition so it is both exciting and challenging. I think I can say confidently that this will be the first and only steelpan jewelry exhibition in the world. And so it is absolutely necessary that we do it well.

During Carnival we must project another aspect of our creativity to the global community. It's not just the music of the steel pans at Panorama in the Savannah. It's not just the mas on the road on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. It's not just the calypso. Now, it's the fashion and the style.

So let's keep looking good. Keep smiling at the world and be sure to let us know if you saw us on Caribbean Airlines.

Christmas 08 Collection on its way

New designs, new collection. The lifeblood of a fashion design company. Well, the new Collection for Liz Mannette that will be unveiled for Christmas 08 is coming together -finally. Some of the ideas in this Collection have been in my head for over a year, and now finally, the samples are almost perfect. This is the exciting part.

Next is creating the full Collection that provides some breadth and depth within the design theme. Now I haven't been to any fashion design school and so I know little about the formal approach to creating a Collection. All I know is there should be pieces in a range of price point so that almost everyone will find something on their level. Some may be looking for a gift for a spouse in the US$1000 range; others may be looking for something in the US$200 range. And then there may be several who are celebrating and want a piece in the US$5000. Also, from a design point of view, I seek to provide things that are trendy and fashionable at the moment as well as pieces that are classic and will last a lifetime.

Most of my first steelpan/steeldrum designs were pure metal with a smooth finish - sterling silver or 14K gold. Now I have added a stainless steel collection. This season I am venturing into some new pieces with different textures; one has a hammered finish. And also I am adding some color, with diamonds and gemstones. A few pieces will be designed in collaboration with a New York based colleague. This is an exciting new dynamic as she brings a totally different perspective. Others pieces will be ideas that have been churning around in my mind for quite some time.

So this is what's ahead from the Collection. Folks can read a bit more of the ins and outs of the design theme on my Ning page where I write a bit more openly to support a steelpan fashion design community.